Roasted Garlic Chicken & Mozzarella Pizza with Homemade Basil Pesto

• Gluten free

• Meat

  • 1 cup Chicken breast, cooked and sliced

• Produce

  • 2 cloves Garlic, Roasted

• Condiments

  • 1/3 cup Basil pesto, Homemade

• Dairy

  • 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese

Found on sallysbakingaddiction.com

Description

Ingredients

• 2-3 cloves roasted garlic, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup (80ml) Homemade Basil Pesto (or variations listed in that recipe or store-bought)
• 1 cup cooked and sliced chicken breast (about one 8-ounce breast)
• 1 and 1/2 cups (6oz or 168g) shredded mozzarella cheese
• optional: fresh basil for topping

Directions

• If you would like visuals for making the pizza dough in the next few steps, see this detailed step-by-step post. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes of until the yeast is foamy and dissolved. This is called proofing the yeast. If the yeast doesnt dissolve, your yeast is dead. Start again with active yeast. Add flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar. Mix by hand or with the dough hook on low speed for 1 minute. Once all of the ingredients are mixed, knead for 7 minutes by hand or with your dough hook on low-medium speed. If your dough is too wet, add up to 1/4 cup more flour. After kneading, your dough should be smooth and elastic. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn it over to coat all sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment (75°F (24°C) - 80°F (27°C)). For the warm environment, I heat up my oven to 200°F (93°C). Then, I turn the oven off and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, I close the oven door to trap warmish air inside with the rising dough. Depending on your type of yeast, your dough will have doubled in size in about 1 - 2 hours. After rising, punch the dough down to release the air. Divide the dough into two. Roll each half into a ball and let rest in two separate bowls lightly covered for 15 minutes. You may freeze one of the dough balls at this point to use at a later time because the toppings listed are enough for only one 12-inch pizza (see notes). Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow to heat for at least 30 full minutes. Every inch of your oven needs to be very, very hot. Grease and dust 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray or with olive oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal (preferred for flavor and texture) or flour. After 15 minutes, flatten ball of dough on a lightly floured surface. You could also do this directly on your cornmeal lined pizza pan. Flatten into a 12-inch round circle, flattening and stretching the dough. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on bakers peels dusted with cornmeal. Lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest for 15 minutes before topping. Top the dough evenly with garlic, then spread the pesto on top. Add the chicken then sprinkle on the cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes. For the last minute, I move the oven rack to the top rack to really brown the edges. Thats optional. Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil, if desired. Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Store leftover pizza covered tightly in the refrigerator and reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 1 month and reheated as desired.