HHDD #17 - Pizza - BBQ Chicken & Bacon

I think it must have been fate - and thanks to ChicaJo over at 80 Breakfasts for hosting and choosing this theme - that the theme for my very first Hay Hay It's Donna Day event would be pizza. I only came across Donna Hay last year, but I was happy to find her.

A few years ago I decided to try my hand at making pizza at home. I love pizza and it just costs too much to buy it as often as we would probably like to eat it. I have used several crust recipes over the years and have pretty similar recipes with most versions. I hadn't used this recipe before, but I did like it. I also liked that it was already portioned for one pizza. However, funny enough, this time, I had to double the recipe anyway so that I could make another pizza for my 4 year old. He is allergic to dairy, so couldn't have cheese on his pizza.

I wanted to branch out on the toppings and deviate from the norm of what we do. That idea was universally opposed by the rest of the fam. So, here you have Donna's pizza crust recipe with our usual toppings. It may not be too terribly original to most people, but it is the one we love the very best. BBQ Chicken & Bacon. I've made it with our usual toppings here, but we also like to add sauteed mushrooms, roasted red bell pepper, and actually, my favorite alternative, black beans. (FYI - I had in mind honey garlic grilled shrimp with roasted red bell peppers, fontina, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil... I will hopefully get to that in the future.) My "dream" choice probably would have been a better entry, but since arguing with a 4 year old at dinner time was too exhausting this time around, we did it his way.

Enjoy!

Here is the Donna Hay recipe:

Pizza Dough(from Modern Classics I by Donna Hay, page 186)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
Pinch sugar
2/3 cup (5 fl oz) warm water
2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Place the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Set aside until bubbles form.

Add the four, salt, and oil, and mix to form a smooth dough. Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place in a clean, oiled bowl, cover, and allow to stand in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Makes one quantity.

The Dough

For the topping:

1 boneless skinless breast of chicken, rubbed with the following and cooked on grill pan:
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt

Cook through, allow to cool and slice into thin strips

1/4 cup thick-cut bacon pieces, cooked until crispy
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar

fresh cilantro, minced for topping

Favorite BBQ sauce (we like KC Masterpiece Original) (NOTE: I have made my own BBQ sauce with this, but we love this BBQ sauce, and sometimes, the shortcut is worth it).

Roll out pizza dough and top with the BBQ sauce, 3/4 c of the mozzarella cheese, chicken slices, bacon pieces, remainder of mozzarella cheese and the cheddar cheese.

Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fresh minced cilantro.