Where it comes from
California Pizza Kitchen opened in Beverly Hills in 1985, founded by federal prosecutors Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield. The BBQ Chicken Pizza, designed by chef Ed LaDou (who had earlier worked under Wolfgang Puck at Spago and helped develop Spago's smoked-salmon pizza), became the chain's calling card. The format — thin crust + non-Italian toppings — drew on Alice Waters at Chez Panisse and Wolfgang Puck at Spago, both of whom had been doing California pizza in finer-dining contexts since the late 1970s. CPK made it a casual, mall-friendly category. By the 1990s the format was nationwide; New York pizza writers hated it.
On the plate
Thinner than New York, thicker than Roman — about 4mm in the middle, puffed at the rim. Smoky-sweet BBQ sauce hits first; gouda gives a low smolder; red onion crunches; cilantro is the bright finish. Eats more like an open-faced sandwich than a Neapolitan pie. Not pizza-purist food. The point isn't authenticity — it's that the chicken-and-cheese combo works in this format and tastes nothing like Italy.
How it works
The crust is the SoCal interpretation of an Italian Roman-style: thin, crisp, and lower-hydration than Neapolitan (around 65% versus 70%+). Lower hydration handles wet, untraditional toppings — BBQ sauce, peanut sauce — without becoming a soup. Smoked gouda is the unsung hero of BBQ chicken pizza: its low melting point and woodsmoke phenols complement the BBQ sauce in a way mozzarella alone cannot. Cilantro goes on after the bake — it would burn at 260°C and lose its characteristic citrus-soap brightness.
California Pizza Kitchen opened in Beverly Hills in 1985; the BBQ Chicken Pizza was designed by Ed LaDou, who'd previously developed Spago's smoked-salmon pizza under Wolfgang Puck. Crust runs ~65% hydration — lower than Neapolitan, so it handles BBQ sauce without going soup.
Variations
Spago's smoked-salmon pizza (Wolfgang Puck, 1982); Chez Panisse Café fig-and-prosciutto pizza; CPK BBQ Chicken (LaDou, 1985); Tartine's Thai-curry-chicken pizza (modern SF).
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓30 min active · 60 min waiting
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓- 112 min
Make dough: 300g 00 flour, 6g salt, 3g instant yeast, 1 tbsp olive oil, 200ml warm water. Mix, knead 8 min until smooth. Cover and rise 1 hour at room temp until doubled.
- 212 min
Poach 1 chicken breast in salted water 12 min. Cool, shred. Toss with 4 tbsp Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.
- 31 min
Slice 1/2 small red onion paper-thin. Soak in cold water 10 min, drain — takes the harsh edge off.
- 41 min
Preheat oven to 260°C / 500°F with a pizza steel or stone on the middle rack — minimum 45 minutes preheat. The thermal mass is non-negotiable for crust.
Watch outA cold stone gives you a pale floppy bottom. Steel/stone must be at full temp before the pizza goes on.
- 55 min
Divide dough in half. On floured board, stretch each ball by hand to a 25cm round, leaving a 1cm raised edge. Don't roll with a pin — pin destroys the gas bubbles.
- 63 min
Top each: thin smear (3 tbsp) BBQ sauce → 80g shredded mozzarella + 30g smoked gouda → 60g BBQ chicken → red onion slivers. Slide onto stone.
- 79 min
Bake 7-9 min until crust is blistered and cheese bubbles with brown spots. Out of oven, scatter chopped cilantro on top. Slice and serve.
