Aussie Style Pizza with Prosciutto & Eggs
Australia might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of pizza, but we’ve definitely carved out our own version over the years, and it’s one that deserves a spot in your rotation.
Traditionally, the Aussie pizza features tomato sauce, mozzarella, chopped bacon or shredded ham, and a few eggs cracked straight on top. Some even go rogue and add pineapple (a move we might revisit in a future “Aussie 2.0” edition).
The Aussie pizza was invented by Salvatore Della Bruna, the founder of Toto’s in Melbourne, the country’s first pizza parlour. To many, it represents the cheeky Australian spirit: simple, unfussy ingredients that somehow come together to create something crave-worthy and comforting.
As writer Mahmood Fazal once put it in a vice article, “The ‘Aussie’ is a special pizza that blurs the mealtime lines of when it’s appropriate to eat. It attracts that emotional kind of hunger, a craving somewhere between breakfast hungriness and hangover desperation.”
Our version keeps things classic but a touch elevated, swapping ham for thinly sliced prosciutto, keeping the free-range eggs front and centre, and finishing with oregano and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Aussie Style Pizza with Prosciutto & Eggs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough ball
- 1 ladle of pizza sauce
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
- Prosciutto (a fancy nod to the original ham and bacon combo)
- 2 free range eggs
- Dried oregano
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare Dough: Follow any of our dough recipes. For this particular bake, we used our cold fermentation dough recipe, opting for a home oven bake with baking steel.
- Prepare Sauce: We recommend our standard pizza sauce which is versatile, simple to make and is perfect for Neapolitan style pizzas.Spice up this sauce however you like, remember the best part about making pizza is the creative process!
- Prepare Cheese:Place your fresh mozzarella in a container or bowl with a paper towel at the bottom to allow some of the water to drain. Set aside for assembly.
- Preheat Oven:Outdoor Pizza Oven: If using an outdoor pizza like an Ooni pizza oven, aim for a temperature of 450-500°C at the center of your pizza stone. Use an infrared thermometer to ensure accuracy. It should take around 25-30 minutes to reach temperature.Home Oven: Place pizza steel or stone inside the oven and preheat to the highest temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare Base: On a lightly floured surface, stretch out the dough by hand according to the steps outlined in our dough recipe.Once you're happy with the shape of the base, lightly dust your pizza peel and transfer the dough onto the peel.
- Par-Bake the Base: Spread a ladle of sauce onto the dough in a circular motion, starting from the center and working outwards.Launch into the oven and bake briefly, just until the base begins to set and develop a bit of structure (about 20–30 seconds in a high-heat pizza oven or 2–3 minutes in a home oven).This helps make launching with the eggs much easier.
- Assemble Pizza: Remove the par-baked base and add torn mozzarella pieces evenly across the surface.Crack one or two eggs directly onto the pizza. Lay slices of prosciutto over the top but around the eggs, allowing the edges to curl and crisp as they bake. Finish with a light sprinkle of dried oregano and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Bake Your Pizza:Outdoor Pizza Oven: Launch the pizza into the oven and bake for 60-90 seconds. Keep an eye on the pie and rotate every 10-15 seconds to ensure even cooking and to prevent burning.Home Oven: Launch pizza onto a pizza steel or stone, the bake time should be around 7-10 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the eggs are set to your liking.
- Serving: Once baked, remove your pizza and let it rest for a minute before slicing. Drizzle with a little more EVOO, add a pinch of oregano.Now it's time to enjoy your Aussie-style pizza, the ideal crossover between breakfast and dinner!
