Barbecued Chicken Pizza
This amazingly quick Barbecued Chicken Pizza is a Friday night favourite in our house.
Often by the time you decide you would like pizza, its too late to make the dough and allow it to rest and rise. But this recipe is quick and easy, and you don’t have to wait. Just 5 minutes of kneading and you’re ready to add the toppings. Get the kids to knead the dough – they love it and you’ll love it too!
As I have mentioned before, our family has been trying to avoid refined wheat and sugar. We use spelt flour because it makes us feel so much better. Spelt is an ancient grain widely recognised for its many health benefits. It has a slightly nutty flavour and a soft and silky texture. Spelt is a great substitute for wheat, with the added bonus of making you feel fuller for longer. The gluten in spelt has a higher water solubility than wheat, so nutrients are more easily absorbed, making it easy to digest. Try it – it tastes great!
Perfecting the best spelt pizza base has been a year-long process, and was not easy but definitely worth it. If you prefer to use wheat flour, substitute the spelt flour for 2 cups of self-raising flour, and omit the baking powder.
We cook our Chicken Pizzas on a pizza stone in the barbecue with the lid closed. It produces a perfectly crisp crust and gives an extra smoky flavour.
Chicken Pizza
- Tomato Pizza Sauce
- 400g crushed tomatoes (1 tin)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 handful basil, chopped
- salt and pepper
- Pizza Base
- 2¼ cups spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- extra spelt flour for kneading
- Toppings
- 400g cooked chicken, chopped
- ½ red onion, sliced
- 8 mushrooms, sliced
- 4 slices prosciutto, torn
- 100g feta, crumbled
- smoky barbecue sauce
- 1 handful rocket leaves
- Serves 4
To make tomato pizza sauce, place tomatoes, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in a small frying pan and boil on medium high heat for 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally and break up any lumps with your spoon. Then put aside.
To make the base, sift spelt flour with baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. To make sure the baking powder is mixed through evenly, sift again. Add yoghurt and olive oil and mix until it comes together.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface (ideally a wooden board so the dough doesn’t stick). Knead for 5–8 minutes, until elastic. Add more flour as you knead. It is ready when the top of the dough bounces back when pressed, leaving no indentation. Cut dough into quarters.
Roll dough to preferred thickness. Spread with tomato sauce, and then top with chicken, onion, mushrooms, prosciutto and feta, finishing with a squeeze of barbecue sauce. Transfer to hot pizza stone and bake for 10–15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove when pizza is cooked and allow to cool slightly.
Top with an extra squeeze of smoky barbecue sauce and rocket.
If you prefer, combine 2 cups self-raising flour with 1 cup Greek yoghurt. Follow the same instructions.
Where have you been all my life? I too have been searching for the prefect healthy pizza base and now I have found this and my search is over. It ticks all my boxes for the perfect pizza base – quick, easy and healthy but best of all its so yummy!
Thanks a lot for sharing!