Grilled Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pizza

I did it, I did it!!!  I made pizza dough and I made a kick ass pizza on the grill with it!!! WOOHOOO!!!  I have to put a very hefty thanks out to Andrea (The Kitchen Witch), once again, because if it wasn't for her and her bread instructions, I don't know if I would have felt as confident and I don't know that this pizza would have come out as well as it did.  I can say this because I have tried making pizza dough before (that was before I started the blog so it was not documented and the grilled pizza I did post, I used a purchased pizza dough) and it was ok, but it was not as good as this by far!  So, thank you Andrea, you just might make me into a baker yet!! :) 

I will admit to you, this was actually very simple...especially after spending all day making bread! lol  I mean, since my standing mixer does all the work for me, all I had to do was patiently wait 2 hours for the dough to rise.  SIMPLE!  The crust for the pizza came out perfect.  I did over cook it just a tad bit as I was worried of under cooking it, so it got a little charred here and there, but I believe that added flavor to the already delicious pizza.  I decided to not only use the chipotle chicken recipe I had made back in July, but I also added a little chipotle to the sauce, just to give it that extra kick.  And boy did it!  This was my favorite pizza yet. I  think I could even say It's a close tie between this and my favorite pesto pizza from our neighborhood pizzeria!  It seriously was that good.  I added a yellow pepper to it too, but you could easily skip it, or, if you are feeling really adventurous, you could caramelize some onions and use those!!  Once again, it's just a canvas, you can do what you want with it from here! There are a lot of steps in this process, but believe me, it's well worth it.... BUT, if you didn't want to go through all these steps,  you could easily cut some time by using purchased dough, rotisserie chicken, and purchased pizza sauce.

Grilled Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pizza

Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:

For dough-

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F.)

1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

1 1/4 cup water, room temperature

For the pizza sauce-
Adapted from Life's Ambrosia

1 canned chipotle pepper and 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce (processed in a food processor until smooth)

1- 8oz can tomato sauce

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon sugar

For the pizza:

1-2 Grilled Chipotle Chicken Breasts, sliced or diced

1 roasted yellow pepper, diced

1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

To make the dough:  In a small bowl or measuring cup, proof the yeast by adding yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar to the warm water.  Mix and let stand for 5 minutes.  It should bubble and double in size, if not, throw it away and start with new yeast.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, oil, and honey.  Add proofed yeast and water.  Mix until it all comes together.  If it's too wet, add more flour...to dry, add more water but only 1 tablespoon at a time.  Knead for 8 minutes.  You should have a smooth elastic dough that holds a ball shape but also starts to spread out when removed from the bowl.

Remove the dough from the bowl and rub with oil.  Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic and a towel.  Let rise for 2 hours.  When dough has doubled in size, punch it down to deflate it. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form both into a smooth round, ball and cover with a damp towel.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer then 30 minutes.   You can now either form both balls into your base or wrap in plastic and place in a Ziploc bag and store in the freezer for later use.

To make the sauce:  Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Set aside or let cool and store in sealed container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.  You may also freeze and store for up to 6 months.

To make the pizza:  Preheat your grill to medium low.  On a slightly floured surface, form dough (I made mine into sort of a large square, you might want to make two small round ones, though, it's up to you).  Brush one side with olive oil and then place a piece of aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray and brush the other side with oil. (you can skip the aluminum foil if you are more adventurous then me and put it directly on the grill grates)  Place aluminum foil with dough onto the grill grates.  Let cook for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown, rotating half way through.  Remove from grill and turn the dough around.  Place your sauce on the cooked side and top with chicken, peppers, and cheese.  Place back on the grill until crust is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbly, another 3-5 minutes.  Remove from grill and enjoy!!

***To bake:  Preheat oven to 500 degrees, place a pizza stone on the lower third of the oven and heat for at least 15 minutes.  Form dough and add toppings.  Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until the dough is baked through.***