Never gets old…

I frequently make pizza, without exaggeration I probably have it at least once a week. I never tire of pizza. Like sandwiches, pizzas are like a blank canvas, you can add any toppings or sauces that you want. Pizza is perfectly acceptable to have on any occasion too, you can dress it up or down.

Recently I made BBQ chicken pizza and personally,I thought it was better than CPK’s version (gasp). I started it off by making a delicious whole wheat dough, I then melted a little butter and honey together to brush on top of the dough to give it a slight sweetness. I then brushed my favorite BBQ sauce on top and topped it with red onion, freshly shredded Gouda cheese, and shredded chicken. After the pizza finished cooking I gave it one more drizzle of BBQ sauce and sprinkled it with chopped cilantro and avocado slices. DELISH! My dough recipe will actually yield enough for two pizzas, I usually freeze 1/2 the dough for another day. Enjoy! 🙂

BBQ Chicken Whole Wheat Pizza

Yields: 1 Medium Pizza, and an additional crust to save for later

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp of Rapid Rising Active Dry Yeast (approx. 1/2 a small packet)
• 1 1/4 Cup Warm Water (Take tap water then heat in the microwave for 45 seconds)
• 1 Tb Honey
• 2 Tb Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 Cup Freshly Shredded Gouda Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Thinly Sliced Red Onion
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Chicken, pre cooked
• 1/4 Cup & 2 Tb of your Favorite BBQ Sauce (I use Chris & Pitt’s Original Recipe, I’ve have truly never had a better sauce)
• 1/4 Cup Freshly Chopped Cilantro
• 1/2 Avocado, Sliced

Directions

1. Prepare a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or with a SilPat and set aside.
2. Prepare a large non-metal mixing bowl with non-stick cooking spray
3. Set out a large non-metal mixing bowl without non-stick cooking spray
4. Prepare a floured surface for later
5. In small bowl pour ¼ Cup of the warm water and yeast, stir. Let sit for 5 minutes.
6. Lightly mix flour and salt in the a large non-metal mixing bowl.
7. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the yeast mixture and the rest of the warm water. Mix well with a non-metal spoon until dough is smooth and elastic. You may need to add more water (do so only when needed and 1 Tb. at a time.)
8. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes on a floured surface then form into a large ball.
9. Place dough in the lightly oiled bowl and cover with clean dish towels for 1 hour.
10. While dough is rising prepare other ingredients: slice onion, shred cheese, shred chicken, chop cilantro. Save slicing the avocado until the last minute to prevent from browning
11. Once dough has risen preheat oven to 400 degrees.
12. Take 1/2 of the dough and immediately tranfer to a ziploc freezer bag (this is left over dough)
13. Take the other 1/2 of the dough out of the bowl and on a floured surface knead it lightly into a slight rectangle shape.
14. Melt the butter and honey in the microwave for 30 seconds then brush on top of the dough.
15. Brush a gernous portion of the BBQ sauce on top of the dough.
16. Sprinkle cheese, chicken, and red onion on top of dough and bake for 20 minutes or until bottom of crust is slightly browned.
17. Once pizza has finished cooking drizzle with BBQ sauce then sprinkle cilantro on top. Cut avocado slices and layer on top. Cut pizza and serve immediately.