Pizza with an Egg

[Aaron]

Peter that pie would be very popular with the people of Quebec.That is more of a french Canadian dish,eaten throughout Canada but of French Canadian origin.Speaking of Quebec I had my worst pizza experience in Hull.I dont know if it was because we were anglos in a french neighbourhood.Took one bite and ditched the pie.The stuff that was supposed to be peperoni was the worst tasting crap I have ever had.Maybe just a bad day but i stick to different foods while travelling through that province.
Aaron

[Pete-zza]

Today I decided to go Mexican again with my "Pizza with an Egg". This time, I decided to adapt another popular Mexican dish, migas, to a pizza format. As Mexican food fans may know, migas is a scrambled egg dish that includes pieces of tortilla fried in oil (or corn chips), and a variety of other possible ingredients such as fresh tomato, cheese(s), jalapeno or serrano chiles, onions, cilantro, and sometimes chorizo. Since I had all these ingredients on hand, I decided to use all of them except that I decided to use plain corn chips (although I suspect that almost any kind would work fine) instead of fried tortilla pieces and a serrano chile instead of a jalapeno chile.

The dough I used was based on the Caputo 00 flour (blue bag) I have been experimenting with. I had started the dough early in the morning with the idea of using it sometime around noon, around six hours later. I decided also that I wanted to have a slightly larger pizza this time, around 12 inches, so I used enough dough ingredients to produce a dough ball size of around 10 ounces.

In preparation for making the migas dish itself, I started by cooking up some ground Mexican chorizo (about 1/4 of a pound) in a skillet. When it was just past the pink stage, I set it aside. I then seeded and diced one Roma tomato, and diced one half of a medium-sized onion and a serrano chile. For the cheeses, I decided on a blend of shredded mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese. Because of the larger pizza this time, I decided to use three eggs. These were whisked in a bowl with about 3 tablespoons of water, and the diced tomatoes, onion and serrano chile were blended in, along with a small handful of broken-up tortilla corn chips, part of the shredded cheese blend, and a few sprigs of cilantro that I had minced.

Once I shaped the dough into a roughly 12-inch round, I dressed it initially by distributing some of the mozzarella-cheddar cheese blend over the entire surface. The minimally dressed pizza then went into the oven onto a pizza stone that had been preheated for about 45 minutes at an oven temperature of about 500 degrees F. About 3 minutes into the bake time, I started cooking the migas egg mixture in butter in a skillet just until it had started to set and then set it aside so that it wouldn't overcook and become firm. After the pizza had been in the oven for about 5 minutes, I removed it and finished dressing it by distributing a layer of cooked chorizo, more of the cheese blend, and finally the partially cooked migas egg mixture, which I carefully spread over the entire pizza to a point just short of the rim. The pizza then went back in the oven for about another 3 minutes. When the pizza was done, I removed it from the oven and decorated it with a few pieces of cilantro leaves.

The finished pizza is shown below, along with a slice. All the pizza needed when it was cut into slices was a little bit of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Along with a cup of one of my favorite coffees, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, it made for a very enjoyable lunch.

Peter

[pftaylor]

Wow that looks good. I just finished a Caputo pie based on a six hour counter rise and then a two hour bench rise. I couldn't be more disappointed. If I only had half your results...

One question, is there a funny aftertaste to your crust? It almost tastes bitter, rotten, and fishy to me at the same time.

[Pete-zza]

pft,

Thus far, I have found that the Bel Aria 00 flour works best for me for the egg pizzas. I also thought that the Caputo 00 in the red bag was quite good. I believe that the Caputo red is more like the Bel Aria in that they are both relatively low in protein and gluten compared with the other brands, including the Caputo 00 blue. Remember that most of my pizzas with eggs are made entirely within an hour, using a proofing box and high water and proofing temperatures. The higher protein 00 flours like the Caputo 00 blue don't seem to do as well with that accelerated approach. I also found that true when I tried to use all-purpose flour. So, when I have used the Caputo 00 blue I have tended to use a long rise, even refrigeration, which I think helps.

I'm still struggling with the Caputo 00 flour, trying out different approaches to make it work with my recipes and to get the softness that I like in the crust. As I have said many times before on this forum, 00 flour can be a real challenge to work with. I may go back to one of my old Bel Aria 00 recipes and knead for 20-30 minutes and use two long rise times to see if that helps. Or I may add more olive oil, dried milk or lecithin to see if that helps. Or maybe Pizza Napoletana, who is very familiar with the Caputo 00, can offer some guidance. The Caputo 00 blue is considered to be the Cadillac of 00 flours, so there must be a reason for that.

I haven't detected the off flavors with the Caputo 00. My palate isn't all that sensitive and I tend to like almost all pizza crusts anyway. Also, I started serious pizza making with 00 flours and got used to the flavors early on. I thought NY style crusts tasted different when I first started making them.

Peter

[pftaylor]

I have two more dough balls in the fridge. I thought I would try one today according to Pamela Sheldon Johns' approach. The other two will be ready by noon tomorrow although I harbor little hope for removing the rancid aftertaste.

I wonder if the Caputo flour I used to dust the ball today and the flour on the peel could have contributed to the problem?

[Pete-zza]

I'd like to dedicate today's "Pizza with an Egg" to the memory of Theodor Geisel, known to millions of parents, grandparents and children around the world simply as "Dr. Seuss". Today, March 2, marks the 101st anniversary of Dr. Seuss' birth. And what have I chosen to call the pizza shown below? Why, "Green Eggs and Ham Pizza", of course.

Peter

[Steve]

 

[Gils]

I absolutley LOVE THAT!!!!   Nice

[Bill/CDMX]

Peter,

I don't know how I missed this thread, but it is an inspiration. I won't call these things pizzas; maybe breakfast pie is better for me. But I will call it delicious. Today I made a breakfast pie in the conventional oven on a stone (didn't feel like waking up at 3AM to fire up the brick oven ) using some thawed dough, with scrambled eggs, ham, mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes on top.

Best breakfast I've had in years and I'm a serious breakfast person.

Thanks!

Bill/SFNM

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

I'm glad to see you gave a breakfast "pie" a try. The original idea for using eggs on pizza dough came to me years ago when I was in France on vacation. It is also an Italian thing. You will notice a picture of a pizza with an egg on the front cover of Peter Reinhart's book American Pie. There is also a photo of a pizza with an egg on the page facing page 56 of Pamela Sheldon John's book Pizza Napoletana! (she calls the pizza Pizza con Uovo).

I admit I have taken some liberties with the egg pizzas (or "pies") but that is part of the fun. What I basically did was to transform breakfast ideas in one format to a pizza format. One that I haven't yet tried but plan to is an Eggs Benedict pie.

Peter

[Bill/CDMX]

One that I haven't yet tried but plan to is an Eggs Benedict pie.

Peter,

I may beat you to the punch of the Eggs Benedict Pie. It should be great as long as the Hollandaise doesn't break. What do you think: cover the dough with thin slices of Canadian bacon. Then put raw (or maybe slightly poached) eggs on the ham and pour Hollandaise sauce over the eggs. Then bake. Trick would be get the timing right so eggs are cooked but the yolk isn't hard.  I guess you could precook and assemble, but that doesn't sound as fun.

Whatcha think?

Bill

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

I found that I got the best results with sunny-side up eggs by first partly cooking them before putting them onto the pizza crust. It's more a timing thing than anything else--to get everything cooked at the same time. I tried on several occasions to put raw eggs on pizza dough (whole or scrambled) and found that it was hard to physically contain the eggs on the pizza dough and also to have them cook fast enough. Pamela Sheldon Johns says to put the raw egg in the center of the pizza crust and bake at 500 degrees F. I tried this but found it too unreliable. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a recipe for pizza with an egg in Peter Reinhart's book. I wonder why he used the photo on the front cover but didn't provide a recipe (unless somehow I missed it). I saw Wolfgang Puck recently make an egg pizza, and he did it the same way I do it.

I think your method of constructing the Eggs Benedict pie should work fine, although I think I would either spoon the Hollandaise sauce on the pie after it is done or put it on toward the end of baking, where it is less likely to break down.

I actually set out a while back to try out the Eggs Benedict pie. I wanted it to be authentic and to use real Canadian bacon. However, when I went looking for it, all I saw was "Canadian-style" bacon. I asked a butcher here and there where I could get the real thing and was told that I would be lucky to find it anywhere. I thought I would wait until I was in NY or some other large metropolitan area to see if I could find it there.

I'll be interested in your results.

Peter

[Bill/CDMX]

Peter,

I looked in "American Pie" and also could not locate a pizza with egg. 

I make my own Canadian (or Canadian-style bacon). I pump and cure pork loin and then smoke it. Usually, I tie two loins together. Much better than the supermarket stuff.


Can't wait to try the Benedict Pie. Maybe next week.

Bill

[David]

The Pizza Express chain in England has been providing a Pizza with a whole  raw egg added just before it was popped into the oven for many years now.They are currently offering a "Pizza Fiorentina - Spinach, parmesan and a free range egg with garlic and olives for a little extra bite".Thier Pizza is not the best ,but as they were probably the first company to introduce Pizza to the masses in England in the 60's they do have a loyal following (Though they have come under intense competition and decline in profits in recent years I'm told).

[CDNpielover]

throw some corned beef hash & tabasco on there!   

and btw, here in Canada we call it 'back bacon,' not 'Canadian bacon'   

[Bill/CDMX]

So today I tried Pete-zza's fabulous idea of Pizza Benedict. I used my standard Neapolitan-style dough with the Camaldoli starter, shaping the dough about twice as thick as usual. I tried a few variations, but the one that came out the best had a little hollandaise spread on the crust and then slices of Canadian (back) bacon which were flipped over in the sauce so they were coated to protect from the heat. The dough was then baked on an 850F deck and removed from the oven. The fully poached eggs were than added and topped with hollandaise sauce. Here is a not very pretty photo, but the taste was very pretty:

(https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cordless.com%2Fimages%2FpizzaBen.jpg&hash=c52ec5e168a0365dfddbc9ab595d46ee2ce10e78)

Thanks, Pete, for the great idea.

Bill/SFNM

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

Looks mighty tasty to me .

I recently picked up a new product from Hormel that I plan to try when I make my version of Pizza Benedict. It's called Canadian Style Bacon, Pizza Style. The shape is the same as pepperoni slices. The photos below, front and back, give you an idea of what the product looks like.

Peter

[Bill/CDMX]

Pete-zza

You know, I haven't been able to get Marco's photos of fried calzone out of my head. This would be tricky, but I'm betting that fried Benedict calzone would be great for a brunch. Getting the egg and dough done at the same time will be a challenge. Maybe I'll start with ham/scrambled eggs/cheese as a proof of concept. What do you think?

Bill/SFNM

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

What you are proposing is not really much different than those Hot Pocket sandwiches, such as shown, for example, at http://www.hotpockets.com/hot/products/products.asp?ID=366. You will note that there are three egg/cheese Hot Pockets, using bacon, ham or sausage. Obviously, using a Canadian-style bacon would also work. Trying a scrambled egg version as you suggest might prove out the concept of the Benedict calzone, but since Marco indicated that it took only 60 seconds to fry his most recent calzone, you might be able to use a semi-poached or lightly-fried egg and have the crust fried at about the same time as the egg fully cooks. With some experimentation, you might be able to use eggs that are less cooked to begin with, although that might be harder to do since the egg will want to run all over the place as you try to contain it and seal it within the unbaked calzone.

Peter

[Bill/CDMX]

Hot Pockets? Yeechhh! I had a Hot Pocket once. It was to a true calzone what the pizzas in my elementary school cafeteria were (ketchup on a bun with some melted cheese on top) to the kind of pizzas discussed on this forum.

I have a Calzone press so if I lay in the dough and press it down, it will have a "bowl" which should hold a raw egg. I'm pretty sure that after adding the other ingredients, I can seal it without leakage. So I guess the first step would be to see what happens to a raw egg inside the dough after 60 seconds in the oil. Sounds like a fun test.

Bill/SFNM