Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Recipe

Preheat the oven to 450°F or 425°F for a convection oven. Lightly grease a half or three-quarter sheet pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup, add the warm water, active dry yeast and sugar. Stir until combined. Let the yeast mixture stand until creamy, about 5-10 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl add the bread flour, salt, olive oil and creamy yeast mixture.

Stir until the dough starts to come together, then knead until smooth. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Stretch the dough on the greased sheet pan. Pinch dough to form a crust ¼ inch from the edge of the pan. Place the crust in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Make the ranch sauce. In a pan on medium heat, melt the unsalted butter. Add the all-purpose flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes, making sure the mixture does not brown.

Slowly add milk while whisking and stir until smooth, thick and bubbly.

Whisk in salt, pepper, dry ranch dressing and garlic.

Add the Parmesan cheese and sour cream. Whisk for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir until the Parmesan cheese melts. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. 

Cook bacon in a skillet until slightly crisp and season with black pepper. Remove and chop. 

Add the cubed chicken thighs to the skillet and cook the chicken thighs until cooked through in the remaining bacon fat, seasoning it with salt and black pepper. Remove the chicken from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Spread the ranch sauce, mozzarella, gouda, chopped bacon, cooked chicken thighs, red onions and sundried tomatoes on the partially baked pizza dough. 

Place back pizza dough and bake another 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned slightly. Let the chicken bacon ranch pizza cool 5 minutes, then slice and serve. Enjoy!