Why You Should Put Eggs On Your Pizza

Pizza is the culinary definition of versatility—you can personalize it as much or as little as you'd like, and still, whatever you choose is what you choose. But there's an ingredient that you've been missing on your pizza that will take it to the next level.

Eggs. Not only do eggs on your pizza justify pizza for breakfast, but they add a creamy, rich layer to the cheese that is working to offset the tangy acidic bite of pizza sauce—not to mention that perfect chewy-runny combo that comes from bread eaten with a runny egg. I know it might sound odd at first, but try it once and you'll be trying it over and over again.

Here's how you do it:

1. After stretching your pizza dough to the desired size, place the crust on a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal (be sure to make a semi-thick crust around the edge of the pizza when shaping the dough).
2. Spoon and spread your favorite pizza sauce across the surface, and add your toppings of choice.
3. Without the eggs, place your pizza in a 500°F oven for 8 minutes.
4. Pull the pizza out of the oven, and crack several eggs directly onto the surface of the pizza. (If you've made a personal pizza, one egg is just the right amount.) Return the pizza to the oven until the crust is golden brown, the cheese is melted, and the whites of the eggs have set, about 7 minutes.

WATCH: Four Ways to Perfect Eggs with Blackberry Farms

Extra Tips

• Experiment with timing. If you don't want runny egg yolks, pull the pizza out of the oven after 5 minutes to crack the eggs on the surface, then return the pizza to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. This will give the egg yolks plenty of time to become firm. If you want an egg that's a little runnier, then crack the eggs on the pizza after 10 minutes of baking, and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
• Use room-temperature eggs. The egg whites will spread out if the eggs aren't cold when you use them, ensuring that you won't get a bite with too much egg.
• Make a crispier crust. If you prefer a crust with a little more crunch, bake it on the stone by itself for 5 minutes before adding the toppings.
• Try adding eggs in other forms, like scrambled and hard-boiled eggs. They may be added with other toppings and don’t require extra steps. Add poached eggs to the pizza just as it is finished cooking.
• Don't forget to season. Any cooked egg needs salt—it's a culinary rule of thumb! Feel free to add pepper as well.
• If using a frozen pizza, add the raw egg halfway through cooking, and return to the oven until the pizza is done and the egg yolk is the desired consistency.
• For leftover pizza, add the egg to the pizza and then reheat it in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how runny you want the egg.
• Go for greens. 1 or 2 minutes before the pizza is done, sprinkle the pizza with some fresh spinach or arugula. It adds a fresh, crisp bite to the richness that comes from the egg and the cheese.

How to Store

Because of the eggs, this type of pizza is best eaten straight from the oven. Reheating the pizza may cause the eggs to overcook. Leftover eggs can become rubbery and oxidize when reheated, and they just aren’t very good. If you do need to store any leftovers, wrap them in plastic wrap or store them in a plastic container.