Chicken Pesto Pizza

So, it is a Friday night and what do we feel like for dinner? Pizza!  Why order pizza when with a few staple ingredients and some leftovers, you can have a delicious homemade pizza in less time than it takes to get one delivered.  If you are gluten free, ordering pizza is out of the question anyway, but you can still enjoy that gooey cheesy goodness!

This pizza dough can be made with gluten free or regular flour.  If using gluten free flour, you can only do a thin crust pizza, but if you are making this traditionally, you can indulge in a pan pizza if you so choose.



Chicken Pesto Pizza
2 1/4 to 3 cups flour (Gluten free blend or regular)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water (120 degrees)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Basil Pesto
2 cups roasted chicken, shredded (leftovers work great for this)
Dry Italian Salami, thin sliced
Roma tomatoes, sliced
Fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced (1/4 inch thick)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
8 - 10 fresh basil leaves

For crust, place yeast in bowl, with sugar, and warm water.  Let sit ten minutes or until foam appears on top of water.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour with salt.  Add yeast mixture and oil, mixing until combined.  Add additional flour until a soft dough is formed. Knead dough until is is soft and all flour is incorporated. Place dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Cut parchment paper to size for your pizza pan.  If using a round pan, fold paper in half several times, as if making a paper airplane.  Place tip of paper at the center of your pan and then cut paper to size.  Unfold and you have a perfect circle. Spray paper lightly with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray and place on pizza pan.  Lightly sprinkle 2 Tbsp. white cornmeal on paper.  This will give you a really nice crust like a real pizzeria!

Place dough in center of pan.  Work dough flat with your fingers and heel of your hand toward edges of pizza pan.  Continue until dough is spread across pan.  Prick dough with a fork several times and sprinkle with sea salt.  If using traditional flour and you want a pan pizza, set dough aside to rise for 30-45 minutes.  Bake dough in a 425 degree oven for 12 minutes for thin crust and at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes for a pan pizza.

Remove crust from oven.  Top with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, Italian salami and chicken.

Sprinkle parmesan over pizza.  Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes for a thin crust pizza and 15-20 minutes for a pan pizza.  remove pizza from oven, top with fresh basil and enjoy.

Makes one 14 inch pizza.