Chicken, Bacon, Garlic, and Basil White Pizza

Chicken, Bacon, Garlic, and Basil White Pizza

Sponge: 1 to 2 days in advance
Dough rise: 1½ hours
Ingredient prep: 20 minutes
Pizza assembly: 10 minutes
Pizza baking time: 10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

Two 16-inch pizza pans
Parchment Paper (or instead of parchment paper bake directly on a pizza stone)

Pizza Dough:

1 recipe of Pizza Dough, or pizza dough of your choice

Pizza Sauce:

Double recipe creamy white pizza sauce, save out 1 cup for chicken mixture

Olive Oil For Crust:

2 tablespoons olive oil

Chicken and Bacon Mixture:

4 cups, cooked chicken cut into small pieces
8 slices bacon, baked or fried until crisp, cooled, and chopped into small pieces
1 cup creamy white pizza sauce

Red Onion:

1 red onion, finely chopped

Cheese topping:

8-ounces grated mozzarella cheese, low moisture part skim (2 cups)
2 cups grated Parmesan

Basil Topping:

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

Instructions

If you prefer a homemade pizza crust, prepare pizza sponge 1 to 2 days in advance of making pizza.
Prepare creamy white pizza sauce; set aside.
Pull the oven racks out of the oven and set on stovetop.
Preheat oven:
Standard Oven: 425° | Convection Oven: 400°
If you are using a pizza stone place a rack in the lower half of the oven: Preheat oven:
Standard Oven: 425° | Convection Oven: 400°
Tear off 2 sheets of parchment paper. Each one should be approximately 20 inches long.
Place each piece of parchment paper on a separate work surface.
Lightly dust another work surface with cornmeal.
Punch down the dough.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface.
Knead dough for 30 seconds.
Split the dough into two equal halves and place on the cornmeal dusted work surface.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Place each piece of dough directly in the center of a piece of parchment paper.
If you are using a baking stone place the dough directly on a generously floured pizza peel, press out into a 14-inch round, and assemble as directed below. NOTE: You will have to bake one pizza at a time.
Beginning in the center of each dough ball use the palm of your hand to gently press each ball into a 14-inch round.
Get out two 16-inch pizza pans.
Slide each pizza pan under each of the two pizza rounds.
Note that the pizza round and the parchment paper will both end up on top of the pizza pan.
Brush the top of the dough with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Spread each pizza dough round with 1½ cups white pizza sauce.
In a bowl, mix together the chicken, bacon, garlic, Parmesan, and the white pizza sauce that you set aside.
Spoon the chicken mixture onto the pizza round.
Sprinkle red onion over the chicken mixture.
Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the red onion.
Add coarsely chopped basil to the top of the cheese mixture.
Slide the parchment paper off of the pizza pan and directly onto the oven rack.
Bake the pizza for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The underside of bottom crust should be golden brown.
If you have a convection oven you can bake 2 pizzas at the same time.
To remove the pizza from the oven, slide a pizza pan or a pizza peel under the parchment paper then carefully grab the edge of the paper with your fingers and pull the paper and pizza onto the pan or peel.
If you are baking the pizzas on a pizza stone, slide the pizza from the pizza peel onto the preheated baking stone. Baking time should be approximately 10 minutes.
To remove the pizza from the pizza stone, slide the pizza peel under the pizza and remove the pizza from the oven.
Cool for 10 minutes, cut and serve.

Comments

Salad goes great with pizza so why not serve up a Caesar salad with croutons or a bowl of crisp salad greens topped with Italian salad dressing and croutons?

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