Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Happy Pizza Friday!

Friday night pizza dinners have always been something that we did in my house growing up and it’s a tradition that I keep going now that I have my own place. Seriously, what’s more comforting that coming home to and having the most epic comfort food for dinner to kick off the weekend?!

With March Madness going on, I’m mashing up my Friday night dinner staple with one of my favorite game day foods – chicken wings!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza is all the flavor of the original chicken wing in easy-to-eat pizza form!

Also, this is probably the easiest pizza to make as you can do a lot of the prep the night before!

To make an easy Friday night dinner, I make the pizza dough the night before and pop it (unrisen!) into a plastic zip top bag with some olive oil and let it rise in the fridge. I love this method as the crust gets a yummy, fermented/beer/sourdough-esque flavor that can’t be beat! I also make sure to cook up 1-2 extra chicken breasts whenever I’ve got them, shred them, and freeze the shredded chicken for easy use later! Then when Friday night rolls around, the pizza crust comes to room temperature on the sheet pan while the open preheats and I just pull out the chicken I thawed during the day from the fridge. *Note: for proper food safety, thaw food in the fridge and then cook completely to kill any bacteria!

All that’s left is to toss the chicken with some Buffalo sauce (I use Frank’s, but you use what you love!), plop it onto the pizza, top with a good amount of sliced red onions (trust me, you’ll regret if you don’t add them), and top with some mozzarella cheese! I recommend buying the block of cheese and grating it yourself – it’s cheaper, stays fresher in the fridge longer, and melts 1000x way better than the pre-shredded stuff!

Bake at 450 on the lowest rack in your oven until the crust is golden on the bottom and the cheese is bubbly! Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes to allow the molten cheese to cool slightly and then serve with carrot/celery sticks and the latest college basketball game!

If that isn’t a Friday night chicken pizza dinner winner, I don’t know what is!

Happy Friday, everyone!

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Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Makes 8 servings | Time: 3hr, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• For the Crust
  • 1 cup warm water, 105-100 degreesF
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon olive pil
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• For the Pizza:
  • 2 heaping cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 1/4 cup + 1-2 tablespoons Buffalo sauce, I like Frank’s Buffalo Sauce (not the regular hot sauce)
  • 2 tablespoons chicken broth
  • 1/2-1 medium red onion, sliced
  • 6-8oz shredded mozzarella cheese, depends on how much cheese you like on your pizza

Steps:

1. For the Crust:
   1. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow yeast to bloom/activate for about 10 minutes.
   2. When the yeast has bloomed, add in the olive oil, salt, and bread flour. Mix together by hand or using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
   3. If you want to make pizza tonight – place the dough in an oiled bowl and allow to rise about 2 hours until doubled in size and puffy.
   4. If you want to make pizza tomorrow – place the dough into a zip top bag with some olive oil and place in the fridge for up to 12 hours.
   5. When you want to make the pizza, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place a rack in the lowest setting in your oven.
   6. Spread the pizza out on a greased, rimmed baking sheet. Allow the dough to rest for 5-10 minutes if you are having resistance rolling it out – this will allow it to relax and allow you to roll it out more!
   7. When the oven is preheated and the dough is rolled out, prepare your toppings.
   8. Mix shredded chicken with Buffalo sauce and chicken broth until saucy. Spread evenly across the dough. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of additional Buffalo sauce over the chicken.
   1. Top chicken with red onion slices.
   2. Spread shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the chicken and onion.
   3. Bake the pizza at 450 for 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden on the bottom and the cheese is bubbly!
   4. Allow to cool for 5 minutes prior to cutting into and devouring!