I am not much of a baker, but I am a bit picky when it comes to pizza. Generally, I don't care for pizza shop pizza too much. I mean, if I lived in New York or Chicago I would be loving the pizza. Otherwise, it's kinda... meh. You know? I will often reach for the already-made dough at the supermarket for pizza night, but decided to take the dough making into my own hands this time. I went all-in with testing a dough that makes an awesome homemade crust. So here we are: tasty homemade pizza dough with chicken, pesto, fontina & tomatoes. Or whatever toppings you want!
Chicken and Pesto Pizza Food Memory: Do You Have One Too?
You should make the pizza you want in life - that's what I always say. With this one, I was remembering a delicious pizza I used to get at a small cafe. I must have ordered this particular chicken and pesto pizza on 20 occasions over the years. It was the most satisfying gourmet pizza I ever tasted. I love the combination of chicken and pesto and with a little fontina and tomatoes? I'm soooo in. Their crust was also incredible and the pizza itself was an individual size. No sharing - yay! One key, for me, with this homemade pizza was brushing the dough with olive oil on both sides. It was part of what I loved about the cafe pizza and a necessary component of the flavor profile. It gave me some crispy edges and I love that olive oil flavor in the dough.
Homemade Pizza Can Go In So Many Different Directions
I love pizza night and I've been getting really into it lately. This particular pizza is me trying to recreate the cafe pizza dough from years ago. You can switch it up with toppings, of course, and use your own favorite ingredients. This recipe is really about how to make a tasty homemade pizza dough. When I tested this recipe, I made one with Italian sausage, diced tomatoes, roasted red pepper and onion that was delish. You can make it with chicken and pesto or you can use the dough recipe and choose your own toppings.
Check your freezer and pantry and see what you have on hand. I used what I had, with the exception of the cherry tomatoes - went out and bought those. I made one pizza with sliced cherry tomatoes and one with sun dried tomatoes I had on hand. Want ground beef and bacon? Go for it! Sliced tomatoes, cheese and fresh basil? Do it!
The Quick Doughs vs the Slow Doughs
There are so many ways you can make pizza dough. If you have time, let the dough sit out for as long as possible. This is actually my preferred flavor, but I understand your lives are busy and you want a quick dough. Some other time, when you have more time, let the dough sit overnight in a warm place and rise. Just let it rise. It won't rise in cooler temperatures. It must be warm. But for this recipe, because you just.want.your.pizza.now, we are making a quicker dough. And don't worry, it is a very tasty pizza dough. And even though I'm not a baker - I did take the time to test this recipe and it's really delicious.
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Bread Flour vs. All-Purpose for Pizza Dough
I'm not a baker - can I say that one more time? I say it mostly because I don't want people emailing me asking me all the sciencey questions about yeast, flour, water, and sugar. That's not my area and there are tons of baking websites where you can learn the sciencey/chemistry stuff about bread baking.
For me, I tested various ratios of ingredients based on flavor alone. And in my opinion, you're going to have a better tasting pizza dough if you use a combination of all-purpose flour and bread flour. Hands down. I made versions of this dough with just all-purpose flour and just bread flour. Neither were over-the-top delicious. When I combined the flours it made all the difference. The flavor was fantastic. And olive oil - that made the difference too. I used a teaspoon because I love a yeastier-tasting dough, and the recipe does work with a little more yeast as well... say a heaping teaspoon.
Topping Ideas for Your Tasty Homemade Pizza Dough:
- Italian sausage (cook it first), diced tomatoes, roasted red peppers, onion, cheddar jack cheese.
- Caramelized leeks & goat cheese (thyme or sage could work with this too)
- Sliced tomatoes, garlic, smoked cheddar and fresh basil
- Bacon, Arugula and Avocado with Parmesan and Jack Cheese (bake dough first - once done add the cheese and let it melt a few minutes in the oven. Let cool a couple minutes, top with arugula (tossed in oil & vinegar), chopped cooked bacon and avocado chunks)
- Mozzarella, ricotta, caramelized onions and garlic oil
Easy Steps for Making the Dough
Easy Steps for Assembling Your Pizza
Craving More Pizza or Snacky Things? I Gotcha Covered
- Sweet Potato Pizza w/Smoked Cheddar and Rosemary
- BBQ Chicken Pizza
- French Bread Pizza with Romesco Sauce & Eggplant
- Savory Puff Pastry Two Ways (Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Pecans & Eggplant, Tomato, Gouda
- Crunchy Coconut Chicken Fingers
- The Best Pan Fried Mozzarella
- Mom's Big Batch Spaghetti Sauce
Tasty Homemade Pizza Dough
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2 medium pizzas or 4 individual pizzas 1x
Description
Looking for a tasty homemade pizza dough? Well, I’ve got one for you along with a delicious chicken, pesto, fontina and tomato pizza.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ½ cups of bread flour
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 cup room temp or slightly warm water
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for brushing dough)
- 1 teaspoon rapid rise (aka fast rise) yeast
Pizza Toppings (use these or pick your own favorites!):
- 15 cherry tomatoes (approx. - depending on size)
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes (plus a little of the oil)
- 1 ½ cups fontina cheese
- ¾ cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 thin chicken breast cutlets
- salt & pepper as needed (suggested amounts below)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½-1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking chicken
- ¼ cup pesto
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, optional
ITEMS NEEDED: Rolling pin, large cutting board, flour sifter, large sheet pan
NOTE:This makes 4 individual pizzas or two medium-sized pizzas.
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Instructions
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Start with the dough. Add yeast, sugar and water to a large bowl. Whisk slightly and gently. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit about 10 minutes. It should foam a bit here.
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While the water and yeast is sitting, measure out your flour. We’re sifting the flour, so place your sifter over a bowl to begin. Use a butter knife to level the tops of the measuring cups and push the excess flour back into your flour container or bag. Add salt to the flour. Shake it through the sifter.
- When the water/yeast bowl is ready, sift the flour into the bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix with a spoon until the dough becomes shaggy. My video shows this well. Once it’s shaggy enough – switch to using your hands. Rub the dough around the bowl to get the bits from the sides.
- Dust your cutting board with a little flour and place dough on your board. Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Shape it into a ball. Spray non-stick cooking spray into your bowl. Place dough in bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- While dough sits, shred the fontina and parmesan cheese.
- Cut your cherry tomatoes in half and place on a plate or in a bowl – pulp side up. Season with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Probably no more than about ⅛ of a teaspoon each.
- Measure out a ¼ cup of sun dried tomatoes, plus some of the oil from the jar.
- Lay out your thin chicken cutlets on a cutting board. I used the already thin-cut chicken breasts – they were very thin (see video). You can use thicker if you want – will take a bit longer to cook so keep in mind.
- Season one side of the chicken with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Again, probably no more than ⅛ of a teaspoon of each.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan (high heat) and when it’s hot, add the chicken. Let cook for about 2-3 minutes on first side. My cutlets were so thin they were almost done at 3 minutes. Turn chicken and cook a minute more.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and cut into strips. Bite-sized pieces work well here. Set aside.
- If you are using the toasted pine nuts, toast them here. Put in a small sauté pan and heat on low for about 5 minutes, tossing a few times while cooking. They should be golden brown when done. Set aside and let cool.
- Add flour to a clean cutting board and put dough on the board. You can cut the dough into 4 equal pieces to make 4 individual pizzas or cut in half to make two medium sized pizzas. I cut mine in half.
- Take each half and re-shape again to make a more round dough ball. Use your rolling pin and roll up and down the dough. I prefer making oval pizza, but if you want round – go for it. Roll dough until it’s about ¼” in thickness or slightly thinner. You can really make this as thin or thick as you want.
- Once both doughs are rolled out – place them on a large sheet pan. If you don’t have a large enough sheet pan for both – use two sheet pans.
- You can use parchment paper on the sheet pan or not. I found that using parchment paper actually gave the pizza a little bit better of a crisp to the crust.
- Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a ramekin or small bowl. Brush both sides of the pizza dough with olive oil. Be careful when turning – the dough is delicate.
- Add cheese to both pizzas then the additional toppings. I made one pizza with the cherry tomatoes and one with the sun dried tomatoes.
- Cook pizzas in a preheated over at 475 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Ovens are different – yours may take a little more or less time. When edges start turning golden brown your pizza is done.
- After pizzas come out of oven, add dollops of pesto to both and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts if using.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Ovens are different and yours may take more or less time to cook the pizzas. Just keep your eye on it. When it's golden brown - it's ready.
- My toppings are suggestions. You can use my pizza dough recipe and do whatever you like for toppings.
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