This breakfast pizza makes for a great weekend breakfast or brunch. The homemade pizza crust gets topped with three cheeses, crispy bacon, and perfectly cooked eggs with runny yolks.
- Prep Time:
30 mins - Cook Time:
30 mins - Total Time:
1 hr *
* Plus dough rising and proofing time.
In my last post (which seems forever ago now), I was wanting to support everyone in their healthy eating by posting the recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken. Well, I have clearly swung way to other end of the spectrum with this recipe for breakfast pizza.
Topping a homemade pizza crust with ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, bacon, and eggs is breakfast decadence at its best. I regret nothing though – except maybe not also throwing in a bechamel dipping sauce on the side.
There’s always next time.
Tips for making breakfast pizza
Making homemade pizza isn’t hard but it does require some time. Fortunately, the dough benefits from an overnight rest so you can make the dough the previous evening and pull it out to rise the next morning while prepping the toppings.
Be sure to heat the oven to 450 degrees F before putting in your pizza to bake. The oven needs to be nice and hot to get the best texture for the crust.
Although I often use a pizza stone for making homemade pizza, I do not recommend it for this breakfast pizza recipe. Besides the fact that transferring an uncooked pizza from a pizza peel to a hot stone can be tricky, this recipe also requires you to top the partially cooked pizzas with a couple of eggs and then transfer it back to the oven. It is much easier to have the pizzas on a baking sheet to do this.
Getting the eggs just right
One of the best parts of this recipe is the eggs with the runny yolks (and you know how much I love runny yolks on everything from fried rice to tostadas).
The trick is to first partially bake the pizza (without eggs) until the crust and cheese start to brown and then adding the eggs to finish. This allows you to cook the eggs to your liking and still have a crispy crust.
Once the eggs are in the oven, bake the pizza until the egg whites turn opaque and yolks are barely set (or set as much as you prefer). Keep in mind that the eggs will continue to firm up after you remove the pizzas from the oven.
When it comes to getting the eggs on the pizza, I find it easier to crack the eggs into small saucers first and then sliding the eggs on to the pizza rather than cracking the eggs directly on the pizza. Try it both ways and see which one works better for you.
Eggs and Bacon Breakfast Pizza
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour (plus dough rising time)
- Yield: 4 (7-inch) pizzas 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This breakfast pizza recipe makes for a great weekend breakfast or brunch. The homemade pizza crust gets topped with three cheeses, crispy bacon, and perfectly cooked eggs with runny yolks.
Ingredients
For the pizza crust
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 1 rounded teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon granulated or turbinado sugar
- 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for bowls
For the pizzas
- 6 strips bacon
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 large eggs
- 1–2 tablespoons minced chives
- 1–2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
- 1–2 tablespoons minced parsley
Instructions
For the pizza crust
- Proof yeast. In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar until most of the yeast is dissolved. Let the mixture sit at room temperature to proof for 5-10 minutes until foamy (see Note 1).
- Mix dough. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, and olive oil; stir well with a wooden spoon until dough starts to come together into a shaggy ball.
- Knead dough. Transfer dough to a well floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes by hand until the dough becomes smooth. If the dough gets too sticky, add more flour (1 tablespoon at a time) from the remaining 1/4 cup of flour as needed. The dough should be slightly tacky but still be easy to handle.
- First rising. Divide the dough in half and place each ball into medium bowls that have been lightly coated with olive oil. Cover and refrigerate overnight and up to 5 days (see Note 2).
For the pizzas
- Second rising. About 2 hours before baking the pizzas, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let come up to room temperature.
- Prep oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Prep pans. Brush 2 large baking sheets with about 1 tablespoon olive oil for each pan. Set aside.
- Prep bacon. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until just starting to brown but not yet crispy, about 3-4 minutes, turning bacon as necessary. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. When the bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop it. Set aside.
- Prep ricotta. In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, and salt. Set aside.
- Make pizzas. With slightly floured hands, transfer one of the dough balls to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a disc about 4-5 inches in diameter with your fingertips. Let rest for 5 minutes. Transfer the discs to one of the prepared pans. Pat and gently stretch each disc until the dough is about 7 inches in diameter.
- Add toppings. Top each pizza with about 1/4 of the ricotta mixture, 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 of the bacon.
- Bake pizzas. Bake pizzas until the crust and cheese just start to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and crack two eggs in the center of each of the pizzas (see Note 3). Carefully return the pan to the oven and continue baking an additional 8-10 minutes until whites are opaque and yolks are set to your liking (see Note 4).
- Add remaining toppings. Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle 1/4 of the parsley, chives, and green onions on each pizza. Let cool for 2 minutes, slice and serve.
- Repeat. Prepare the second set of pizzas in the same way using the second ball of dough and remaining toppings. (see Note 5).
Notes
- When working with instant yeast, proofing isn’t strictly necessary. However, I always like to make sure the yeast is still active before proceeding and proofing is the best way to do that. If the yeast mixture is not foamy after the proofing time, discard the mixture and start again. Check that the yeast has not expired and the water temperature is not too hot. I use water that is between 98 and 99 degrees F.
- The dough is best when it’s allowed to rest overnight but if you want to use the dough the same day, you can skip the overnight resting and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size (at least 2 hours).
- I find it easier to crack the eggs into small saucers first and then sliding the eggs on to the pizza rather than cracking the eggs directly on the pizza. Try it both ways and see which one works better for you.
- If your oven has a window and light, I find it helpful to watch through the window for when the egg whites start to turn opaque.
- If you’re comfortable juggling multiple pans at a time and your oven retains heat well, you can also prepare the second pan of pizzas while the first pan is baking.
- Two eggs per pizza is definitely indulgent. Feel free to use only one egg per pizza if you want something less decadent.
Best Recipe List says
Your Eggs and Bacon Breakfast Pizza Recipe caught our attention, so we added it to our list.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. Keep up the good work!
Nguyet says
Thanks for including me in your recipe round-up!