Chicken Pizza

§ PROCEDURE

1. Make the dough: in a large bowl, combine 400 g flour, 240 g lukewarm water, 80 g ripe sourdough starter, 10 g salt, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold: wet your hand, grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward and fold it over to the opposite side. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat — that is one set of four folds. Do 2 sets of 4–8 folds total, resting a couple of minutes between each set. Cover and rest for another 30 minutes.
3. Divide and ball: turn the dough onto an unfloured surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces. Shape each into a tight ball by pulling the sides underneath and rolling against the surface to build surface tension. Place each ball in a lightly oiled container with a lid.
4. Ferment the dough: for same-day pizza, leave at room temperature for 4–6 hours until puffy and roughly doubled. For better flavor, refrigerate for 2–3 days — remove from the fridge 1 hour before shaping.
5. Make the pizza sauce: heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, ½ tbsp sugar, ¾ tsp salt, basil, oregano, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir, cover, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
6. Prepare the chicken: if using rotisserie chicken, pull or cut the meat into ½-inch cubes. If using raw chicken breast or thighs, season with salt and pepper and cook in a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, then cut into ½-inch cubes. The chicken should be fully cooked before going on the pizza.
7. Preheat: place the pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F (260°C). Allow at least 45 minutes for the stone to heat through completely.
8. Shape: dust your work surface lightly with flour or finely ground cornmeal. Place one dough ball on the surface. Press gently from the center outward and rotate as you go, pulling and stretching until the dough forms a disc of about 10–12 inches in diameter. Transfer the shaped dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Optionally, use a pizza dough docker to pierce the surface and prevent large air bubbles.
9. Top: spread 4–8 tbsp of pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border for the crust. Distribute 6 oz of shredded mozzarella. Scatter the chicken cubes evenly across the surface. Add the sliced red onion and kernel corn if using. Drizzle BBQ sauce generously over everything.
10. Bake: slide the pizza on its parchment paper onto the pizza peel and transfer it onto the hot pizza stone. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the crust edge is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling with light browning in spots.
11. Finish: remove from the oven and scatter loosely chopped cilantro over the top. Add more BBQ sauce to taste. Cut into slices and serve immediately. Repeat from step 8 with the second dough ball.

§ OBSERVED RESULT

The crust carries the same char pattern on its underside as the standard pepperoni protocol. The chicken cubes remain juicy, having cooked only briefly under the 500-degree heat. The BBQ sauce caramelizes slightly around the edges where it contacted the hot cheese. The cilantro, added after baking, remains fresh and bright against the dark glaze of the sauce. Earth specimens add more BBQ sauce at the table. This is the correct behavior.