Chicken alfredo pizza

Finally, making a pizza tonight that I made for my lady sometime in late 2003 or early 2004, which I made with leftover garlic roasted chicken, which she really liked, but I never made for her again. I had actually made it while was away in wine school, and she hasn't let me live it down :) So here we go!

Alfredo Pizza Sauce

4 tbsp butter

1-2 tbsp garlic

1 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. milk

3/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 c. diced mixed white melting cheese (such as 50/50 mozzarella + monterey jack)

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 pinch thyme

1 tiny pinch nutmeg

Salt and black pepper to taste

In small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and a bit of black pepper, and cook for 30 seconds. Add heavy cream and milk all at once. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat t low, add cheese all at once, and whisk continually. Add onion powder, thyme, and nutmeg. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Pizza toppings: diced cheese, alfredo sauce, cooked shredded or diced chicken, chopped garlic, black pepper, minced parsley

Hopefully she'll like it!

BBQ pork pizza

Yeast pizza dough #5, with toppings: leftover room-temp carnitas sauced in bullseye BBQ sauce, jack n mozzarella cheese, extra bbq sauce, onions in balsamic vinegar, more cheese, cilantro,good olive oil.

I think it's key to have meat, sauce and other ingredients at room temp prior to baking, to make sure it bakes evenly and quickly.

Before, shaped, and ready to go in the oven:


5 minutes later after baking at 550F, on pizza stone on middle rack, rotated halfway thru, totally done:


Nice browning of crust. Was easy to shape after 31 hours in the fridge.


Looks like a winner! :) This is a slightly wheatier pizza dough.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

DiMuzio's Pizza Dough with Biga

DiMuzio's Pizza Dough with Biga #1 and #2

This recipe looked intriguing. The biga is essentially a starter with commercial yeast. Have-ta try it!

Based on following straight dough percentages (by weight):
Bread flour 100%
Water 65%
Salt 2.2%
Yeast 0.4%

Makes 2 12" pizzas (170g dough balls)

BIGA
Bread flour (100.00%) 60g
Water (60.00%) 36g
Instant Yeast (0.10%) 0.06g (a micro pinch)
(final BIGA weight: 96.1g)

FINAL DOUGH
Bread flour 180g
Water 120g
Salt 5.28g (1 tsp + small pinch Morton's Kosher)
Instant Yeast 0.90g (1/4 tsp)
Biga 96.06

1. In a bowl, combine water + pinch of yeast to dissolve. Let sit 2 minutes. Mix in bread flour til smooth. Cover & let sit at room temp (70 degrees) for 24 hours.
2. The next day start the final dough: first dissolve yeast in water. Let sit 2 minutes.
3. To mixing bowl, add flour, then biga, then salt. Knead in stand mixer for 10 minutes at speed 1-2 on Kitchenaid.
4. Cover & let rest for 15 minutes.
5. Cut dough in half, and shape into two rounds.
6. Place in FLOURED covered container, and refrigerate 4-12 hours.
7. About 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 550 degrees.
8. Remove dough from fridge.
9. SHAPE IMMEDIATELY, onto cornmeal or semolina dusted peel.
10. Add cheese first, then toppings, then a little sauce, maybe a little more cheese, and finish with olive oil.
11. Bake at 550 for 5-6 minutes.

Notes:

• The biga is very similar to the firm starter that I keep, in terms of consistency, but perhaps a tiny bit softer. #1 is made with the biga as in the original recipe, #2 is being made with firm (Columbia) sourdough starter.
• #2: went in fridge 745p this evening. They will have been in the fridge for about 48 hours when they are baked off tonight.
  

#1 Results:

• Makes for a thin crust, 12-14" pie.
  
• Baked for about 7 minutes at 550F on new Saltillo quarry tiles.
  
• Decent browning; crust bottom was really thin but hard (I hesitate to use the word "crisp"), with a good bit of "tug" and chewy...interesting texture. Not very thick so there's not a whole lot more flavor to the crust. Wasn't bad at all, fairly tasty in fact. Flavor-wise, I couldn't taste any sourdough.
  
• Overall, kinda "meh"; fine I suppose if you want a thin crust pie. I think I like the last 2 pies (yeast #1 and #2) better.
• Tell you what though...THE NEXT DAY this pizza reheated better in the micro than any other EVER, and had a fresh Papa John's texture after reheating! The amazing reheatable pizza!!
  

yeast pizzas #1 & #2

(ed note: post written between 11/2 and 11/3!)

ok, cooked some chicken thighs, and want to try to recreate alfredo chicken pizza! These are a different crust, I think I used the CPK crust for the previous version.

yeast #1: this one is based on sourdough #2, but without sourdough this time. Please note that while you can use the volumetric measurements, I definitely recommend the weight measurements, you will get more consistent results, and it will scale more accurately. My Salter scale only does even-numbered measurements in grams, and doesn't do gram fractions.

Makes 1 large pizza (14" to 16")

3 c + 2 tbsp bread flour -439g - (100%)
1 c lukewarm water 242g (55.1%)
2 tbsp wheat germ 12g (2.7%)
3 tbsp white sugar 44g (10%)
2 tbsp olive oil 28g (6.3%)
1.5 tsp active yeast 5.5-6g (1.2%)
2 tsp table salt 15g (3.4%)

Assume room temp 75 degrees; if warmer, shorten rise times; if colder, increase, etc.

1. Combine flour, water, wheat germ, and sugar in mixing bowl; knead with hook for about 2 minutes at speed 2, until combined.
   
2. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
   
3. Now add yeast, olive oil, and salt.
4. Knead with dough hook for 5 minutes at speed 2.
   
5. Place in covered container to rise about 1 hour; didn't quite double; fold dough and replace.
   
6. Refrigerate covered for 17.75 hours (went in at 11pm, out at 450pm next day)
   
7. Remove from fridge, let come to room temp for 1 hour.
   
8. Preheat oven to 550F, pizza stone 2nd shelf from top. No steam this time!
9. Let dough rise 1 more hour (2 hours total)
   
10. Shape dough, place on parchment, dock, sauce, cheese, meat, and more cheese.
    
11. Bake for 8 minutes.
    

Results:

• Probably my best commercial pizza imitation to date!
  
• Crust browned perfectly on bottom, super thin browning, with perfect spongy chew
• Dough cooked all the way thru, very tender and light.
• Dough has a sweeter flavor; I don't miss the honey at all!
• Didn't notice any effect of the wheat germ at all?
  
• Crust edges have nice browning
• Would I change anything? Probably not! :) This is almost as good as it gets.

For next time:

• Possibly pull the dough out a little thinner; a true "pizza screen" would be great for this, not that bullshit aluminum disc from Target, which seems to reflect more heat than it absorbs.
  
• Possibly a bit more wheat germ? Or try some whole wheat? Not very nutty, probably could use a bit of nuttiness, but even if not, this crust is "da best" so far.
  

Ratings:

• Crust thickness (1=thin CPK, 3=normal PJ Dominos, 5=thick Chicago style): 3
  
• Crust rise (1=no bubbles/some bubbling/5=big bubbles everywhere): 3
  
• Crust crunch (1=eiscafe soft, 5=cracker hard): 3
  
• Crust blistering (1=no blistering, 5=clear, perfect blistering): 2
  
• Crust chew (1=not chewy,5=very chewy): 4
  
• Crust doneness (1=dough still raw, 5=browned and cooked through): 5
  
• Crust texture hole size (1=small, 3=med, 5=large): 3.5
  
• Crust texture hole regularity (1=even, 3=a little irregular, 5=very irregular): 3.5
  
• Crust browning: (1=pale/white, 3=browning, 5=chocolate brown): 4.5-5
  
• Crust sourness (1=not sour, 5=very sour):1
• Crust sweetness (1=not sour, 5=very sour):3-4

yeast #2: this one is built roughly on Petezza's Papa John's clone and uses the Expanded Calculator, and close to Pete's percentages with these changes:
--slightly higher hydration
--significantly more yeast
--slightly less oil
--honey instead of sugar, and slightly less amount

It has more yeast than the original recipe, but only about 1/2 the yeast of #1, so it will likely need to stay in the fridge for about 48 hours.

Makes one 21oz dough ball, for one 14" pizza

Flour (100%): 358 g - slightly less than 2.5 cups
Water (57%): 204 g - about 3/4c + 2 tbsp
Honey (4%): 14.3 g - a hair over 2 tsp
Active dry yeast (.6%): 2.14 g - a hair over 1/2 tsp
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (7%): 25 g - about 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
Salt (1.75%): 6.27 g - about 1.5 tsp - SALT IS MORTONS KOSHER, weights are for such.
Total (170.35%): 607.71 g | 21.44 oz | 1.34 lbs

NOTES: this dough was VERY oily to come together, and didn't knead well in the mixer (oild just caused it to flop around a lot, using the same recipe style as #1 above, so I'm modifying it now.

1. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT SALT, about 2 minutes.
   
2. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes
3. NOW ADD SALT.
4. Knead in stand mixer for 5 minutes.
   
5. Cover in tub and let rest in warm place for 1 hour.
   
6. Refrigerate for ~18 hours (in at 1135pm, out at 545 pm the next evening)
   
7. Remove from fridge, let come to room temp for 1 hour.
   
8. Preheat oven to 550F, pizza stone 2nd shelf from top. No steam this time!
9. Let dough rise 1.25 more hour (2.25 hours total)
   
10. Shape dough, place on parchment, dock, sauce, cheese, meat, and more cheese.
    
11. Bake for 8-10 minutes (check at 8, maybe leave in 10, depending on the size of the pie).
    

Results? We'll see on Friday, probably.

11/5 results update:
Well, I made the mistake AGAIN of using that worthless perforated pizza pan. That POS aluminum seems to reflect more heat (think aluminum foil) than it absorbs. As a result there was no browning on the bottom crust at all.

On the upside the crust was flavorful, and after 10 minutes in the oven, at least it was cooked thru and not raw. The crust edges were nicely browned too.

Also, using the pie pan, I was able to stretch the crust super thin, which, in addition to the docking, would have made a really nice thin crust, closer-to-NY style pie. In addition, I know now that this recipe makes enough for a 16" pie with a nice thin crust (that's the size of my pan.)

This crust had less sweetness than #1, and perhaps a little more crispness/less softness due to lower sugar. Seemed just about as oily. I like the oilier crust, tastes more "tender"; I know my tastes will change as I refine my recipes, though. I would consider doing this recipe again, but FOR SURE baking it on a baking stone or set of tiles. 16" is a good pizza size, and I think it's a perfect amount of dough for a nice thin-crust style.

To get: a REAL pizza screen, or a set: maybe a 14" and a 16". It's handy and it's a confidence builder.

"Madmax" pizza

Read about this dough when I was researching pizza sauce on Pizzamaking.com. A poster named "Mad Max" shared this recipe, so I'm trying it out

Makes two 12" pies

3 c unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/3 c warm water
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1. Heat water in microwave for 15-20 seconds. Should be no more than 110 degrees.
   
2. Add sugar and yeast to water, stir to dissolve. Let rest for 4 minutes
3. In stand mixer bowl, add flour. Dig out a well, and pour in all liquid.
   
4. Mix with dough hook on lowest setting "1" for 4 minutes.
   
5. Cover and let rest for 20 min.
   
6. ADD SALT.
7. Mix with dough hook on lowest setting for 13 minutes.
   
8. Cover and let rest for 20 min.
   
9. Oil a plastic bowl, scrape sticky dough out of mixing bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2 days. (mine went in the fridge on Sunday at 3pm, so it should be ready Tuesday 3pm; can also try it Monday night).
   
10. Make two 12" pizza skins
11. Preheat oven for 500 degrees, with pizza stone.
12. Bake for 7-8 minutes.
    

Day 1 Results:
(I took 1/2 batch out this afternoon at 3pm, after 24 hrs in the fridge; then did a 3.5 hour bench rise, baked at 500 deg for 8 minutes, 2nd to top rack in oven w/ pizza stone)

1. Nice texture and good flavor! Good puffiness, good chew, not raw or yeasty
2. Thinnest crispy crust on the pizza bottom. Pizza edges started to get a tiny bit blistery with a nice chew.
   
3. Crust did not brown (2 out of 5); probably could stay in the oven 1 more minute. Sometimes I wonder if it's my pizza stone. According to PizzaMaking.com, I should try having the stone in the middle or bottom of the oven, preheat oven to 550 (at least) for 1 hour! This helps the stone get up to the right temp. Found a good thread on white crust problems. Things to consider: less sugar (there's already so little), slightly more salt, less final bench rise, higher temp, lower rack + stone.
   

For 2nd crust:

1. Go for 2.5 to 3 hour bench rise
2. Preheat to 550, stone on last level
3. Bake for 8-9 minutes
   
4. After 7 minutes move pizza from stone to middle rack
   

For the future:

1. Get home air temp thermometer(s); one for fridge, one for kitchen so I can see what my "room temp" is now, as well as my fridge "cold temp" is.
   

sourdough pizza #3

Was reading the Pizzamaking.com web site when I came across this recipe for Papa John's Pizza Sauce . More than the sauce, I was intrigued by another author's recipe for pizza dough:

3 C KA bread flour
1 1/3 C water
1/2 t ADY
1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar

Then he did this:

"Proofed the ADY in 1/3 C of water and all the sugar. Then added the yeast mixture to 1 cup flour and mixed for 3-4 minutes (Kitchen Aid dough hook setting #1). Rest for 20 minutes. Added salt, and remainder of flour. Mixed for 13-15 minutes. Rest for 20 minutes. Placed into tupperware with a few drops of oil. Then into the refrigerator for 2 days...bench rise for 3-4 hours. Made 2 12" skins, topped, then into preheated stone at 500. Cooked in 7-8 minutes. Light and airy, and yet crisp. "

Made me rethink my hydrations, and using active dry yeast altogether. So here's another variation; bumping up water, wheat germ & sugar, and increasing ferment time.

Makes 1 large size pizza, perhaps 14-16".

3 c bread flour
1 c water
1/2 c active sourdough starter (I use my LBB starter)
2 tbsp wheat germ
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp table salt

1. Add all ingredients except salt to mixing bowl.
2. Mix using dough hook for 2 min. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 min.
3. NOW ADD SALT. Mix with dough hook on speed 2 for 8 minutes. Dough will be soft and sticky.
   
4. Place dough in oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let rest for 2 hour at room temp.
   
5. Refrigerate dough in bowl for 24-48 hours.
6. Remove dough 3 hours before baking.
   
7. 30 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 550 degrees; make sure your pizza stone is in there.
   
8. Dip dough in flour & shake off excess. On a very well floured board, stretch dough into shape.
9. Transfer dough to parchment paper on rimless baking sheet (or parchment on pizza peel)
10. Slide pizza into oven, on stone, located 2nd shelf from top.
    
11. Add 1 cup hot water to broiler pan at bottom of oven.
    
12. Add toppings and bake for 10 minutes, or until crust is browned as desired.

Results:

• Crust thickness (1=thin CPK, 3=normal PJ Dominos, 5=thick Chicago style): 3
  
• Crust rise (1=no bubbles/some bubbling/5=big bubbles everywhere): 3
  
• Crust crunch (1=eiscafe soft, 5=cracker hard): 2
  
• Crust blistering (1=no blistering, 5=clear, perfect blistering): 2
  
• Crust chew (1=not chewy,5=very chewy): 3
  
• Crust doneness (1=dough still raw, 5=browned and cooked through): 2
  
• Crust texture hole size (1=small, 3=med, 5=large): 3
  
• Crust texture hole regularity (1=even, 3=a little irregular, 5=very irregular): 3.5
  
• Crust browning: (1=pale/white, 3=browning, 5=chocolate brown): 1
  
• Crust sourness (1=not sour, 5=very sour):1
  

Notes:

• Dough by comparison to #1 was pretty dry; didn't stick to mixer bottom.
• After 10 minutes, bottom was still pale, as though it didn't cook through, but it appeared cooked through.
  
• When stretching the dough, it stretched nice and thin, and bubbles were visible throughout, just didn't bake out correctly.
  
• Barely hints of sourness.
  
• Wheat germ added nice nuttiness, but subtle
• Crust was nice and tender
  
• Would need to re-do this recipe, as was too pale

For Next Time

• Rotate pizza 180 degrees after 1st 5 minutes.
• Perhaps add more water?
  
• Perhaps add less sugar, oil and salt?
  

Sourdough pizza #2

Trying out some sourdough pizza dough again. This time doubling the recipe, should make one thick pizza. Based on CPK recipe but adding LBB starter.

I was watching Guy Fieri at a pizza place in Glendale, AZ. The guy made a wood fired pizza, oven temp was 800 deg F, and cooked pizza for 4 minutes. Cheese was bubbling like molten lava on top! My oven doesn't go that high :( But I'll make do. Decided to kick up oven temp to 550F this time, and it seemed to help. I also used bread flour this time instead of AP flour.

Makes 1 large size pizza, perhaps 14-16".

3 c bread flour
1/2 c + 1 tbsp water
1/2 c active sourdough starter (I use my LBB starter)
1 tbsp wheat germ
1.5 tsp active yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp table salt

1. Add all ingredients except salt to mixing bowl.
2. Mix using dough hook for 2 min. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 min.
3. NOW ADD SALT. Mix with dough hook for 8 minutes. Dough will be very soft and sticky.
   
4. Place dough in oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let rest for 2 hours at room temp. Dough will still be very soft and sticky.
   
5. Refrigerate dough in bowl for 12 hours. (Went into fridge about 10:00pm or so).
6. Remove dough 2 hours before baking. (came out at 10am from fridge, sat until 12 noon).
   
7. 30 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 550 degrees; make sure your pizza stone is in there.
   
8. Dip dough in flour & shake off excess. On a very well floured board, stretch dough into shape.
9. Transfer dough to parchment paper on rimless baking sheet (or parchment on pizza peel)
10. Slide pizza into oven, on stone, located 2nd shelf from top.
    
11. Add 1 cup hot water to broiler pan at bottom of oven.
    
12. Add toppings and bake for 10 minutes, or until crust is browned as desired.

Results:

• Crust thickness (1=thin CPK, 3=normal PJ Dominos, 5=thick Chicago style): 3.5
  
• Crust rise (1=no bubbles/some bubbling/5=big bubbles everywhere): 2.5
  
• Crust crunch (1=eiscafe soft, 5=cracker hard): 3
  
• Crust blistering (1=no blistering, 5=clear, perfect blistering): 3.5
  
• Crust chew (1=not chewy,5=very chewy): 4
• Crust doneness (1=dough still raw, 5=browned and cooked through): 5
  
• Crust texture hole size (1=small, 3=med, 5=large): 2.5
  
• Crust texture hole regularity (1=even, 3=a little irregular, 5=very irregular): 2.5
  
• Crust browning: (1=pale/white, 3=browning, 5=chocolate brown): 4.3
• Crust sourness (1=not sour, 5=very sour): 1
  

Notes:

• Dough by comparison to #1 was pretty dry; didn't stick to mixer bottom.
• Went a little hotter on the oven. Cooking time was exactly 10 minutes, which was perfect for this size pie and dough wetness.
• Crust bottom was 85% perfect: wood-fired brown, more on one side than the other. Brown part was thin and cracker-like, while rest of interior was soft.

For Next Time

• Try white sugar instead of honey, and possibly increase a little (2-3 tbsp)
• Rotate pizza 180 degrees after 1st 5 minutes.
• Try slightly more hydration (+3 tbsp water instead of +1)
  
• Try 2 tbsp wheat germ instead of 1; couldn't really taste 1, didn't add significant nuttiness.
  

Pizza pie

I have a migraine this morning, fortunately took ibu quick and it's not that bad. But I feel like making pizza. My buddy Mike from Cleveland gave me his pizza recipe a few years back, and it was pretty good. When we had it at Rashied's house, Mike made some and it was very good: crust was chewy and crisp, nice mild flavor.

Decided to do some research and came across a pizza recipe of a guy trying to emulate Papa John's pizza. Looked interesting so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here goes:

3 cups flour (I used 2.5 cups unbleached AP and .5 cup Bob's red mill semolina; original calls for King Arthur bread flour, or another high(er) gluten flour)
1 cup + 2 tbsp water
1/8 teaspoon instant dry yeast
3 tsp kosher salt
3tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable oil
2tbsp + 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 cups mozzarella, frozen a tiny bit and diced in food processor into small dice/pellets
About 40 pepperonis

1. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix with wooden spoon, then hands to combine, so there are no crumbs floating around at the bottom of the bowl.
2. Let rest for 20 minutes in a covered plastic tub on the counter.
3. Knead for 5 minutes on lowest setting with dough hook on stand mixer
4. Form into round, cover and refrigerate in plastic tub. It should stay there at least 3 days, (5 days is better) and can stay up to 8 days.
5. Remove from fridge, and let rest on the counter for 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees
   
6. Using a HEAVILY floured board (preferably a combo of semolina and unbleached AP), push down & stretch for form a 10" disc.
7. Dock whe whole thing using a dough docker (preferred), fork, or other homemade implement
   
8. Stretch to shape over a 14" pizza screen.
9. Sauce the pizza: start in the middle, and use a ladle to spiral outward.
   
10. Sprinkle the cheese: start around the outside edge, going in a circle. Continue to sprinkle in concentric rings, going inward.
    
11. Bake on the pizza disk in 500degree oven for about 8-9 minutes, watching carefully starting at 6 minutes.
    

Compare to Wolfgang Puck's pizza dough recipe from the Food NEtwork site:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 cup warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing

Less sugar (honey instead), less oil, different oil (olive vs. vegetable), and much more yeast. That makes sense, though, because his is meant to rise in 2 hours!

Compare that to Jamie Oliver's "Jamie At Home" pizza recipe (halved):

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1.5 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1.25 cup warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F
• 3.5 cups flour (2.5c high-gluten or 00 flour, 1.5c semolina)
  
• 1.5 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Jamie uses more oil, more sugar, more salt, and a tiny bit more flour. Same amount of yeast, similar rise times to the Wolfgang Puck recipe. Probably similar level of hydration. The PJ recipe has more hydration, which should lead to bigger holes. Lower yeast and longer ferment; I have found that it usually results in better flavor!

Incidentally, here's the breakdown of the PJ recipe by weight:

Flour (100%)
Water (56.5%)
Yeast, instant dry (0.14%)
Salt (1.75%)
Vegetable (Soybean) Oil (7.3%)
Sugar (4.8%)

We'll see how all this end up soon! :)

ED NOTE: After a rise time of about 5 days, it was barely risen, but it was soft. Did not brown very well; flavor was OK. Was not very chewy (need to add gluten and/or use high-gluten flour) and not much hole/porous structure. What I did learn is that adding a lot of sugar and oil to the dough really helps with the flavor of pizza crust.

Using a quick recipe (3 cups AP flour, 3 tbsp gluten, 1 cup + 1 tbsp water, 2 tsp instant yeast, 2 tsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp honey) yielded much better results with a less than 2 hour rise time. I think the biggest trick is using a rimless cookie sheet, parchment paper, and sliding the parchment + pizza direct onto pizza stone on lowest rack.

Thai Chicken Pizza

slim pickins 'n' thai chik'ns...

I like leftovers; they're very "homey" eating. Yesterday was mac & cheese & a leftover slice California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Pizza. I personally think CPK's food is delicious. My standard meal at CPK is a 1/2 Caesar salad and a BBQ Chicken Pizza.

I came across their recipe for Thai Chicken Pizza as listed in their book (available on Amazon.com), so I thought I'd share it. NOTE: the dough must be prepared the night before for best flavor. Worst case, you can use the dough after the first rise.

MAKES 2 PIZZAS
Spicy Peanut Sauce
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. hoisin sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp ginger, minced
2 tbsp sesame oil (Chinese or Japanese)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Vietnamese chili sauce (like Sambal Oelek?) or dried chili flakes
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp water

1 tbsp olive oil
10 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
Pizza stone

Pizza Dough
2 c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 scallions, slivered diagonally oriental style
1/2 c. white bean sprouts
1/4 c. Shredded carrot
2 tbsp chopped, roasted peanuts
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

To prepare Peanut Sauce, combine sauce ingredients in small pan & over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, and boil gently for one minute. Set aside. You will use 1/2 on the chicken and 1/2 on the pizza.

Heat pan over high heat, add olive oil, and cook chicken stirfry-style for 5-6 minutes. Do not overcook. Set aside in refrigerator until chilled through. Once chilled, coat with 1/4 cup of Spicy Peanut Sauce. Return to refridgerator to chill again.

Heat pizza stone in a very hot oven (500 degrees F.) for 1 hour. Shape dough into pizza round, and spoon 1/4 cup sauce evenly over pizza, spreading it around. Cover sauce with 3/4 cup of mozzarella. Save rest of mozzarella for later.

Next, add to pizza in the following order:
1. chicken pieces
2. green onions
3. bean sprouts
4. carrots
5. An additional 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella
6. roasted chopped peanuts

Bake pizza in oven for 9-10 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese at the center is bubbly. Remove pizza from oven, sprinkle with 1 tbsp cilantro.

Pizza Dough
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 c. plus 1 tbsp warm water (105 -110 F)
1.5 c bread flour (preferred) or all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (for coating)

Dissolve yeast in water and set aside for 5-10 minutes.

Place dry ingredients (flour, sugar and salt) into a 4-6 quart mixing bowl. Make a weill in the middle & pour in yeast/water mixture and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients. Once mixed, lightly oil your hands and knead dough for 5 minutes. When done, dough should be slightly tacky; that is, it should be barely beyond sticking to your hands. Don't knead more than 5 minutes, or the dough could be tough and rubbery; the same goes if you overmix the dough in a electric stand mixer. Incidentally, if you use a stand mixer, use the mixing paddle and not the dough hook for this batch size; the dough hook is too small to be effective for this batch size.

Lightly oil the doughball and the interior of a 1 quart glass bowl. Place dough ball in bowl and seal bowl with plastic wrap, with as much an "air-tight" seal as possible. Set aside at room temperature to rise until doubled; this should take about 1.5 to 2 hours at 70-80 deg. F.

1st rise has been completed. Punch down the dough, reform it into a round ball & return it to the same bowl, covering it again tightly with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refridgerator overnight.

2nd rise has been completed by the next morning. About 2 hours before you are ready to build your pizza, take the dough out of the refridgerator. Cut the dough into two pieces with a sharp knife. Roll the smaller doughs into round balls on a smooth, clean surface. Place newly formed balls in a glass casserole dish, spaced far enough apart to allow them to double in size. Seal dish with plastic wrap, as airtight as possible. Set aside at room temperature to allow them to double in size (about 2 hours). Now they should be smooth and puffy.

The 3rd rise has been completed. You can now carefully stretch out the pizza dough into rounds as desired. Dust your pizza peel in cornmeal, semolina, or flour, and transfer the stretched dough to the peel. Top your pizza with ingredients & bake.

Enjoy the pizza and buy the CPK Cookbook at Amazon.com.