Breakfast Pizza

I absolutely LOVE this breakfast pizza. I used my favorite pizza dough recipe—the one from Jim Lahey. [Editor’s Note: You’ll find this recipe when you click on the link in the ingredient list above.] This recipe is simple and perfect. Do yourself a favor and don’t rush the dough. You could certainly use other meats and cheeses, but if you love bacon and eggs, this needs nothing else. Using the bacon to dam the egg is a great idea and works as planned. Make extras, you’ll need them!

For this breakfast pizza recipe I made the crème fraîche, bacon, caramelized onion, egg, and mozzarella version using brioche dough. I would suggest that instead of cutting the dough into 8 squares, it might be easier to weigh the dough and then divide it into 8 pieces of equal weight.

I tried to cook the egg so that the yolk was still runny, but didn’t manage to do so. The additional 8 to 10 minutes baking was inadequate to cook the egg, though by then the brioche crust was a bit overdone. Therefore, I would suggest giving the crust less than 15 minutes initial baking time and adding the egg sooner, and then continuing to cook until the egg white has set.

However, I really enjoyed these pizzas. I thought my brioche dough added a nice sweetness, and I would definitely make them again.

This brioche breakfast pizza was the perfect Sunday night dinner indulgence. We worked together as a family to make them, which added to the feeling of satisfaction when we sat down to a different and delicious dinner.

The brioche dough was buttery and rich, encasing a beautifully cooked egg and crisped bacon. We liked the combo of egg, bacon, and crème fraîche. We used mozzarella on some and sharp white Cheddar on others. We greatly preferred the cheddar – the mozzarella was too mild. We’ll definitely be making these again.

The pizzas are not a simple endeavor, though if you’re used to making your own pizza crust, they aren’t much more work, just more time-consuming. The pizzas are definitely not a quick weekend breakfast or weeknight dinner. They’re more of a weekend project, but one worth doing. I used the link in the recipe above to the Sarabeth Bakery brioche. That recipe called for 8 egg yolks, which I conveniently had in the freezer, leftover from angel food cake. There are steps that are easy to do ahead, and I would recommend working ahead as much as possible. Be sure to make the sides of the brioche crusts tall, but not overly thick. Some of ours were too thick and bready, but they also weren’t tall enough to contain all the egg.

The whole family helped keep up with the dirty dishes, which made a big difference. It took an extra 10 minutes in the oven to set the egg whites fully. I will certainly be making the brioche again, both for more breakfast pizzas and just to have as brioche (and maybe some brioche cinnamon rolls).

This breakfast pizza is time-intensive recipe if using brioche dough, but with some planning, this can make a really nice weekend breakfast or brunch when you’re likely to be moving at a more leisurely pace.

I made the brioche dough the day before. The dough looked like slightly wet bread dough. As I continued to mix, it became tackier and shinier. Although it may look like it’s too wet and won’t come together, I was able to pull it all out in one piece and transfer the dough to a bowl. (I had taken the tips from other brioche recipes I had and resisted adding more flour. I had read that the high butter content is what makes it appear wet.) When I took out the dough the next morning, the recipe didn’t indicate that it needed to come to room temperature before using—though other doughs that I proof in the fridge usually do. I was a little torn on what to do because it had taken so much time but decided to proceed as directed.

I made half the pizzas using the carmelized onions and bacon and the other half with ham, ricotta, and Parmesan. The onions were done overnight via the slow cooker, so that saved lots of hands-on time. It was kind of tricky making the bacon and ham walls to keep the cracked egg in, so I had a little egg spill over. (Make sure the bacon slices overlap, and try to press the slices into the dough for more support.) We definitely liked the bacon and carmelized onion pizzas better—the ham, ricotta, and Parmesan could have used some herbs.

My husband and I found the pizza dough to be too dense and crumbly. I’m wondering if it would have helped if the dough was allowed to come to room temperature and rise a little before handling it? I didn’t get a chance to retry but will do it and report back…I like the idea of the brioche dough better than a standard pizza dough, but given the work required, I might opt for pizza dough next time.