Ok, you’re onto us. We clearly love BBQ chicken pizza. I think this is the fourth post about it. I’m hoping to share something that you’ll find valuable here, though. This post is all about how to get a homemade pizza (made with real food only) on the table in +- 40 minutes (including baking). Here’s how I shortcut the process:

Prep ahead tasks: I make Perfectly Baked Chicken ahead of time, maybe on Sunday if I’m cooking the pizza for a weeknight dinner. I also make whole wheat pizza dough in a bread machine. I start it in the morning so that the dough will be ready to shape when I’m ready to start preparing the pizza. My machine takes around 1 1/2 – 2 hrs to finish the dough. A bread machine can be a great tool for real food cooking. You can usually find them at thrift stores/craigslist for around $10 or free from a relative that got one as a wedding gift and never used it.

I use a store-bought sauce vs. making mine from scratch. I like the organic Full Circle brand with a bit of honey mixed in.

This is the pizza all prepped for the oven:

This is the pizza fresh from the oven:

Ingredients

Pizza Dough (Makes two med size crusts – can freeze half or make two pizzas. Follow your bread machine’s instructions. This recipe works for my old Oster bread machine.)

• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• 3 cups whole wheat flour (I like the organic sprouted whole wheat flour from Whole Foods)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Pizza Toppings

• BBQ Sauce 1/4 – 1/2 cup depending on preference for amount of sauce
• Chopped red onion – 1/4 cup
• Chopped tomatoes – 1/4 cup
• Perfectly Baked Chicken
• 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (or Italian cheese blend — again, more or less depending on your preferences)
• Cubed avocado (I didn’t have a ripe one, but it is excellent on this pizza)
• Chopped cilantro

Preparation

1. The night before or a few nights before make Perfectly Baked Chicken
2. The morning of, make pizza dough in bread machine
3. 40 minutes prior to when you want a fresh hot pizza on your table:
   1. Preheat oven to 450
   2. Roll dough into desired pizza crust shape
   3. Top with BBQ Sauce
   4. Add red onion, tomatoes, shredded chicken and avocado (I provided time for all the chopping and shredding)
   5. Top with cheese and then cilantro
   6. Bake for approx 18 minutes
4. Slice and serve!