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Our Breakfast Pizza Pretzel served with Eggs |
We’ve all heard the reasons why breakfast is so important – it boosts
your metabolism for the day, helps curb cravings that could lead to
poor food choices, helps improve memory and concentration, and can set
your mood for the day. Let’s face it. Not all breakfast items make you
leap to the table.

Ideal Ingredients
This is one of those fun recipes where you really can’t go wrong with the ingredients you select. Just keep in mind, that raw egg won’t necessarily be the best choice since we don’t have the same amount of dough surface to hold the raw egg until cooked. If you want to incorporate egg, do a boiled, fried, or scrambled egg. For my Mediterranean feature, gather the following ingredients:- ½ cup of basil pesto sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 3 roasted sweet peppers, sliced (I prefer to wood fire the peppers first)
- 2 medium tomatoes sliced, with the slices cut in 1/2
- 6 large eggs, steamed for 13 minutes
- 5 slices of provolone cheese, cut into quarters
- 20 basil leaves
- 1lb. store-bought frozen bread or pizza dough, thawed and left to rise according to package directions
- fresh ground pepper
- coarse salt for the top of the pretzel
- 1 egg and 1 teaspoon water for the egg wash
- flour for rolling the dough

If you want to include egg in your recipe, you’ll need to steam the 6 large eggs. I use a deep pot with a steamer insert, placing about two inches of water in the pot. Place the eggs in the steamer basket, put the lid on the pot, put the heat to high, and set a timer for 13 minutes. Prepare a bowl of ice water to immerse the eggs in once the timer goes off, which will halt the cooking process. When cool, peel the eggs and slice.
After the dough has risen, you’ll need to get a couple of items ready before starting the recipe. First, decide what type of grill you’re going to use for cooking. A gas grill will not take as much set up time as a charcoal unit. Either grill, you want to do a two-zone setup. For the gas grill, that means turning on only the burners on one half of the grill. Those lit burners will also hold the wood chunks for adding the wood flavor. For the charcoal grill, get a chimney starter of charcoal going. Once the embers are hot, pour into one half of the charcoal area and add a few wood chunks directly on the hot coals. I recommend starting the grill just before you assemble the pretzel.
A Tasty Trough
With our grill heating, our dough has risen, and our ingredients at the ready, it’s time to assemble the breakfast pizza and form into our pretzel. First, roll the dough into a 30-inch long rope. Roll the width to where the rolling pin can sit in the center of the dough and still have an inch of dough on each side of the pin. Taking the rolling pin, press it down the center of the dough forming a trough. Starting with the pesto, spread a thin layer down the dough trough. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the pesto, then layer the quartered tomato. The wood-fired pepper slices are next, followed by the basil leaves, egg slices, and provolone cheese quarters. Put a final sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to the inside and then we will seal the filling inside the dough.
Fire Cooking
With the pretzel on a parchment lined sheet pan or placed on a pizza stone, place on the unlit side of the grill, with a temperature of about 300°F. Close the lid and allow to cook for 15 minutes before checking. If you notice the side closest to the heat turning brown faster than the other side, simply rotate your sheet pan or stone. Total cooking time will be about 25 minutes until golden brown. Keep in mind, pretzel rods will likely cook a bit faster.A Breakfast to Savor
