Pizza with an Egg

[Pete-zza]

As a big fan of Neapolitan pizzas, I decided last night that I wanted to have a Neapolitan pizza with an egg for breakfast this morning.  I also decided that I wanted to use the imported Italian 00 flour, not a combination of domestic flours (like pastry, cake, all-purpose and bread flours) that are often recommended as substitutes for the 00 flour.  00 flour has always puzzled me.  It is lower in protein than most pizza flours, which suggest short knead times, but most dough recipes using 00 flour (as well as those using combinations of domestic flours to mimic the 00 flour) call for knead times of around 30 minutes.  Further, two rise periods are usually specified, totaling 6-8 hours, almost always at room temperature (even the VPN and the Italian Ministry of Politics don't require refrigeration).   If the dough is allowed to rise much longer than that, there is an increased risk that the natural sugars will become prematurely depleted and the dough will be slack, hard to shape, and it won't produce decent browning in the crust.  What I was looking for was to make a 00 dough that would ferment overnight--maybe 8-10 hours--and be ready to work with the next morning.  

To accomplish this objective meant having to slow down the fermentation process and extend its duration.   So, taking my favorite "authentic Neapolitan dough" recipe, I modified it in several ways to do this, including reducing the amount of yeast and salt, using cold water, adding a bit of sugar, and using an autolyse (rest) to compensate in part for the fact that I didn't intend to do a lot of kneading.  I also decided to use a food processor to do the kneading (using only the pulse switch).  The recipe I ended up with produced a dough ball weighing around 15.5 oz., enough to make two pizzas each having a diameter of around 8 inches or so.  I divided the dough into 2 pieces, one of which was put in a container to rise overnight on the kitchen counter and the other was put in the refrigerator for overnight fermentation.

The next morning, I saw that the first dough ball that had risen at room temperature was more than double in volume; by contrast the dough ball in the refrigerator had hardly risen at all.  As I was preparing some bacon to use on one of the pizzas and allowing a pizza stone to be preheated to 500 degrees F for about an hour, I allowed both dough balls to sit at room temperature.  

The first pizza was dressed with a little extra-virgin olive oil brushed on the dough, an egg, salt and freshly-ground pepper, about a tablespoon of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and about an additional teaspoon more of extra-virgin olive oil sprinkled over the pizza.  The trickiest part was to be able to get the egg onto the pizza with the yolk centered, and to keep the egg on the pizza as it was to be peeled onto the pizza stone.   I accomplished this albeit with some apprehension.  This suggested that it might be better to use a pizza screen for the second pizza--which is what I did--to have greater control over the process.  The second pizza was dressed like the first except that I added some partially-cooked pieces of bacon.  I used the stone for the final 2 or 3 minutes of baking (out of a total of about 8 minutes).

The first pizza is shown in the photo below.  It was crispy and chewy, and extremely tasty and flavorful.  It even looked like the pizza with egg shown in Pamela Sheldon Johns book, Pizza Napoletana, except that the egg wasn't anywhere near as runny looking at hers.  It might be possible to add the egg part way through the baking cycle so that the yolk doesn't cook up solid.   As much as I liked the pizza, I believe the dough needs more work--in order to soften it some.  Maybe some one of our members who works regularly with 00 flour can tell me what steps I might want to consider next time.

The second pizza, shown in the next post, had a crust that was softer than the first pizza but not quite as authentic looking.  Also, the egg cooked more slowly and the yolk retained more of its shiny character (it was fully cooked below the surface, however).  It, too, tasted very good.  

Peter

[Pete-zza]

And the pizza with egg and bacon (and using refrigerated dough).

Peter

[Pete-zza]

The photo below reflects my latest efforts to make a pizza with an egg.  This time, instead of allowing the dough (made from 00 flour) to rise overnight (in one case on the countertop and in the other in the refrigerator), I decided to make the dough from scratch this morning--for use this morning.  With this objective in mind, and to speed up the process, I decided to use my proofing box for rising the dough (for a description of the proofing box I use and how it is constructed and operates, see the post on the proofing box thread at http://www.pizzamaking.com/yabbse/index.php?board=6;action=display;threadid=403;start=0.)   The recipe I used for the dough was a slight modification of a "last-minute" pizza dough recipe that I had adapted for use with the proofing box some time ago (and reported previously on this forum).  The recipe I used today was as follows:

   1 c. "00" flour, Bel Aria brand preferred
   1/3 c. water
   1/2 t. instant yeast (SAF brand)
   1/2 t. sea salt
   1/4 t. olive oil, plus 1 t. (for oiling the dough round after shaping)

I found this recipe to produce an excellent dough for use in making a pizza with an egg--better than either of the two doughs I previously made and discussed on this thread.  

In preparation for making the dough, the first thing I did was to turn on the oven to a temperature of 450 degrees F, and to turn on the proofing box to its highest possible setting.  I then combined the 00 flour and instant yeast in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  I heated the water in the microwave oven to 115-120 degrees F (about 40 seconds in a glass Pyrex measuring cup), and gradually added the water to the processor bowl while pulsing the processor "pulse" switch to combine the ingredients.  After about 30 seconds of pulsing, I added the olive oil (1/4 t.) to the bowl and pulsed that in for about another 30 seconds.  I finished the dough by adding the sea salt and pulsing that in, using a combination of pulsing actions and continuous action.  Since the dough was a little bit on the moist side (as a result of the salt wreaking havoc with the dough), I added a small amount of additional flour--just enough to get a dough ball that was slightly tacky and soft.  I oiled the finished dough ball with a little bit of olive oil, placed the dough ball into a small container (the smallest I could find to hold the amount of dough after about doubling in volume), covered the container with plastic wrap, and put it into the proofing box.  The dough remained in the proofing box for about 30-35 minutes, during which time the dough about doubled in volume, at which point I removed the dough ball from the proofing box.

I shaped the dough by pressing it into a dough round on a lightly floured work surface.  The dough handled beautifully, and I could even stretch it by hand.  I worked it to about 9 inches in diameter and put it on a 9-inch pizza screen.  I oiled the surface of the dough round with extra-virgin olive oil (1 t.), placed an egg on top, added salt and freshly-ground black pepper, and finished with a tablespoon or so of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and some shaved Fontina cheese, and a final drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.  I baked the dressed pizza on an oven rack set at the second level from the bottom.  After about 5 minutes, I added some previously partially-cooked pieces of bacon (I learned from my previous efforts that adding the bacon earlier can lead to some overcooking).  After I added the bacon pieces, I removed the pizza from the screen and let it cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes directly on the oven rack, to achieve some final crust browning.  

The finished pizza was very satisfying, and I am convinced that it is a nice (and impressive) departure from the typical egg breakfast.  I am also entirely satisfied with the dough at this point.  The crust was soft yet chewy and tasty (I believe the addition of olive oil to the dough helped in this regard),  But I need to find a way to try to prevent the egg from completely cooking, that is, to get it to an "over easy" or "over medium" degree of doneness.  I also want to figure out a way of making several breakfast pizzas at the same time. Using the proofing box and the steps outlined above took me a little bit over an hour to make the pizza--from start to finish.  To make several batches of dough will take longer, of course, so I will have some more experimenting to do.  It may also be possible to expedite the process by using even warmer water temperatures, more yeast, a lower oven rack positioning, and higher oven temperatures.  I would love to be able to make several (e.g., four) 9-inch pizzas at one time within about 1 to 1 1/2 half hours total, from start to finish.

Peter
 

[DeBee]

I love bacon and egg pizza.  I love bacon sausage and egg pizza ok ok ham and egg too oh yes steak and egg with mushrooms is really good and some onions...

I usually cook the pie in the usual way, and pan fry three  or four eggs "just" sunside up in butter with pepper and salt then attempt to invert them onto the hot cooked pie letting the yolk run all over!

I guess it's an acquired taste.  My family finds it disgusting...

[Pete-zza]

DeBee,

What you say seems to confirm my suspicions about how to get eggs on a pizza and not have the yolks be entirely cooked.  The pizza book written by Pamela Sheldon Johns (Pizza Napoletana!) shows a partially cooked egg on a pizza (the raw egg is put on the pizza round before baking), and the front cover of Peter Reinhart's book (American Pie) shows a couple of partially cooked eggs on a pizza (I couldn't find any recipe in the book for the pizza shown on the cover).  Based on the recipes (including dough recipes) I saw in the books, I couldn't see how the eggs could remain only partially cooked by the time the crust was completely done.  That made me wonder whether the way to get the desired results is to partially cook the eggs in a pan and then put them onto the pizzas toward the end of baking.  Your results seems to confirm my suspicions.   I will still play around with the recipes to see if there is a way to achieve the desired results without precooking the eggs.  One way that occurs to me is to partially bake the pizza and then add the raw egg(s).  Maybe the dough will need a little docking to prevent the dough from blowing up like a balloon (like pita breads are made).

I found recently that it is possible to put raw scrambled eggs on a pizza before baking and produce a pretty decent pizza, but again, the eggs have a more baked texture rather than a soft scrambled, flufy texture which I personally prefer.  I will post a photo in this thread of the scrambled egg pizza I made.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

The photo below shows an egg-based pizza I made recently using scrambled eggs.  I used my basic Bel Aria 00 dough recipe and the home-made proofing box.  To date, that combination is the only one I have been able to come up with to make a decent pizza (egg-based or otherwise) in about an hour, from beginning to end, making it a good candidate for starting in the morning for breakfast.  

For the pizza shown, I used the following toppings, in the order noted: melted butter (brushed on the unbaked round); 1 oz. shredded cheddar cheese; 2 oz. partially cooked Mexican chorizo sausage (crumbled); 2 oz. deli mozzarella cheese cut into strips and placed around the perimeter of the pizza to form a barrier to contain the eggs; a scrambled egg mixture including 2 scrambled eggs, sauteed chopped onion, minced garlic, and chopped red peppers; and salt and freshly-ground black pepper. The pizza was baked on an 8-inch pizza screen, at about 450 degrees F, for about 9 minutes.

The finished pizza was very tasty and quite filling (I think it can satisfy one hearty eater or two light eaters).  The next time I make a scrambled egg pizza, I plan to partially cook the eggs in a pan and add them to the pizza dough to finish baking.  That way, I can get the fluffy texture I prefer over the "baked" texture that resulted from the pizza I made (shown below).

Peter

[Pete-zza]

My latest pizza and egg creation is a Creole andouille pizza, shown below.

In making the pizza, I used basically the same dough recipe as recited above in this thread, except that I preheated my pizza stone for about an hour at 500-550 degrees F, and I added about 1/2 t. of a light olive oil to the dough mixture (to achieve a measure of added softness in the crust).  As before, I also used my home-made "proofing" box (for construction details, see Reply #6 at http://forum.pizzamaking.com/index.php?board=6;action=display;threadid=403;start=0).  I have found that using such a proofing box, along with the Bel Aria "00" flour, is about the only way I have been able to make a decent pizza entirely within one hour, from beginning to end.  This makes this approach particularly suitable for making breakfast pizzas.

Once the dough was ready to be shaped, I pressed the dough ball into a 9-inch round (entirely by hand on a work surface), and placed the dough round on a 9-inch pizza screen.  I dressed the pizza as follows.  I first brushed some melted butter over the dough, and then sprinkled some Creole seasoning all over.  I used the Tony Chachere's brand of Creole seasoning, but pretty much any brand of Creole seasoning can be used, including the Zatarain's and Prudhomme brands, and even the "Emeril Essence" seasoning (recipe available at the foodnetwork website).  (If you look at the ingredients for all of these seasonings you will see that they all more or less contain the same ingredients anyway).  Next, I sprinkled some shredded cheeses over the pizza.  Pretty much any cheese or combination of cheeses will work, but I used a combination of shredded mozzarella, Monterey Jack and provolone cheeses--mainly since I had these cheeses on hand.  To add a little bit of additional "heat" to the pizza, I mixed some diced jalapeno pepper (from about 1/2 of a medium sized pepper) into the cheese blend.  After distributing the cheeses over the pizza, I placed a ring of slices of andouille sausage (a spicy Louisiana sausage) around the perimeter of the pizza, leaving the center to ultimately receive an egg.  The andouille slices had been partially pre-cooked in a saute pan.

At this point, I put the dressed pizza (on the screen) into the preheated oven, on an oven rack up two positions from the bottom of the oven.  About 3 minutes after the pizza had been placed into the oven, I precooked an egg in the saute pan, and set the egg aside.  After the pizza had baked for a total of around 5 minutes, I took the pizza out of the oven, added the precooked egg in the center of the pizza, and added some more of the cheese blend.  The pizza was then returned to the oven.  This time, however, I placed the pizza directly onto the preheated pizza stone to get some additional bottom browning.  After about 2 minutes, the pizza was removed from the oven.  I sprinkled some additional Creole seasoning over the pizza.  (Note: the principal ingredient in almost all Creole seasonings is salt, so it pays to use a light hand with the seasoning).

The pizza crust was soft and chewy with a nice flavor.  As the photo below indicates, the crust had little top surface browning.  This is somewhat characteristic of Neapolitan-style doughs, which are usually low in protein and usually do not call for added sugar to promote increased browning.  I plan to try adding some sugar to the dough of a future experiment to see it that will achieve the additional level of browning.  Using some oil on the rim before baking may also help.  Since the egg is precooked and added to the pizza after the pizza has baked for several minutes, it may also be possible to bake the pizza entirely on the stone and get the higher degree of browning.  

Peter

[Pete-zza]

As a big fan of Mexican food, I decided today to try to convert a classic Mexican egg-based breakfast, Huevos Rancheros, to a pizza format.  The photo below shows the results of the most recent effort.  

For the pizza dough, I used the same dough I used for the most recent pizza but a day older (the dough was refrigerated overnight after coming out of my "proofing" box).  I shaped the dough into a roughly 9-inch diameter and preheated my pizza stone to 500-550 degrees F with the intention of baking the pizza entirely on the stone rather than using a combination of a pizza screen and the stone, as was done with the preceding pizza.  

In preparation for making the pizza, I made a simple tomato sauce to be used on the pizza along with the egg.  To make this sauce, I lightly sauteed about 1/4 of a medium-sized onion that I had diced into medium-sized dice.  I then put the sauteed onion into the bowl of a food processor along with two fresh Roma tomatoes, 1/2 of a serrano chile pepper (you can use a whole pepper if you like real "heat"), and a clove of garlic.  I sauteed the ingredients to a very rough puree--with a lot of chunks.  I then placed the pureed mixture into a saucepan, added some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and heated the tomato mixture gently until most of the liquid had evaporated.  I then set the sauce aside as I prepared the rest of the pizza.  Next, I partially cooked some chorizo sausage (removed from its casing), and set that aside also.  I used fresh chorizo sausage from a local Mexican butcher, but the many types of chorizo sausage that are sold in supermarkets will work equally well.  And, if you are daring, you can make your own, using ground pork and a chorizo seasoning, such as is sold by Penzeys.  If you want, you can even make your own seasoning from herbs and spices found in virtually every supermarket.  But I digress.

The dough was shaped into a 9-inch round.  I lightly oiled the rim with olive oil (to aid browning of the top crust), and distributed shredded cheese over the pizza.  For this pizza, I used shredded mozarella cheese but almost any other cheese will work well, such as Monterey Jack or Manchego cheese (a Spanish soft, meltable cheese).  I then put the pizza into the oven onto the pizza stone and baked the pizza for about 4 minutes, until the cheese was just starting to turn brown.  As the pizza was baking, I precooked an egg in the same pan, and along with, the tomato mixture.  I made a large round opening in the middle of the sauce and dropped the egg into it so that it would conform to the opening and have a generally round shape (which it did).  

After about 4 minutes of baking, I removed the pizza from the oven, placed the precooked egg in the center, added more shredded mozzarella cheese, placed the partially cooked chorizo sausage around the perimeter of the pizza, and spread the entire pizza with some of the tomato sauce.  The pizza then went back onto the stone for about an additional 3 minutes.  When the pizza came out of the oven, I sprinkled some chopped cilantro leaves over the entire pizza.  

The pizza was first rate, with a nice chewy and soft crust with a ton of flavor.  

Peter

[itsinthesauce]

Pete, I just read about your breakfast pizzas. Absolutely unreal. Congrats!

[Trinity]

 


Mmmmmm, I've got to try this!

[Pierre]

Pete,

never considered something like that, but why not..... does look tasty and is essentially almost like eggs and bacon on a an english muffin; with a different sort of bread.

Pierre

[Pete-zza]

Pierre,

Good to hear that things are looking up for you.  We look forward to your renewed and active participation on the forum.

You are absolutely right about the concept.  It's not new, however.  The first time I ever saw an egg on a pizza was in Paris.  But there the egg placed on the pizza--which had been fully baked--was raw.  I said no thanks to that one. 

I subsequently saw egg (cooked) on pizza in Milan.  As reported previously, Pamela Sheldon Johns, in her book on Neapolitan pizza (Pizza Napoletana!) has a simple recipe for a plain egg pizza (oddly enough using a flour blend that is supposed to mimic the 00 flour rather than using the 00 flour itself).  Peter Reinhart, in his book American Pie, shows an egg pizza on the front cover.  I couldn't find the recipe for that pizza in the book, however.

Peter

[DKM]

I'll be making several this weekend.  Having some people over for a brunch.

DKM

[Pete-zza]

My latest inspiration for a "pizza with an egg" comes from a recent visit I made over the holidays to a wonderful local ethnic food market, the New England Meat Market, in Peabody, MA, which is home to a fairly sizable Portuguese population.  There I was able to find some nice Portuguese sausages, cheeses and olive oil.  I instantly knew that I would be able to make a very nice egg-based pizza using these ingredients.  When I returned home to Texas, I set about to make such a pizza.

I used the basic 00 flour dough recipe I have been using all along but added a bit of sugar to enhance browning of the crust.  To spare the reader having to look back in this thread for the recipe, here is the latest version I used:

1 c. "00" flour, Bel Aria brand
1/3 c. water
1/2 t. instant yeast (SAF brand)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. olive oil, plus 1 t. (for oiling the dough round after shaping)
1/4 t. sugar

As in past iterations of the recipe, I used the home-made proofing box that has become my frequent companion in my pizza making endeavors.  I made a few departures this time, however.  This time, I put the dough after kneading into a Styrofoam container having a soup-bowl shape and size (about 6 inches across the top and about 3 1/4 inches across the bottom), and put the container into the proofing box along with a cup of water that I had boiled in a glass Pyrex 1-cup size measuring cup.  I left the dough uncovered although I lightly brushed it with about 1 t. of olive oil (the imported Portuguese olive oil).

As the dough was enjoying itself in the proofing box, I sliced and partially cooked some Portuguese chourico sausage in a small amount of the Portuguese olive oil.  The chourico sausage is a mild sausage, often spelled "chourizo" or "chorizo", but it should not be confused with the Mexican or Spanish chorizo sausages, which are different.  I also sauteed some slices of potato in the Portuguese olive oil, and shredded some mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese and some imported Sao Miguel (pronounced "so" Miguel) cheese.  I would describe the Sao Miguel cheese (which is produced in the Portugal Azores) as a semi-soft meltable cheese.  It is wonderful with a crusty bread or crackers, which led me to believe that it would be a good addition to a pizza along with the mozzarella and provolone cheeses.

After about 30 minutes in the proofing box, the dough had doubled in volume and looked very promising.   I was not disappointed.  The dough was soft and handled beautifully, considering that it had had a rise time of about 30-35 minutes.  After shaping it into a round of about 9-10 inches in diameter, I dressed it on a peel that had been dusted with a small amount of flour.  To dress the pizza, I first oiled the dough round with some of the Portuguese olive oil (including the rim, to aid in browning), and put some of the shredded cheese blend all over the pizza round.  I then placed some of the precooked slices of chourico sausage and some of the slices of the potato around the perimeter of the pizza.  I did this so that the dough wouldn't balloon up during baking (it also eliminates the need to dock the dough). 

I then baked the pizza so dressed for about 5 minutes on a pizza stone (on the bottom rack of the oven), which had been preheated for about 45 minutes at about 500-550 degrees F (I turn on the oven and the proofing box to their highest temperatures just before I make the dough).   As the pizza was baking, I cooked an egg, sunny side up, in a saute pan with butter.   After about 5 minutes, I removed the pizza from the oven, added some more of the shredded cheeses, chourico and potato slices, and the egg, and returned the pizza to the pizza stone for about another 2 minutes or so, or until the crust was browned (top and bottom), the cheeses were bubbling and turning light brown, and the egg was firming up a bit more.  (A trick I have been using is to cover the saute pan in which I cook the egg with a metal pie plate or a flat metal sheet so that the top of the egg is partly cooked by steam and loses its "slimy" character, which I don't particularly like).

The finished pizza was excellent--very flavorful, with a nice chewy, soft crust and good texture--all in all quite good considering that the entire pizza-making process took about 1 hour from start to finish.  It's one that I will repeat wheneven I get a chance to stop by the New England Meat Market in future visits to Peabody (we native New Englanders pronounce it "Pea-buddy") MA.  Here's a photo of the finished product.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

In my last post, I described a "pizza with and egg" to which I had added a Portuguese chourico sausage and potato slices.  The same market where I bought the Portuguese food items also sells a wide variety of Greek foodstuffs.  In fact, Peabody, MA, where the market is located, has a sizable Greek community. 

At the market, I was able to find a Greek sausage called locanico (low-KAHN-ee-co, sometimes also spelled loucanico and louganico).  Locanico is a pork sausage but what distinguishes it from other sausages is that it has a small amount of orange peel, which gives it a distinctive flavor.  As a child growing up near Peabody, I often had locanico with scrambled eggs.  In fact, it was one of my father's favorite dishes. I decided to recreate that dish in a pizza format. 

For the dough, I used the same ingredients as recited in the previous post and the same dough processing techniques as previously described in this thread.

In preparation for making the pizza, as the dough was rising, I cut up some of the locanico sausage into bite-sized pieces, partially cooked them in a saute pan, and set them aside.  I also grated some whole-milk mozzarella cheese and set that aside.  When the dough was ready, I shaped it into a roughly 9-10 inch round.  I brushed the rim with a bit of olive oil (to increase the browning of the rim), distributed some of the shredded mozzarella cheese over the entire pizza round, and placed some of the pieces of the locanico sausage around the perimeter.  I then placed the pizza into the oven on a pizza stone (bottom rack) that had been preheated for about 45 minutes at about 500-550 degrees F.  The pizza baked on the stone for about 5 minutes.

As the pizza was baking, I beat two eggs in a bowl along with a bit of water (2 T.) and some of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  I then partially cooked the egg mixture in a skillet just enough for the mixture to set.  I fluffed the egg mixture, removed it entirely from the heat to prevent overcooking, and set it aside.  After the pizza had baked for about 5 minutes, I removed it from the oven, added some more shredded mozzarella cheese, the partially cooked egg mixture, and some more of the pieces of the locanico sausage.  I added some salt and freshly ground black pepper and returned the pizza to the oven for an additional 2 minutes. 

The photos below show the finished product.  The pizza was very tasty and satisfying, and the crust was soft and chewy.  The main lesson I learned from this pizza is to partially cook the egg before placing it on the pizza.  It is only necessary to cook the egg until it sets and holds together.  The final two minutes in the oven will complete the cooking. Placing the raw egg mixture directly on the pizza will only result in an egg texture that is baked rather than scrambled.  It will also be more difficult to slide the pizza into the oven without running the risk of the uncooked egg sliding over the side of the pizza.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

For my latest "pizza with an egg", I decided to make a fairly standard one--one based on sausage. However, this time, I decided to slightly alter the dough recipe I have been using for the past several egg-based pizzas. 

This time, I decided to use Caputo 00 flour. The Caputo 00 flour is widely used in Italy and is considered one of the best in the world for Neapolitan style pizzas. It has a higher protein content than most 00 flours--about 11.5-12.5%. By contrast, I estimate that the Bel Aria 00 flour I have been using has around 10% protein. For the Caputo 00 recipe, I used the same amount of flour as I have been using, 1 cup (about 4.55 oz. for the Caputo brand), and added enough water to achieve a hydration percentage of 53%, which is fairly typical for a Caputo 00 Neapolitan dough. In this case, the amount of water used was 1/3 of a cup plus about 1 T (2.40 oz.). This time around, I also omitted the olive oil in the dough, since I expected that the higher protein content in the Caputo 00 flour would provide sufficient crust browning without needing additional oil.

The processing of the dough ingredients was as previously described (processed in a food processor and put uncovered in a Styrofoam bowl in the "proofing box" along with a cup of water that had been brought to a boil; I did not oil the dough itself since I assumed--correctly as it turned out--that the humidity in the box would prevent a crust from forming on the surface of the dough.) The weight of the dough ball as it went into the proofing box was a bit more than 7 oz. The dough itself was a bit firmer and a bit drier than my usual Bel Aria doughs, but was otherwise smooth and elastic.

As the dough was rising, I processed the toppings. They included diced onion, green pepper and jalapeno (which I first sauteed in a bit of olive oil), shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, and several rounds of bulk sausage (I used the Owens regular but any brand will do), that I had partially cooked, cut in half (into half rounds), and then set aside.

After 30 minutes in the proofing box, the dough was ready for shaping. It handled nicely and shaped easily. I shaped it into a roughly 9-inch round and proceeded as follow. I brushed the rim with a little bit of olive oil (to enhance browning), distributed some of the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheeses all over the pizza, and likewise distributed some of the diced vegetables (about half) over the pizza. The pizza was then placed on a pizza stone (on the bottom rack) that had been preheated for about 40 minutes at about 500-550 degrees F. The pizza was allowed to bake for about 5 minutes.

After about 3 minutes of bake time had elapsed, I started to partially cook an egg, sunny side up, in butter, covered the top of the pan with a metal plate to allow the top of the egg to set a bit, and then set the egg aside so that it wouldn't overcook. After the pizza had been in the oven for 5 minutes, I removed it from the oven, and finished it by placing more of the shredded and cheddar cheeses over the pizza, the remaining half of the diced vegetables, the egg, and the sausage pieces (which were placed around the perimeter of the pizza). The pizza then went back into the oven for an additional 2 minutes to finish baking.

The finished pizza is shown below. The biggest surprise was the nice coloration of the dough. It browned up much faster than my usual 00 doughs, and exhibited that nice golden brown color that we strive for but don't always achieve, especially when 00 flour is used. The crust was soft (but not as soft as the Bel Aria 00 crusts) and chewy and a bit firmer than the Bel Aria 00 crusts. It had a very nice flavor. I deemed the results from using the Caputo 00 flour to be a big success.

The toppings for the sausage pizza can be altered at will. I used the bulk sausage in slice form, but it can alternatively be broken up into small pieces and cooked. The egg can be scrambled (I would use at least 2 eggs) rather than sunny side up (see my previous post for how best to prepare the scrambled eggs), and the vegetables and the sausage can be combined with the scrambled egg(s) if desired. Any number of cheeses can be used. I thought the jalapeno pepper (I used about 1/2 of a medium-size pepper) added just about the right amount of zip to the pizza.

For a future experiment with "pizza with an egg", I plan to use a 00 dough (either Bel Aria or Caputo) that has been made the afternoon or evening before and retarded overnight in the refrigerator for use in making a "pizza with an egg" the next morning. I realize that not everyone has a proofing box (although I believe everyone should), and producing an overnight dough should permit one to make an egg pizza fairly quickly the next morning, either for breakfast or brunch.

Peter

[pftaylor]

What a great looking pie. The difference in crust appearance between the Bel Aria and Caputo flours is night and day.

I can't wait to get my delivery of Caputo 00 flour tomorrow. Are you also going to try, as I am, making a 16" traditional NY pie with the Caputo?

[Pete-zza]

pftaylor,

I've had a lot of fun making the egg pizzas. And the options appear endless. And, best of all, they are easy to make once you've made a couple of them. Of course, if you don't like eggs, or eggs on pizza, it's all moot.

You will notice that if you scan the photos from the beginning of the thread to the present you will see a gradual improvement in the color of the crusts. In good measure it was because of use of sugar and/or olive oil in the dough, and brushing the rim of the dough round with oil. But the Caputo 00 flour seems to need little help along these lines. I did add 1/2 t. sugar to the Caputo dough (but no olive oil and no oiling of the bowl) and I did oil the rim of the dough round before baking, but the Caputo 00 dough may not really need either. I will have to experiment to see if such is the case. The best thing about the Caputo 00 from my perspective is that I can use it just like the Bel Aria 00 to make the egg pizzas in about an hour and get very good results. I haven't figured out a way to do that with the other flours, and especially the higher gluten flours.

I have a limited supply of the Caputo 00 (and Caputo 0) on hand, so I am using it sparingly--to do as many experiments with it as I can before I run out.  I would use up too much of my supply were I to try a NY style pizza. But I will be anxious to hear how your NY style pizza works out using the Caputo 00 flour. I can't recall offhand hearing or reading about a NY style pizza based solely on 00 flour. I know that some of the pizza places in NYC and possibly New Haven make large sized pizzas based on 00 flour, but I would guess that they are only larger versions of the smaller, individual-sized pizzas. I'm sure that your pizza will taste great, but I can't say whether it will have the "true" characteristics of a NY style pizza.

When you get your Caputo 00 flour, I would appreciate it if you would let me know what color the bag is. I have samples from red and blue bags but don't know for sure which is which. I saw a red bag at a site recently directed to making a Caputo 00 dough, and assume that the red bag is the Caputo 00.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

For today's version of "pizza with an egg" I decided to use a Caputo 00 pizza dough that had undergone an overnight retardation in the refrigerator and was used the next morning. This approach allows one to start the dough in the evening (in my case it was made at 8:30 PM) and to develop overnight in the refrigerator for use the next morning, for either breakfast or lunch. I decided to make lunch with the dough and removed it from the refrigerator the next day at 10:00 AM and let it set at room temperature for about 2-3 hours (the final hour of which I pre-heated the pizza stone at around 500-550 degrees F). The recipe for the dough was the same as reported above in this thread for the pizza using pork sausage. The dough went into the refrigerator promptly after processing (in my food processor).

For the toppings, I used essentially the same ones as for the pizza with the pork sausage except that I substituted pieces of Spam (I used the low-salt version) for the sausage. I may be one of the few people on the planet (other than the people of the Phillipines who are fanatical about the stuff) who actually likes Spam. For purposes of this pizza, I sauteed the pieces of Spam to develop a slight crust on both sides. The triangular shapes were my attempt at artistry.

As the photos below show, the crust was still nicely browned but not as much as the one in the last "pizza with an egg" (with the sausage). Whether this was due to the omission of the olive oil in the dough or the much longer fermentation time (which can deplete the sugar to the point where there is too little to contribute to browning through caramelization) remains to be seen. I will have to do some more experimentation to get the answer to that question. In any event, the crust was nice and chewy with a slightly crunchy rim. It wasn't quite as soft as the ones that I have made on several occasions using the proofing box approach, but it was very satisfying nonetheless. The crust was very flavorful, and the pizza overall was very tasty and enjoyable. As between the most recent pizza and the preceding one, I would say that it is a toss-up as to which crust is better. I was satisfied with both and whether I would go with one over the other would be mostly a matter of how much time I have to devote to making the doughs. If I have time, I can make the dough ahead of time and let it develop the flavorful by-products of fermentation through retardation; if I don't have much time, I know that I can make a very good pizza within an hour from start to finish using the proofing box approach. Most people are unlikely to even notice a difference.

Peter

[Pete-zza]

I'd like to dedicate today's "pizza with an egg" to our good friends and fellow forum members from Canada--Canadave (aka Dave), canadianbacon (aka Mark), aaron, Ian and Qfan (I'm going strictly by memory so forgive me if I forgot anyone). I call today's creation "Tourtiere with Eggs on a Pizza".  The idea for the pizza came to me recently when I read of a pizza operator who made breakfast pizzas using mashed potatoes, mozzarella cheese and eggs. He said the combination was surprisingly good. When I subsequently read about the popular Canadian dish tourtiere, I thought that adding the tourtiere meat component (a pork mixture) would be a natural addition to the other items and would likely make a tasty dish.

To make the dough for the pizza, I used basically the same ingredients as previously posted on this thread, except this time I used the Caputo 00 flour that comes in a blue bag, which apparently is higher in protein (about 11.5-12.5%) than the last Caputo 00 flour I used (in a red bag). This time I used 4.60 oz. of the Caputo blue (a bit over 1 1/8 c.), 2.45 oz. of water (a bit over 1/3 c.), 5/8 t. salt, and 1/2 t. IDY. The processing procedure was as has been reported in previous postings on this thread.

For the tourtiere, I used the following recipe:

1 lb. ground pork, uncooked
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
2 dashes of ground allspice
1 c. water
1 medium potato

To prepare the tourtiere mixture, I placed all of the ingredients, except for the potato, into a skillet and mixed to combine. The mixture was then cooked on low heat for about an hour, or until all of the water had evaporated. (If the water cooks off too quickly, more can be added to keep the mixture on the moist side). I then made minor adjustments to the flavorings by adding a bit more salt, pepper, and spices, to taste. I then set the mixture aside. (The mixture can be refrigerated until ready to use, if desired.)

I then peeled, cut and cooked the potato in boiling water, drained, mashed, and added a bit of butter salt, and milk to make mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were set aside to cool. (If desired, the mashed potatoes can also be refrigerated until ready for use.)

I prepared the dough in the usual fashion and dressed it as follows: I put a layer of the mashed potatoes on the dough round, followed by a layer of the tourtiere meat mixture and a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. The pizza was then placed on a pizza stone (on the lowest oven rack) that had been preheated for about 35 minutes at an oven temperature of about 500-550 degrees F. As the pizza was baking, I partially cooked two eggs sunny side up in a skillet. To help cook the top of the eggs so that they would firm up a bit, I placed a metal pie tin over the skillet for about a half minute. The eggs were set aside.

After about 6 minutes of baking, the pizza was removed from the oven. Another layer of the tourtiere pork mixture and shredded mozzarella cheese were added, and the two eggs were deposited on top of the pizza. The pizza was then put back into the oven and onto the pizza stone for about another 3 minutes, or until the rim of the pizza crust had turned brown.

The photo below shows the finished "tourtiere with eggs on a pizza".  In some respects, it seems to look like Canadave's recent self-portrait photo, eh?  .

That aside, the pizza tasted quite good. As far as future possible changes are concerned, I might be inclined to use a 00 flour that is lower in protein than the Caputo blue, such as the Bel Aria, because a 00 flour such as the Bel Aria produces a somewhat softer crust that was produced using the Caputo blue. I plan to continue to experiment with the Caputo blue, however, to see if I can improve its performance for use in the one-hour breakfast pizzas I have been experimenting with over the past few months.

Peter