Homemade Chicken and Cheese Pizza

 

This is my twist to Ina garten's homemade pizza recipe. She is my favourite cook on food network and I really love her recipes. There is something about her that makes you admire her. Her recipes are simple, easy yet very delicious. Have tried a lot of her recipes in the past and they always turn out good. In one of her Barefoot Contessa episodes she made white pizza with arugula. I didnt want to make a simple pizza so I made a few changes. The pizza turned out excellent. Plus I didnt have to wait for the dough to rise overnight like most of the good pizza recipes. This pizza can be made in 30 minutes and tastes really good. It's fast, easy, and inexpensive! I made the dough exactly the way she showed just modified the toppings.

 

Ingredients for the dough:-

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 packages dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

Good olive oil

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

Salt

 

Ingredient for the topping:-

Store bought Pizza sauce

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

3 cups grated fresh mozzarella ad parmesan cheese

2 grilled skinless, boneless chicken breast, diced

1/2 red onion, sliced

 

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
2. Combine water, yeast, honey and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl. When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of flour, then 2 teaspoons salt, and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour, or just enough to make a soft dough.
3. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl.
4. When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil.
5. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile grill the chicken and cut your vegetables.
6. After the dough has doubled in size, place the dough onto a board and divide it into 3 equal pieces. Place the doughs on sheet pans lined with parchment paper and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the doughs to rest for 10 minutes
7. Roll or pat dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is the diameter of the pizza pan; place on pizza pan. This dough makes about 3 large pizzas.
8. Spread the pizza sauce on the dough, sprinkle a layer of the shredded cheese, arrange chicken, green pepper, onions and cover with another layer of cheese.
9. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.

Tips/notes:-

Make sure the bowl is warm before you put the water and yeast in; the water must be warm for the yeast to develop.

To make sure yeast is still "alive," or active, put it in water and allow it to sit for a few minutes. If it becomes creamy or foamy, it's active.

Salt inhibits the growth of yeast; add half the flour, then the salt, and then the rest of the flour.