Recipe: Breakfast Pizza
Breakfast pizza — have you ever tried it? No, this is not cold pizza from the fridge on a Saturday morning (not that there’s anything wrong with that either!). Hot and crispy homemade pizza, with handfuls of herbs and scoops of soft ricotta cheese, topped with an oozing egg — this is a breakfast in its own right.
Saturday morning we were crunched for time but we needed to put a hot breakfast on the table; it was a long day and fruit and toast wouldn’t do. We had made homemade pizza the night before, so we saved a couple balls of dough in the fridge and brought it up to room temp in the morning.
We shook it out thin, slathered it with ricotta cheese and fresh herbs from the garden. The first pizza had basil and a little leftover tomato sauce, plus some green olives and plenty of Parmesan. We cracked three eggs on top and baked. Delicious! The yolk spilled out golden goodness all over the other toppings.
The second pizza was simpler; we rubbed the dough with ricotta and a little good olive oil, then chopped basil, thyme, sage, rosemary and parsley and sprinkled it on. We baked this for several minutes, then added the eggs. Two more eggs, with salt and pepper, baked just until golden runny.
We cut it into big pieces, folded them over like egg sandwiches and ate it hot with coffee.
So good! The advantages to this breakfast are that most of it can be made ahead. Have guests? Just set out the pizza dough and toppings in the morning, then pop into the oven for five minutes. These are so thin that they don’t take long to cook at all.
One more idea: Substitute tiny quail eggs for the larger chicken eggs.
Breakfast Pizza
Serves2 to 3
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 recipe
either Best Pizza Dough Ever or Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Pizza sauce - recipes here
- 1
(16-ounce) tub whole milk ricotta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Several handfuls of fresh herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Any other toppings you would like
- 2 to 3
large eggs per pizza
Instructions
Make the dough and separate into individual balls. Mist with spray oil, cover, and leave overnight. If you're going to cook it the next morning there is no need to refrigerate.
Heat the oven as high as it will go — hopefully at least 550° and put a pizza stone or baking sheet, upside down, on the top rack.
Shake out each ball of dough and lay it on a sheet of parchment. Top with sauce, and a smear of ricotta, as well as Parmesan, herbs, and any other toppings, except the eggs. Crack each egg into an individual ramekin.
Slide the topped pizza into the oven. Carefully slip each egg out of its cup and onto the pizza. Shake on a little salt and pepper. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the whites and yolk are just set and golden.
Take out of the oven and sprinkle a little more Parmesan on top. Let cool for five minutes then eat!
Recipe Notes
Originally published May 13, 2008.
Related: Over Easy: Egg on Pizza
(Images: Faith Durand)