Friday Night Pizza - Pepperoni Braid and White Chicken Pizza

Pepperoni Braid

White Chicken, Garlic and Red Pepper Pizza

whole wheat dough
350 grams wheat kernels ground to flour or 300 grams wheat flour
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 cup water

1.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Knead for a few minutes until smooth.
3.  Add a bit of oil to a clean bowl and coat dough ball.
4.  Set covered bowl with dough aside to rise for about 30 minutes.

pepperoni braid
While dough is rising, assembly ingredients of choice - pepperoni, cheese, a few tablespoons of cream cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic salt.

Preheat oven to 400F.  Place pizza stone near bottom of the oven

When dough is ready (no longer springs back when pushed), cut ball in 2 portions.  For this version, I used about 2/3 of the dough for the braid and 1/3 for the pizza.  Next time I will go with half for each as the braid was a bit more bready than I like.

Roll dough out to a rectangle about 9X13 and lay ingredients down the middle of the long axis.

Using kitchen shears, cut into the dough as shown above, then fold and tuck.

Cover with a bit of egg wash if desired.  It gives the finished braid a nice sheen.

Place braid on a sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes in the center of the oven, not on the pizza stone.  Remove to a rack to cool a few minutes before slicing.

My Snack Buddy - roasted kale and pumpkin seeds

white chicken pizza
After the braid is in the oven, roll out the rest of the dough on a piece of parchment paper into a circle. 

Spread a few tablespoons of alfredo sauce on dough, followed by cooked chicken, minced garlic, and finely slivered red bell peppers.  Sprinkle a bit of cheese over the top.  I used a bit of my left over fried chicken from the other day - skinned and chopped breast meat.

preparing white chicken pizza

As soon as the braid is finished cooking, increase the heat of the oven to 525F.

Slide the prepared chicken pizza with the parchment paper onto the peel.  When the oven is hot, ease the pizza, still on the parchment paper, onto the pizza stone.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool a few minutes before slicing.

Serve braid with a bit of pasta sauce or alfredo sauce on the side for dipping.

Astrid