Mini Pizza Recipe (Bread Machine Method)
Here I was, just browsing the social media, you know just minding my own business, checking to make sure that I didn’t miss anything important when I see Flatbread from Olga’s Flavor Factory… and OMG it looked so good! It’s been months since I used my bread making machine because I put it up high on the shelf and honestly, have been too lazy to get it down, but seeing her flatbread had me running to get it. I love how easy things are with the bread maker, you just pile things in, little over an hour later you get yourself a nicely kneaded dough ready to take on the world any topping you wish! I really went all out this time with my toppings, I mean we’ve got Baby Tomatoes, Olives, Spinach, Roasted Garlic, Chicken, Bacon, Feta, and if that wasn’t enough I put some caramelized onion in there as well. Did I mention that the white ‘sauce’ creates a nice and juice pillow for all the toppings? I am telling you, the pizza was out of this world!
You definitely don’t have to pile your pizza with that many toppings. Simple – tomato+basil+mozzarella (Margherita), chicken+roasted garlic, olives+feta+tomatoes (vegetarian), or a traditional topping of pepperoni’s on top would do just fine. Also, you can make one big pizza and have it served by slices, or make individual pizzas like I did and sprinkle each one with a different topping of choice. This whole ‘pizza for dinner’ idea is so versatile that any way you slice it, it’s a winner!
The high water content of the dough yields a fluffy, slightly chewy crust
So let’s see how it’s done…
First, you want to work on getting the dough into the bread machine-
- For this, combine 2 1/2 cups warm water, 1/2 Tbsp yeast, 1 tsp salt & 1 Tbsp sugar, and stir to combine.
- Leave for 5-8 minutes to proof. The yeast will rise slightly.
- Add 4 1/2 cups flour and 1 tbsp room temperature butter.
- Now add the egg. (I forgot to add it when I was adding the flour, so I added it after the cycle was already started)
- Turn your Breadmaker to a ‘dough cycle’ that has 2 rises, instead of 1. Mine was 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Allow the machine to knead the dough. At the end of the cycle, the dough will be pretty sticky and slightly runny.
Roast the garlic-
- Take 2 heads of garlic and slice the top off, revealing the cloves.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Wrap in foil and place in preheated to 350F oven. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Once roasted, carefully open the foil allowing the steam to escape. Let cool.
- Now squeeze the garlic out of the shell by starting to squeeze from the closed-end and allow the garlic to slip out. Set aside.
While the dough is rising work on your toppings.
- First, cut the bacon lengthwise.
- Now chop it into little cubes.
- Render bacon over medium heat, until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Discard the fat. Wipe the skillet.
- Now on the same chopping board chop 1 medium onion into cubes.
- Sautee in 1 Tbsp oil, until golden in color. Then remove with a slotted spoon, but save the oil.
Cook the chicken and sauce-
- Butterfly the chicken breast, by cutting into 2 thinner pieces. Season on both sides with chicken seasoning, or use garlic powder, salt & black pepper.
- Brown chicken on both sides, in a hot skillet with leftover oil, over medium-high heat.
- Allow to cool, then slice into thin pieces and sprinkle with seasoning (w/o salt) if desired.
- Make the ‘white sauce’. Combine 1 cup cream cheese (8 oz) with 1 cup milk and smooth/mix both together with a whisk or a spoon.
- Add 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt & black pepper. Stir to combine.
Form the pizza and bake-
- Divide the dough into 10-12 pieces. Set them to rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Oil your hands and stretch each dough ball to about 5-6 inches across. Spread 2 Tbsp of the white sauce.
- Place a couple of chicken pieces on top.
- Sprinkle some bacon.
- Now the roasted garlic chunks.
- Next the caramelized onion.
- Sprinkle with 2-3 Tbsp of cheese, or however much you would like, I went easy on the cheese, for the sake of saving some calories. I used a combination of 2 kinds of cheese – mozzarella & medium cheddar, but you can put whatever cheese you like best. Next place tomato halves, chopped olives, and leaves of spinach. If you’re really afraid of burning the spinach leaves, put them first, then sprinkle the cheese on top, and continue with olives and tomatoes. If at this point you leave the pizza for 15 minutes to rise, it will give you a fluffier, so it’s recommended, but not mandatory.
- Bake in a 425F preheated oven, in the lower half of the oven for 10-12 minutes or until both the bottom and the top are golden in color. Now serve and Enjoy!
More Dinner recipes to try:
- Pretzel Dog Recipe – Hot dogs wrapped in dough.
- Quick Chebureki – Regular flour tortillas to make these crispy pockets filled with a succulent meat filling.
- Brussels Sprouts & Beef Liver Stir-Fry – Simple 30-minute meal.
Homestyle Meditarean Pizza (Bread Machine Method)
An amazing homemade mini pizza recipe made in the bread machine topped with cheese, and other desired toppings.
Ingredients
Dough
White Sauce
- 1 8 oz package or cream cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Roasted Garlic
- 2-5 heads garlic
- Salt
Toppings
- 2 chicken breasts butterflied
- Chicken seasoning or 1 tsp garlic powder, salt & pepper
- 1 cup baby tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup olives pitted, cut in half
- 1 medium onion chopped, sauteed
- 5 bacon slices chopped & rendered
- 1/2 cup Feta crumbled
- 2 cups spinach
- 3-4 cups shredded cheese (Mozzarella or any other you like)
Instructions
-
To make the Dough:
-
In the bowl of a mixer or that of the Breadmaker combine 2½ cups warm water, ½ tbsp yeast, 1 tsp salt & 1 tbsp sugar. Stir. Allow to sit undisturbed for 5-8 minutes, until slightly puffed up .
-
Add 1 egg, 4½ cups all-purpose flour & 1 tbsp butter. If using a mixer, knead on lowest setting for 5 minutes, then increase it up to the next speed and knead for another 20 minutes. Then cover and leave undisturbed in a draft free, warm place for 1 hour to rise. If using a bread maker set the cycle to 'dough cycle'.
Roast Garlic
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Cut the top off the garlic heads revealing the cloves. Sprinkle with salt, wrap in foil & bake in oven @350F for 35-40 minutes. Once roasted, remove from oven, let cool, squeeze out of the skin and set aside.
Render Bacon
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Cut bacon lengthwise, then chop into small pieces. Render over medium heat in a skillet until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Discard fat. Wipe skillet with paper towel.
Sauté Onion
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Add 1-2 tablespoons oil to skillet, add chopped onion and sauté until golden in color. Remove with a slotted spoon to a separate dish. Reserve oil.
Prepare Chicken
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Butterfly chicken by cutting it lengthwise into two thinner pieces. Season with chicken seasoning, or garlic, salt & pepper on both sides. Brown in preheated skillet on both sides, until golden. Remove. Let cool enough to handle. Cut into slices. Set aside.
Make 'white sauce'
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Combine 1 pack cream cheese and 1 cup milk in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add seasoning. Stir. Set aside.
Shape and make your pizzas
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Once the dough cycle is complete, punch down the dough. Divide into 8-9 pieces and let rest.
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Turn oven to 425F. Set the rack to the lower half of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or oil.
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Stretch the dough into a 5-6 inch circle. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of the white sauce.
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Place some chicken on top of the white sauce, then follow with chunks of garlic, sautéed onion, bacon bits, cheese, tomatoes, olives & spinach. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until top and bottom are golden in color. Serve right away or refrigerate and reheat in oven (at 350 for 6-7 minutes).
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thanks for the awesome recipe!!! def. will give it a try
Thanks Malvina!
Thank you for including pictures! The recipe looks great, need to try it out.
Thanks Inna!
Wow! We just made this! Wish I could upload the picture! So gorgeous and delicious!!thanks soo much! I did my dough in the mixer and it rose beautifully in warm oven. Love it!
Wow! This looks so delicious and so smart making the dough in a bread machine. I’m going to have to try this. Thanks for the great recipe.
I love the step by step pictures. It’s so helpful especially in baking for starters like me. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into your blog. Your recipes are amazing!
You’re welcome Natasha! Thank you for visiting my blog and for leaving such wonderful comments 🙂
That looks amazing! Wish I had a bread machine
Thanks Marina! If you read the recipe instructions, you will see that you can use the mixer, or even use your hands to knees the dough together 🙂 now you know and can make it 🙂
And here I am trying the cut the carbs… What an awesome recipe!
Just half the recipe and invite someone to share it with a green salad 🙂 that is what I did 🙂 carbs are not bad, the portions we eat them in, are bad lol
Marina!!!! When I saw your post I almost cried from joy. I cannot believe you have posted step by step pictures! Eeeekkk. Thank you. Your pictures look fabulous. I will definitely try this pizza crust soon. 🙂
Oksana lol, everyone keeps asking for step by step pictures and I thought I’d give it a try, it’s a far cry from what I would like them to be, but I guess it’s better than nothing))) enjoy and let me know how you like it when you do 🙂