Tips and tricks for delicious thin crust pizza with creamy cheesy chicken alfredo topping. My all time
You would think that food blogger’s family eats hot and tasty meal from scratch three times a day, every day. Sad news! That doesn’t really happen. Nope, at least, not in this house. You see, the problem is not every recipe turns out great, and the wife, who loves to cook, doesn’t always wants to cook. And here is the naked truth: sometimes we eat frozen pizza for dinner! Yes, store-bought, pre-packaged frozen pizza. One delicious, super easy pizza, I should add. And my favorite is chicken alfredo. Oh soooo good, thin crispy crust, creamy cheesy chicken alfredo topping. Simply the best! But that was until I made my own, homemade version! From SCRATCH!
Oh my gosh, why on earth I haven’t made homemade pizza before? It’s so easy and so much more delicious! For some reason, I always thought that making pizza dough is complicated and difficult process. Apparently, it’s NOT!
When I sat down to do some research on this topic, I realized that it’s nothing more than making bread. I can do bread.
And because I love thin crust pizza, I did a little more research and through a few testing, I finally came up with the perfect recipe.
5 tips for perfect thin pizza crust:
- Just like bread, pizza dough develops its flavor through “fermenting”. The slower and longer you let the dough rise (”ferment”), the more flavorful it gets. Therefore, I chose slow, cold-rise method for my go-to pizza crust. I also found it’s effortless method for optimal flavor. For best result, weight the flour for accuracy, which will yield superior consistency.
- Bread flour or all-purpose flour? I tested with both, and honestly, I couldn’t tell much difference. Bread flour is high in protein, and supposedly best for thin crust pizzas. I didn’t see much difference though. So you can use either one.
- Pizza stone or baking sheet? I don’t have a pizza stone (<-will be fixed soon), so I used my baking sheet. Although I wished the crust was a little crispier, it wasn’t too bad. I’m definitely going to invest in pizza stone now. If you have a great recommendation, please let me know.
- Olive oil makes the dough more flexible and easier to work with. I added only 1 teaspoon of olive oil though, because more olive oil will make the crust softer.
- Make sure the oven is pre-heated well in advance. Place the rack on the second from the top rack.
Brushing olive oil on the pizza crust before putting the topping will 1. prevent the crust from getting soggy, and 2. brown the edges beautifully.
Oh and that chicken mushroom alfredo sauce is so creamy and flavorful! My absolute favorite sauce, and it’s ridiculously easy to make.
Now that I perfected my favorite thin crust, you’ll be seeing a lot more pizza recipes here. Tell me, what is your favorite pizza?
Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Ingredients
For pizza dough:
- ½ teaspoon active yeast
- 2/3 cup 155ml lukewarm water
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups 250gr bread, or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Alfredo Sauce and Topping:
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups 300gr cubed chicken breast
- 2 cups 150gr sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves pressed
- 1 cup 240ml heavy cream
- ½ cup 120ml chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¼ red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup 115gr shredded mozzarella cheese
- Corn meal for dusting
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast into 1/3 of cup (80gr) of lukewarm water. (Don’t use hot water, or it will kill the yeast.) Add the sugar and let it proof for 5 minutes. The mixture will start foaming, which means the yeast is alive.
- In a large mixing bowl with dough hook attachment, combine flour, salt, yeast mixture and the remaining 1/3 cup (75ml) of lukewarm water on low speed. (Alternatively, you can make this dough by hand.) Once the dough start coming together, add the olive oil. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Transfer onto a counter and cut into 2 equal parts. Form each dough into a ball, generously oil them and put them into separate ziplock bags. Refrigerate overnight. (You can also freeze them at this point. See notes for details.)
- The next day, bring the dough out of the fridge. Let it rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce and the topping. In a medium pan, heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Add chicken cubes and cook them covered for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F (250°C).
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms and brown them on medium high heat for a minute or two, stirring frequently. Add butter and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cream, chicken broth, salt and black pepper. Simmer the sauce for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s nice and thick. Stir in grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and transfer into a bowl and cool. (The sauce will thicken even more as it cools.)
- On a lightly floured surface, gently flatten the dough and stretch it into 8-10-inch circle, leaving the edges slightly thicker. Transfer the dough on a pizza stone or a baking sheet, dusted with corn meal. Brush on olive oil all over the pizza crust. Spread half of the alfredo sauce, sprinkle half of the chicken, mozzarella cheese and diced red bell pepper. Repeat with the remaining pizza dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. If needed, broil the pizza during the last minute for additional browning. Remove from the oven and let it rest for couple minutes, before cutting.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
Michelle at A Dish of Daily Life says
YUM!! This looks delicious…I need to try it! I know it will be a big hit here! 🙂
Shinee says
Yeah, it’s comfort food at its best!! 🙂
mila furman says
Hi Shinee…this beautiful pizza is one of my features at FoodieFRIDIY this week!!! Come on over and check out the other features!! Thanks for linking with us!
Shinee says
That’s awesome, Mila. Thank you for letting me know. 😉
Emily says
This pizza looks delicious! I’ve never had chicken Alfredo pizza before but now I definitely need to. I’ve included your recipe in my Five on Friday roundup today. Have a great weekend 🙂
Shinee says
Thanks so much, Emily!