Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Caramelized Onion Pizza From Scratch

July 22, 2012
I love pizza! I could live off of pizza alone.  Breakfast pizza, pizza with a salad on top of it, bagel pizza,crispy crunchy thin crust pizza. I love them all!
When I was little, my family ordered Pizza Hut pizza every Saturday night. As our flavor choices and toppings started to change as we aged, we had to order, like, four different pizzas. Then we had to get whatever gimmick they had going at the time; cheesy crust or the breadsticks.
If it wasn’t for the Book It reading program and the prospects of free pizzas, we would have stopped doing pizza nights a long time before we actually did and would have read way fewer books over the summer.
As I have gotten older, I have developed a love for either super thin crust pizza or deep dish Chicago style pizza. I don’t really eat pan pizza anymore. I now also like to make my own pizzas at home and, thanks to the availability of premade pizza dough at Trader Joe’s, every weekend there is a pizza night in our house.
I have rarely ever attempted to make my own pizza dough from scratch due to my fear of yeast, but thanks to this super easy recipe from Food & Wine, I have a surplus of little 10” pizza dough balls in my freezer ready to go any night I have a craving for super crispy delicious pizza.
Ingredients (Makes 4, 10-Inch Pizzas)
For the Dough:
1 Package Active Dry Yeast (1/4 Ounce)
1 Teaspoon Honey
¼ Cup Warm Water, not over 110 degrees F
2 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
½ Cup Whole Wheat Flour, plus more for dusting
½ Cup Brown Ale at Room Temperature (I used Newcastle)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ Cup Room Temperature Water
For the Toppings (Tops two pizzas):
1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1/3 Cup Brown Ale (Left-over Newcastle)
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 ½ Tablespoons Butter
½ White Onion, thinly sliced
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
To make the dough, add the warm water along with the honey to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Pour the yeast on top of the water/honey. Let sit for four minutes, until the yeast becomes active and foamy.
Add the regular flour along with the whole wheat flour, ale, olive oil, salt and ½ cup water to the bowl. Mix on medium speed for about five minutes, until smooth. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead for two minutes.
Lightly oil the inside of the bowl of the mixer and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area for about an hour.
Meanwhile, add the chicken breast to a small pan along with the balsamic vinegar and brown ale. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer the chicken for twenty minutes, turning once. By that time the ale and balsamic vinegar should turn to syrup around the chicken breast. Remove the chicken breast, place on a plate, and use two forks to shred the chicken. Return the chicken to the pan, cover with a lid, and turn off the heat.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium/low heat. Add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook for about twenty minutes over medium/low heat until they start to turn caramel in color. Once the onions are caramelized, turn the heat off and let the onions sit off to the side until the oven is heated and the pizzas are ready to be baked.
After an hour the dough should be billowy and risen slightly. Divide the dough into four small balls. Set on a slightly oiled pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough balls rise for another fifteen minutes.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Once the oven is preheated, add a pizza pan or pizza stone to the oven. Let the pan heat up while you roll out the dough to a thin 10 inch pizza, about 20 minutes.
Top the two pizzas with even amounts of shredded chicken, caramelized onions, and shredded cheese.
Pull the pizza pan out of the oven. Add a light dusting of whole wheat flour to the hot pan. Transfer one of the topped pizzas to the hot pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the crust is deeply golden. Follow the same instructions for the next pizza.
Two of the pizza dough balls can be wrapped and frozen for up to one month until ready to use.
Top each pizza with some fresh basil and some balsamic syrup for a truly fancy adult pizza! Oh, you fancy now!
Pizza dough recipe from Food & Wine 

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  • Debra
    July 27, 2012 at 3:48 pm

    Cool pizza memories. It does seem like pizza plays a big part in most families’ lives—pizza night, ordering in for momentous TV events, etc. (I wonder how many pizzas will be ordered tonight as people sit down to watch the opening ceremonies?) I love balsamic anything (and anything pizza)! 🙂

  • Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
    July 27, 2012 at 11:51 am

    Oh, I love this! I am a sucker for balsamic vinegar. This pizza looks incredible!

  • DB-The Foodie Stuntman
    July 23, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    Balsamic chicken on pizza sounds yummy!

  • MissMessy
    July 22, 2012 at 4:53 pm

    i just love balsamic on pizza.. yummy!!

  • Wendy @ AMFT
    July 22, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    This looks and sounds amazing! I love all types of pizza too though I’m starting to not like pepporoni anymore….it’s too boring. LOL!

  • Tya @ Note Etc.
    July 22, 2012 at 8:38 am

    I love pizza too, me and my sister used to bought Pizza hut too at week end. but we have to decrease eating pizza hut,healthy cause reason. but when I miss to eat Pizza I would make the dough and topping by myself just like you, your pizza turn out great, and looks delicious, I love it so much

    cheers