Pizza you say? I know, you’ve seen a few pizza posts on here, but when my big brother lovingly made me and Mr M a ‘breakfast pizza’ from scratch, I couldn’t resist.
Never one to skimp on foodie treats when we visit, it wasn’t enough that big bro cooked us a gourmet meal the night before (don’t worry, there’s a nice little post coming to show you that), but he decided cornflakes was far too boring for brekkie, so we’d get to try his own adaptation of a breakfast pizza recipe he’d discovered. I can happily confess I had nothing to do with the preparation or cooking, but I carefully noted down the process so I could impart it to you guys, and hopefully recreate it at Casa Manning at some point.
First up was the dough. He used 500g of strong bread flour – you can choose which kind you want, ie wholewheat for a healthier option. We had a 60:40 mix of white and wholewheat. Put this and half a tablespoon of salt in a big bowl.
Separately, mix 325ml of tepid water, a 7g sachet of yeast, and half a tablespoon of caster sugar. Add this to the flour and knead thoroughly. (You can see this in the video below if you want some kneading tips).
Let the dough stand (proving, as you’ve heard Paul Hollywood say so many times on the Bake Off) until it doubles in size. Then knead again, and bob’s your uncle. Divide the dough – this mixture makes approximately four pizzas – and roll into flat, round bases.
While the dough was proving, big bro had prepared the rest of the ingredients. Sausages, cut into chunks and dry fried. Bacon, grilled until it’s cooked but not too crispy. Don’t forget, it’s going to get cooked again when it goes on the pizza. And mushrooms, chopped and cooked. It’s important all this stuff is pre-cooked to get some of the moisture out and avoid sloppy pizza.
For the tomato sauce, he simply took a tin of good quality plum tomatoes, added chopped onions and herbs and brought to the boil. Once they have simmered for a bit, take off the heat and blend until you have a smooth sauce.
Ingredients ready, dough done. It’s pizza time.
Take a rolled out base, spread tomato sauce over the whole of it. Sprinkle on sausage, bacon, and mushrooms. Then on top of this, lay slices of mozzarella. These don’t have to fully coat the pizza, just provide little pools of cheesy goodness on it.
From here, pop in the preheated oven. It should be as hot as you can get it, so avoid opening the oven once it’s in. Take out, then crack an egg on top, and put back in the oven. You’ll see when the egg’s cooked, it takes on the same appearance as a lovely fried egg. Take out your pizza, cut into slices, and enjoy. Of course, it’s a bit difficult trying to decide who gets the best bit of the egg, especially after the “mmmm” moment as the yolk spills out between two slices.
Et voila. What you have, ladies and gents, is a thin, crispy pizza base, topped with all your favourite breakfast ingredients. The salty meat of the bacon and sausage is moderated by the creaminess of the mozzarella, while the egg is not only the entertaining element, but adds a layer of richness to what is actually a surprisingly light breakfast.
Of course, pizza for breakfast sounds a bit OTT but is it that much different to a fry up (the glories of which I wrote about here) served with toast? This was a delicious, and different way to enjoy breakfast, and a pretty sociable one at that! The beautiful part of it is you can add or remove ingredients just as you can with a cooked breakfast. One nephew doesn’t like mushroom, so he got a ‘shroom-free pizza, while Mr M reckons that when we get round to trying it he’s just going to HAVE to add black pudding. Is there any surprise there?
So, there you have it. As well as these pictures, I made this little video for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think? Food prep videos? What’s the verdict?
Oh, and another great big brother idea is to make double the amount of dough and use what’s left to make into wraps for lunchtimes. Roll out the dough, nice and thin, then cook for a few minutes on each side in a dry pan. Pop in a freezer bag while warm for a few minutes as it makes them a bit soft and easily rollable. Take out, allow to dry out (you want them soft but not soggy), then store for later.
Do you have any pizza tips? I’d love to hear them so let me know in the comments
