This pizza is the real thing. Take the time to make your own dough and cook it on a pizza stone for a crackling-crisp, chewy crust. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to make. I love the fact that the chicken is seasoned like Italian sausage in this recipe. You get the spicy flavour of fennel, basil, oregano, and red pepper without the greasy taste of sausage. Feel free to vary the toppings; just use a light hand for the best results.

Ingredients
Dough

• 3/4 cup warm water (110°F to 115°F)
• 1-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1-3/4 to 2 cups bread flour

Cornmeal for sprinkling

• 1/2 cup diced cooked chicken (1/2-inch dice)
• 2-1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup prepared pizza sauce
• 3/4 cup quartered canned artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup diced plum tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1-1/4 (5 ounces) cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1 To make the dough: Pour the water into a large bowl and sprinkle with the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes or until foamy. Beat in the whole-wheat flour with an electric mixer at low speed, using the flat paddle if available. Add the oil and salt, mixing until blended. Slowly beat in enough of the bread flour so that a dough forms and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl (the dough will be sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour). Beat for 5 minutes on medium speed to knead. (Alternatively, you can mix and knead the dough entirely by hand.) Lightly oil a large bowl, put in the dough, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Meanwhile, place an oven rack in the bottom position of the oven. Place a pizza stone on the rack and preheat the oven to 475 °F. The oven should preheat for at least 45 minutes for the best results. Sprinkle a pizza paddle or large baking sheet with cornmeal and set aside.

2 Toss the chicken in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the oil and the fennel, dried basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Combine the remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil with the garlic in a cup.

3 When the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 15-inch round. Place the pizzza dough on the cornmeal-strewn pizza paddle. Shake the pizza to make the dough with the garlic oil mixture and spread the pizza sauce over the surface of the dough. Top with the seasoned chicken, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red onion, and fresh basil. Sprinkled with mozzarella.

4 Slide the pizza directly onto the pizza stone and bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the crust is light golden brown on the edges and the bottom. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

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Excerpted from Chicken and Egg by Janice Cole. Published by Chronicle Books Copyright © 2011 by Janice Cole. Photo Copyright © 2011 by Alex Farnum. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved.