Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza. Better than take Out! A flavour explosion of tempting toppings on the thinnest and crispiest pizza crust ever. Perfect for pizza parties.

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza!

Originally published October 5, 2007.  

Pizza night is always special at our house. It’s a favorite meal for kids and adults alike.

This barbecue chicken pizza is often the reason to plan a pizza night. This crispy, thin crust pizza is everyones favourite around here.

We also use it for entertaining, by throwing a make-your-own pizza party!  We let guests top their own individual pizzas to suit their own taste.

Those pizza parties are always a big hit!

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza ! Better than take Out!

Make them smaller.

Sometimes for entertaining, we will make this recipe as smaller, individual sized pizzas. We then cut those pizzas into small slices and serve them up as finger foods to enjoy with evening drinks and nibbles.

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza ! Better than take Out!

That’s a particularly good idea when hosting a pub grub themed night. Those themed nights are particularly great for Super Bowl Parties or any game-day get together.

We serve any of our many versions of Chicken Wings, and maybe some Pulled Pork Nachos for good measure. Nobody leaves hungry that’s for sure!

It’s always been thin crust pizza in our house!

Everyone in our family prefers thin crust pizza, in Neapolitan style. A blasting hot pizza stone, a thin crust plus the best quality toppings and you can make pizza at home to rival any pizza joint.

Spouse and I shared this Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza recently. Sun dried black olives are one of my favourite toppings.

Actually, for us it is often better than many local pizza joints. A thick stogy crust and the cheapest toppings are not something that interests anyone around here.

The pizza sauce recipe is a hybrid tomato and barbecue sauce.  You can use a smoky BBQ sauce from the store or try this incredibly delicious homemade version.

Make Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza as calzones

I love turning almost any pizza into a calzone. This often happens the day after a pizza night.

If there is a leftover ball of dough, we stuff it with whatever toppings were leftover. I look forward to those calzones as much as the original pizza!

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Calzones. Better than take Out!

Here I used a half ball of dough, about 4 ounces, and rolled it out to about a 8 inch round. I then  added about half the amount of toppings that I would use on a pizza

I keep the sauce & toppings on one half of the dough about an inch away from the edges. Then, I pinch the edges together and roll and fold the edge of the semicircle toward the center to seal.

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Calzones. Better than take Out!

Cut a couple of small slits in the top with the tip of a sharp knife and cook on a pizza stone as you would the pizza for up to 12 minutes or until the outside is well browned.

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Calzones. Better than take Out!

Caution! Let those calzones cool down!

Be sure to let them cool down before eating them though, especially when serving them to little ones. The filling do get incredibly hot inside that crust and can easily burn your mouth if you are not careful.

I always let a calzone rest for 15 minutes or more before serving.

Love pasta as much as pizza?

If you can’t get enough of great pasta dinner recipes too, please check out our collection of 20 Best Pasta Dinners! I could easily live on great pizza and pasta alone!

Like this Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza recipe?

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Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Yield: 8 individual pizzas or 4 large

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes

Crispy Thin Crust Barbecue Chicken Pizza. A flavour explosion of tempting toppings on the thinest and crispiest pizza crust ever. Perfect for pizza parties.

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Ingredients

For the Pizza Dough

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• 6 cups 00 Tipo Flour (approximately, the recipe will work with all purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 2 ¼ cups lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional, omit for crispier crust)

For the BBQ Pizza Sauce

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• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
• 4 cups San Marzano canned tomatoes, pureed (or canned plum tomatoes)
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp sweet basil
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ cup of your favorite smoky barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce (optional) or 1/4 tsp chipotle powder

Toppings. Choose any you like or add your own.

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• Grilled boneless skinless chicken breast cut in slices.
• Pre-cooked bacon
• Kalamata olives
• Roasted red peppers
• Sautéed red onion
• Cheese: Use any combination you like cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan or Monterey jack cheese

Instructions

To Prepare the Pizza Dough

1. Mix dry ingredients together except for two cups of the flour.
2. Add the warm water and mix very well with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the remaining flour a little at a time until a soft dough forms.
4. You may need to use a little more or a little less flour, just don't add so much that the dough gets too stiff. Dough that forms into a ball easily but remains soft and a little sticky to the touch is ideal.
5. Remove to a floured breadboard or your counter top and knead for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Allow dough to rest for 2 hours, covered in a warm place or until doubled in size.
7. Knead again for 5- 10 minutes and split dough into 4 - 8 portions (depending upon pizza size, 4 large or 8 individual pizzas, approximately) and allow to rest for 20 minutes before rolling or stretching your dough into the desired size.
8. NOTE: Although not completely essential, I always make my pizza dough a day ahead and cold proof it in the fridge overnight.
9. Do this, immediately after the second kneading, when the dough is formed into balls.
10. Place it in a long plastic container that has been lined with parchment paper and then well dusted with flour.
11. Cover and store in the fridge overnight. Allow the dough to come up to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before using it.

To prepare the BBQ Pizza Sauce

1. In a large saucepan sauté  the garlic in the olive oil for one minute.
2. Add all of the remaining ingredients for the sauce.
3. Simmer all ingredients together over low heat for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

Preparing the pizza for the oven

1. Preheat your pizza stone in middle rack of your oven for half an hour at 550 degrees F. Stretch or roll your pizza dough into rounds and place on a wooden peel that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. The cornmeal will allow the pizza to slide off the peel (I’ve even used a thin piece of cardboard in a pinch if you do not have a peel.)
2. Make sure your pizza is sliding on the cornmeal base before adding your toppings.
3. Spread pizza sauce over the crust plus a little cheese.
4. Add desired toppings.
5. This type of thin crust pizza cooks very fast (only 8 minutes in my oven) so a single layer of toppings is best. Resist the temptation to pile the toppings high on this particular pizza.
6. I use cheese that's cut into small cubes rater than grated because it stands up to the heat better in the high heat. Grated cheese may actually burn or brown too much at this heat.
7. Shake your peel to make sure the pizza is not stuck. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone, shaking it slightly in a back and forth motion as you slowly retract the wooden peel.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes depending upon your oven. Bottom and top crust should be nicely browned.
9. Allow pizza to sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

Another excellent option for the pizza crust that takes very little effort and can be started a day in advance, is to use the dame dough as our No-Knead Bread recipe. CLICK HERE TO FIND IT.

To make calzones. 

• Use half ball of dough, about 4 1/2 ounces, and roll it out to about a 8 inch round.
• Add about half the amount of toppings that I would use on a pizza
• Keep the sauce & toppings on one half of the dough about an inch away from the edges. I then pinch the edges together and roll and fold the edge of the semicircle toward the center to seal.
• Cut a couple of small slits in the top with the tip of a sharp knife and cook on a pizza stone as you would the pizza for up to 12 minutes or until the outside is well browned.
• Be sure to let them cool down before eating them though, especially when serving them to little ones. The filling do get incredibly hot inside that crust and can easily burn your mouth if you are not careful.
• I always let a calzone rest for 15 minutes or more before serving.

Nutritional value is calculated without toppings, for just the crust and sauce.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1 individual pizza
Amount Per Serving Calories 261Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 27mgSodium 1833mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 4gSugar 19gProtein 11g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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