Quite a while ago I stumbled across a recipe for a breakfast pizza topped with bacon, eggs, and cheese. Of course I can’t remember where I originally saw it, but I filed it away in my brain for later. I’ve been craving pizza lately, and as Nate and I went out for breakfast yesterday, I figured I would make something at home this morning, and breakfast pizza fit the bill.

The pizza dough recipe comes from my trusted friend Martha’s Everyday Food magazine. I mixed it up the night before and let it rise overnight in the fridge, rather than delaying breakfast by waiting for it to rise in the morning. Originally it was for grilled barbequed pizza, but I’ve figured out how to bake it very successfully in the oven. The trick is high heat (500˚ F) and baking the pizza on parchment paper rather than on a baking sheet (I’m sure a pizza stone would also work, but I don’t have one). As this makes a thin crust pizza, it’s best not to overload it with toppings – I adhere to the same principle of less is more for pizza as I do for burritos 😉

This recipe makes two 10-inch oval pizzas topped with two eggs each, enough for two pretty generous servings. If you are not so hungry, you could shape the dough into a slightly smaller circle (8 or 9 inches in diameter) and use only one egg in the centre of each pizza. The variations are pretty infinite: you could divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and make small little pizzas (5-6 inches in diameter, 1 egg each) to serve alongside fruit or hashbrowns or something, or you could make one giant pizza and top it with 4 or more eggs to feed a crowd (if you are going to double the recipe, I would still recommend making two pizzas, as it might start getting out of control size-wise). If you are in the habit of having guests for breakfast or feeding a large number of family members, this would be a good recipe to try because it’s ready all at once (unlike pancakes or waffles or omelettes which cook one or two at a time) and can be eaten with your hands.

Post-egg, pre-cheese

Ready for the oven

Breakfast Pizza

As with any pizza, topping variations are endless. This would be good with green onions, crumbled sausage, peppers, ham… pretty much any savory breakfast ingredient (or non-breakfast ingredient!) you can think of!

1 quantity Pizza Dough

Toppings:

4 pieces of bacon

4 mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp butter

4 tbsp tomato sauce

2 small handfuls of spinach leaves, washed and dried, stems removed

4 eggs

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella, cheddar, and boconccini)

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

hot chili flakes

extra virgin olive oil

While pizza dough is resting, prepare toppings. Fry bacon until crispy. Sauté mushrooms in butter with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 500˚ F.

Roll dough into two 10 inch ovals and place on a piece of parchment paper. For each pizza, spread with 2 tbsp of tomato sauce. Top with a small handful of spinach leaves, 2 pieces of bacon (cut in 4 pieces), half the mushrooms, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a pinch of hot chili flakes, and drizzle with olive oil.

Place pizzas (on parchment paper) directly on oven rack. This can be a bit tricky – I slid the pizzas from the counter onto a flat baking sheet, then from the baking sheet onto the oven rack. Bake at 500˚ F for about 10 minutes, or until bottom is golden brown and crisp, and cheese is melted and golden. The eggs should be firm and cooked. Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute, then cut in four pieces.