Chicken and Spinach Pizza

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com
Made by: Cathy

I've been meaning to make pizza for a while now. I was a little intimidated at first because I haven’t had much experience making yeast bread. This was one of the easier recipes I've tried though. There was minimal hands on time, more waiting time than anything. The crust was nice and crispy with a chewy center. The original recipe probably made a really large pizza, or 2 smaller ones. It was just the 2 of us, so I halved the recipe.

This was a great way to use up my leftover chicken from the night before.

What’s funny is that first thing that Gary said after he took a bite was “Mmm, this taste like real pizza!” Um…I think that was the point!

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
cornmeal for dusting

For the topping:
1 cup pizza sauce (I used jarred pasta sauce)
1 cup low moisture shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if desired)
1 cup cooked chopped chicken
1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the salt and 1 tablespoon of oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 1 cup of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If using the dough hook of a mixer, gradually pour in the rest of the flour as the mixer is running on low speed. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. (I used saran wrap and a paper towel. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.

4. While the dough is rising, preheat oven with the pizza stone inside to 425° F (220° C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

5. Dust parchment paper with cornmeal. Roll out your dough to about 12" in diameter. Mix together the remaining oil, garlic powder, and onion powder. Brush the oil onto the crust. Pour the pizza sauce in the middle and spread in a circle with the ladle. Layer half the spinach on the crust. Layer half the chicken, then remaining spinach and chicken.

6. Transfer the pizza to the baking stone along with the parchment paper. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

The pizza was great for my first time making pizza. Next time, I will probably add some Italian seasoning to the crust. I meant to do that too, but I forgot. I can’t wait to try different toppings.