Wheat Pizza with Chicken

Author Dan on April 7th, 2006

Believe it or not, this is a recipe for healthy pizza. It tastes great and still has tons of cheese on it. Unlike most reduced fat cheese, the one I selected for this recipe actually has a lot of flavor. This pizza is made in the traditional margherita style, with tomatos slices, basel, and cheese. I recommend using dried seasonings to help absorb some of the liquid created from the tomatos and ricotta cheese.

For those who are inexperienced at stretching pizza dough this one might be a little tricky. Using a rolling pin to form pizza is NOT how you do it. I include basic instructions below but it does take some practice to get it right.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup Sargento Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Italian (shredded)
1/4 cup Fat Free Ricotta Cheese
2-3 medium tomatos, sliced
4 oz chicken breast, 1″ slices
1 pinch (~1/4 tsp) of active dry yeast
1 pinch (~1/2 tsp) of salt
1 drop (~1/2 tsp) of honey (optional)
1 tablespoon of dried basel
3/4 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
1 tablespoon of dried oregano (optional)

1. Combine yeast and honey in 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir until both are disolved. Wait 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. The honey lets the dough rise much faster. It can be made without the honey if you plan on using the dough the next day. Just put it in the fridge overnight.

2. While the yeast is activating combine the salt and flour in a mixer. If you don’t have a mixer use a bowl.

3. If you haven’t already sliced the tomatos or measured out the cheese, now is a good time to do it.

4. Once yeast is active pour it into the mixing bowl along with the remaining 3/4 cup of water. Set mixer to 2 (low setting) and allow it to mix and then kneed for 5 minutes. The ingredients may not combine well with the kneeding hook. You may need to stop the mixer and help them.

5. Form dough into a ball and place in a sealed container OR cover with a damp cloth. If you’re using the dough the same day place it in a warm room or in sunlight and allow to rise for 10-30 minutes. Dough can be refridgerated instead if it will be used on a later day.

6. Place pizza stone in oven and heat it to 450 degrees. If you don’t have a pizza stone you can stretch a few layers of foil over the shelf. This will work but not nearly as well as a stone.

7. Once dough has risen you need to form the pizza shell. This can be tricky to do without holes, especially with wheat dough. DO NOT USE A ROLLING PIN, THAT IS NOT HOW YOU FORM A PIZZA! I will do my best to explain how you form a pizza, but some of it may be a little vague. Your best bet may be to go to your local pizza place and watch someone make a pizza.

First, cover your counter with wheat flour. Coat the dough in flour to keep it from sticking. If you let it rise for too long you may need to reform it into a ball and squeeze out some of the air.

Now, pick up the dough with both hands and hold it in the air so that the top is now facing you. Using your thumbs to support it, slowly rotate the dough around forming an indented ring about 1″ in from the outside edge. The dough should be almost hanging from your thumbs as you do this.

Put the dough back down on the table. At this point you should have a ~1″ ring of dough around the outside that is a bit thicker then the rest, followed by a ring that is thinner than the rest. The middle should be like a mound that sticks up in the middle. You now need to stretch this out on the table. This is when holes are created. Most holes can be fixed, but if they get too bad you can reform the dough into a ball and start over. This will probably only work once before you need to let it continue rising. Taking the heel of one of your hands, slowly push down on the center lump while rotating your wrist. This should rotate the dough and flatten the middle of the pizza a bit.

Once you have flattend the middle out a bit you can start stretching it. To do this place both of your hands loosely on the inside of the crust ring. Your pinkies should be touching the dough and your thumbs should be in the air. Without using too much pressure hold your left hand against the dough while moving your right outwards. This motion should both stretch and rotate the dough. If you stretch it too far you will rip it so start slowly and get an understanding of what you can and can’t do. If you do rip a hole in it try stretching the thick part back over it and sticking it to the other side. This can be hard to do with wheat dough as it doesn’t have as much gluten as all purpose flour. The dough isn’t as stretchy.

At this point you’ve probably ripped the thing to shreds, gotten flour all over yourself and your kitchen, and sworn up a storm. It’s ok, it takes practice. If you really mess it up and you can’t reform the dough ball throw it away and start over. Resist the temptation to use a rolling pin because that’s just wrong. Your crust will be flat and it will be oddly shaped.

8. Now that you have your dough formed it’s time for toppings. Place slices of tomato edge to edge.

9. Sprinkle on the bazel, garlic powder, and oregano.

10. Distribute the chicken over the pizza evenly.

11. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top. Using a spoon place small chunks of ricotta cheese around the pizza.

12. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has begun to brown and the crust is crunchy. Serves 2 (don’t eat the whole thing)

Nutrition Information (per serving)
Servings: 2
Calories: 365.5
Protein: 33 g (36%)
Carbohydrates: 48 g (52%)
Fat: 6.7 g (16%)

Percentages are based on calories. They don’t add up to 100% due to rounding.