Alabama White BBQ Chicken Bacon Pizza (with sourdough crust)
Molly LaFontaine
Every bite of this sourdough Alabama white BBQ chicken bacon pizza is creamy, savory, and slightly tangy! Each component is made from scratch from the dough to the sauce. You're going to love this recipe just as much as we do! It's my take on one of our favorite BBQ pizzas from Chattanooga, TN!
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 23 minutes mins
Dough Rising 10 hours hrs
Total Time 10 hours hrs 48 minutes mins
Course Dinner
Cuisine Sourdough, Southern
Sourdough Pizza Dough
- 1/4 cup fed sourdough starter
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp avocado oil or melted butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Alabama White BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise I like Kroger’s Simple Truth
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1/4 tsp hot sauce Franks is my favorite
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne
Toppings
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 LB. bacon uncooked (uncured is best)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1-2 Tbsp Optional- freshly grated Parmesan reggiano
Prep Your Starter
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED: Feed your starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. I recommend feeding it a 2:1 ratio of unbleached flour to filtered water to get the same results as I do when you make this recipe. Example: Feed 1 cup flour + 1/2 cup water and let the starter sit on the counter at room temperature until it's bubbly and has grow in the jar. Your starter needs to be active, bubbly, and a thicker consistency to begin this recipe.
Make & Ferment Pizza Dough
Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine (dough will be shaggy).
Use your hands to bring dough into a ball (add 1 Tbsp extra water if needed).
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 3 minutes.
Place dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel, seran wrap, or a lid loosely for 10 hours to bulk ferment. The dough should double in size. See notes for helpful information and troubleshooting.
Cook the Chicken
Add 1 tsp of avocado oil (or butter) to a pan and heat over medium until the oil is hot.
Season the chicken, on both sides, with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
Flip and cook an additional 10-12 minutes until chicken is cooked fully. You can easily check this by cutting into the thickest part with knife to see if it’s cooked.
When chicken is cooked fully, place on a plate and set aside for now.
Cook the Bacon
While the chicken is cooking preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the bacon strips on it so they’re not touching.
Sprinkle 1/4 tsp pepper over the bacon.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until bacon is fully cooked and crisp.
Carefully with tongs place cooked bacon strips on a plate to get out of the grease. Optional - you can dab them with paper towels or an old rag to get rid of excess grease.
Set aside for now.
Assemble & Bake Pizza
After dough has doubled, Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re using a pizza stone preheat the stone with the oven.
Roll dough section out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin to the shape and thickness you desire (1/4" for thin crust or 1/2" for hand-tossed). Make this a circle or rectangle. Up to you.
Optional- for a crust use your fingers to roll up just a tiny bit of the sides all around the dough.
Place rolled-out dough on a baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper or greased or preheated pizza stone.
Bake dough for 8 mins.
While it’s baking shred cooked chicken and chop cooked bacon into pieces.
Pull out of oven, add sauce, cooked chicken that’s been shredded, cooked bacon that’s been chopped into pieces, and shredded cheese. Optional- sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan on top
Bake for an additional 15-18 minutes until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.
Take out of oven and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Pizza
My favorite way to store this chicken bacon pizza is in a glass freezer-safe container in the freezer. It preserves the flavors of the chicken and bacon and keeps the texture perfectly. It'll keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
But you can also store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Making Ahead - Homemade Frozen Pizza Instructions
If you'd like to make this pizza ahead for an easy meal, I recommend preparing it completely all the way until the step to bake the fully assembled pizza.
So after you pre-bake the crust and add the toppings, let the pizza cool and freeze it instead of baking. You will want to wrap the pizza in a beeswax wrap or saran wrap multiple times to prevent freezer burn.
It'll keep in the freezer up to 1 month. When you're ready to bake it, preheat the oven and bake frozen like a frozen pizza from the store.
You may need to add a few more minutes to the baking time until the crust is fully cooked and the cheese is melted. The chicken and bacon are already fully cooked before freezing.
Best Way to Reheat Pizza
The best way to reheat any pizza, but especially this one, is in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Place the slices you'd like on a pan and warm about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
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