One thing that you should know about us, if you don’t already know it about us, is that we love Buffalo wings. They are our very favorite.
We lived abroad in Romania for two years. We yearned for many American foods. The one that we craved most: chicken wings. Of course, they had chickens there, and those chickens had wings. Romanian cuisine, despite its many splendors, offers nothing akin to a spicy buffalo wing.
After we returned stateside, we moved to Chicago. There was a bar in Lincoln Park, Lion Head Pub, which offered all-you-can-eat wings on Friday evenings at a very reasonable price. We’d go and eat and eat and eat until we couldn’t eat any more. It was glorious. We gained some weight during this period.
As much as we enjoy Buffalo wings, we’ve always scoffed at Buffalo chicken pizza. We saw it as a weak homage. Buffalo chicken pizza, at least the ones that we tried, didn’t taste much like Buffalo wings except that familiar saucy tang. Regardless, if we wanted pizza, we could order a pizza, and if wanted wings, we could order wings. Duh.
In the lead up to the Super Bowl, all we saw on Instagram were blogger photos from their Buffalo wings recipes. That annoyed us. We doubt that they really love wings. Not like us. Most of these photos were shallow ploys to drive traffic to their respective blogs. While this annoyed us greatly, those photos of wings also sparked our appetite. We decided to see if our gentlemanly touch could help fix the Buffalo chicken pizza.
We made three key modifications. First, we used chicken thighs. Every Buffalo chicken pizza that we’ve seen had chicken breast, but dark meat tastes better. Second, we incorporated blue cheese. Meant to be dipped, Buffalo wings cannot be replicated without the flavor of blue cheese (or ranch). Third, we minimized the distraction from other cheeses. Yeah, pizza needs melted cheese, but a Buffalo chicken pizza shouldn’t be a cheese bomb. We used a little mozzarella, and let the chicken and blue cheese shine.
The verdict? It was delicious. Seriously. Try this Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Pizza. We made ours with semolina dough, which is a little chewier and sturdier than regular pizza crust
Semolina Pizza Dough
Ingredients
enough for two pizzas
- 1 1/2 cups of water, warm
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of semolina flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
Directions in a Bread Maker
We make our dough in a bread maker (a Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso) because, well, it is easier. Add wet ingredients to the bread pan then dry ingredients other than yeast. Form a shallow cavity in the middle of the top of the dry ingredients, and add yeast into the cavity. Select “dough” function, and begin bread maker.
After the cycle ends, remove the dough, and halve it. That’ll make enough for two pizzas. Cover each dough ball with a clean kitchen towel, and allow the dough to rise again. After about 20 minutes, it’s ready.
Directions in a Mixer
Using a stand mixer (a KitchenAid Stand Mixer), add yeast, sugar, and warm water. Stir quickly. Let sit for five minutes. Add olive oil, all-purpose flour, semolina flour, and salt. Attach dough hook to mixer.
Start the mixer on low speed. After the ingredients have become combined, increase the mixer to medium speed, and continue kneading for five to eight minutes. The dough should form a ball.
Remove the dough and halve it. Roll each one into a ball. That’ll make enough for two pizzas.
Cover each dough ball with a clean kitchen towel. Place them in a warm place, and let them rise for about an hour.
Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Pizza from Scratch
Ingredients
per pizza
- 1 teaspoon of oil olive
- 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 6 tablespoons of Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce
- 3 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing
- 4 to 6 ounces of mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 to 3 ounces of blue cheese crumbles
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you have a pizza or bread stone (a Emile Henry Rectangular Pizza Stone), place it in the oven during the preheat.
Cook chicken thighs. Either sauté them in a stove-top pan, or pressure cook them in an Instant Pot for seven minutes. Let chicken cool. Chop into chunks. Stir in half of Buffalo wing sauce.
Roll out a dough ball into your pizza’s shape—circle, rectangle or other. Brush olive oil onto top. Place dough in oven—on stone if applicable—and bake crust without toppings for five minutes.
Remove crust from the oven. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and the other half of Buffalo wing sauce.
Spread mozzarella cheese, then chicken chunks, then blue cheese crumbles.
Return to the oven. Bake at 425°F for another 7 to 10 minutes or until crust turns golden brown. Remove from the oven. Cut into slices, and serve.
3 Responses
Wonderful! Delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. The entire family loved your Buffalo style pizza.
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