Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza
Why I Love This Recipe
Inspired by one of my favorite pizza places on the central coast of Santa Maria, Ca. Klondikes Pizza. The chicken cordon bleu is great tasting pizza. Has some amazing flavors that come from the combination of ranch dressing swiss cheese and bleu cheese.
Ingredients You'll Need
Pizza Dough:
3/4 cup warm water
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast
2-3 cups of Bread Flour
3 tsp Wheat Gluten (Important, you can find this at most health food stores or online. I order mine from Amazon.com)
Other Ingredients:
2 skinless partially cooked chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper cut into cubes (Dont over cook. The rest of the cooking will be done when its on the pizza)
1/4 cup of Ranch style salad dressing
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 slices of swiss cheese
3-4 slices of provolone cheese
1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/8 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1/2 of red onion chopped
1/4 cup of crumbled bleu cheese
Canadian Bacon (However much you like)
1/4 chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Directions
Heat the water until it feels warm but not hot in a small bowl. Add the packet of yeast, olive oil and salt and mix with spoon. Your going to set this aside for about 5 min. This is called proofing the yeast.
Your going to add the rest of the dry ingredients for the dough into a bowl and mix well. Then add the yeast mixture. If you have a countertop mixing machine use a kneading attachment and run it at its lowest setting for about 15 min. You want the dough to be slightly sticky but not stick to your hands when touching it. Add small amounts of flour every 2-3 minutes until it reaches this consistency.
Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large slightly oiled bowl. I spray it lightly with PAM. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1.5 hrs. Punch it down, re-cover it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for about 2-4 hrs. Dont skip the fridge part. This will give the dough a great texture and will have those irregular size holes bubble in the crust.
When the dough is ready take it out and roll it into a circle to fit your favorite pizza pan or pizza peel. If using a pizza peel, lightly coat the peel with cornmeal.
Pre-heat the oven to 550 degrees. If your using a pizza stone then place your stone in the over while its pre-heating.
Toppings:
Spread the ranch dressing evenly over the dough surface.
Top with the Swiss cheese, Provolone cheese, Mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle on the chopped red onion
Evenly spread out the canadian bacon over the pizza.
Evenly spread out the cooked chicken pieces over the pizza.
Evenly spread out the grated cheddar cheese over the pizza.
Baking:
If your using a pizza peel and plan on baking it on a baking stone then sprinkle some cornmeal on the pizza stone about now. Open the oven door and using your pizza peel slide the pizza onto the stone. If your using a pizza pan simply place the pizza in the oven.
Once in the oven drop the temperature down to 475 degrees and bake 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven when ready and sprinkle with some of the fresh parsley.
Cut and enjoy
