Pastry chef Joanne Chang’s easy breakfast pizza recipe features a pizza crust made from fluffy brioche dough, topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, and baked until crispy. This unique take on homemade pizza is sure to be a new family favorite.

Joanne Chang’s Mushroom and Thyme Brioche Breakfast Pizzas

Joanne Chang is a Boston-based pastry chef and the co-owner of Flour Bakery. The award-winning pastry chef has a degree with honors in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Passionate about baking since her college days, Joanne left her consulting job to work in restaurants, eventually opening Flour Bakery in 2000. Since then, she expanded the bakery to eight more locations, opened a Taiwanese-inspired restaurant, won a reality TV cooking competition and a James Beard Award, and wrote five cookbooks.

Despite her long list of accolades, Joanne still delights in the alchemy of baking: simple ingredients that, when combined with the right techniques, transform into something magical. Learn to [bake like a pro](https://www.masterclass.com/sessions/classes/bake-like-a-pro) with Joanne Chang.
A breakfast pizza is a dough-based entrée made with typical breakfast ingredients like bacon bits, bell peppers, breakfast sausage, cream cheese, green onions, hash browns, or scrambled eggs alongside more traditional pizza ingredients like Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Standard breakfast or brunch fare, you can make breakfast pizza using traditional pizza dough or by shaping brioche or crescent roll dough into rounds.
These breakfast pizzas use brioche dough instead of the typical pizza dough. Brioche isn’t your average bread—it’s enriched with an abundance of eggs and butter, giving the crumb a light, fluffy texture. Here are some tips for making the recipe:

1. __Know your yeasts__. Active dry yeast is a granulated, dehydrated powder commonly sold in individual packets or glass jars. Unopened, it can be shelf-stable for more than a year; once opened, store [active dry yeast](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/active-dry-yeast-explained) in the refrigerator for three to four months. [Fresh yeast](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/fresh-yeast-explained), also known as cake yeast, comes in soft, compressed “cakes,” usually found in the dairy section of most grocery stores. Due to its moisture content (around seventy percent), fresh yeast has a shelf life of about 2 weeks when refrigerated and must be crumbled and proofed (tested to see if it’s active) in tepid water before using. 
2. __Choose the yeast of your choice__. Yeast is an important component of breakfast pizza; choosing between [active dry yeast vs. fresh yeast](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dry-yeast-vs-fresh-yeast) comes down to personal preference. Some bakers prefer fresh yeast over dry for a subtle difference in flavor, but others find it indistinguishable. Fresh yeast activates more quickly than dry yeast, so if you use fresh yeast, your brioche may proof faster than listed in Joanne’s recipe instructions. Learn more about [proofing bread](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/baking-101-what-is-proofing-learn-how-to-proof-breads-and-other-baked-goods).
3. __Chill the butter if necessary__. “Room temperature” can mean different things depending on the weather. If your butter is too soft when you add it to your brioche dough, the dough will be very runny (resembling pancake batter), and it will take longer for the butter to absorb. If the dough does not come together, you can chill the entire mixing bowl in the refrigerator for ten to fifteen minutes. If your butter is too cold when added, it will take longer for the dough to come together because it will take longer for the mixer to break down the butter. Too-cold butter is not ideal, but it’s better to err on the side of colder butter than warmer butter.
4. __Work ahead__. You can make both the brioche dough and the mushroom filling for this recipe ahead of time. The brioche dough will keep up to five days in the freezer and one day in the fridge, and the mushroom filling will last four days in the refrigerator. If you make the dough and filling ahead of time, all that’s left is to shape and bake the pizzas when you’re ready.
5. __Get creative__. Joanne’s recipe for brioche pizza dough is only a starting point—don’t be afraid to unleash your creativity. Try layering on fillings such as tomato, bacon, ham, or mozzarella or cheddar cheese; consider cracking an egg into each bun.
Pastry chef Joanne Chang’s easy breakfast pizza recipe features a pizza crust made from fluffy brioche dough, topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, and baked until crispy. This unique take on homemade pizza is sure to be a new family favorite.

Joanne Chang is a Boston-based pastry chef and the co-owner of Flour Bakery. The award-winning pastry chef has a degree with honors in applied mathematics and economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Passionate about baking since her college days, Joanne left her consulting job to work in restaurants, eventually opening Flour Bakery in 2000. Since then, she expanded the bakery to eight more locations, opened a Taiwanese-inspired restaurant, won a reality TV cooking competition and a James Beard Award, and wrote five cookbooks.Despite her long list of accolades, Joanne still delights in the alchemy of baking: simple ingredients that, when combined with the right techniques, transform into something magical. Learn to <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/sessions/classes/bake-like-a-pro' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/sessions/classes/bake-like-a-pro","linkCopy":"bake like a pro","category":null}'>bake like a pro</a> with Joanne Chang.

About Joanne Chang

A breakfast pizza is a dough-based entrée made with typical breakfast ingredients like bacon bits, bell peppers, breakfast sausage, cream cheese, green onions, hash browns, or scrambled eggs alongside more traditional pizza ingredients like Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Standard breakfast or brunch fare, you can make breakfast pizza using traditional pizza dough or by shaping brioche or crescent roll dough into rounds.

What Is a Breakfast Pizza?

These breakfast pizzas use brioche dough instead of the typical pizza dough. Brioche isn’t your average bread—it’s enriched with an abundance of eggs and butter, giving the crumb a light, fluffy texture. Here are some tips for making the recipe:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Know your yeasts. Active dry yeast is a granulated, dehydrated powder commonly sold in individual packets or glass jars. Unopened, it can be shelf-stable for more than a year; once opened, store <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/active-dry-yeast-explained' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/active-dry-yeast-explained","linkCopy":"active dry yeast","category":null}'>active dry yeast</a> in the refrigerator for three to four months. <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/fresh-yeast-explained' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/fresh-yeast-explained","linkCopy":"Fresh yeast","category":null}'>Fresh yeast</a>, also known as cake yeast, comes in soft, compressed “cakes,” usually found in the dairy section of most grocery stores. Due to its moisture content (around seventy percent), fresh yeast has a shelf life of about 2 weeks when refrigerated and must be crumbled and proofed (tested to see if it’s active) in tepid water before using. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Choose the yeast of your choice. Yeast is an important component of breakfast pizza; choosing between <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dry-yeast-vs-fresh-yeast' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dry-yeast-vs-fresh-yeast","linkCopy":"active dry yeast vs. fresh yeast","category":null}'>active dry yeast vs. fresh yeast</a> comes down to personal preference. Some bakers prefer fresh yeast over dry for a subtle difference in flavor, but others find it indistinguishable. Fresh yeast activates more quickly than dry yeast, so if you use fresh yeast, your brioche may proof faster than listed in Joanne’s recipe instructions. Learn more about <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/baking-101-what-is-proofing-learn-how-to-proof-breads-and-other-baked-goods' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/baking-101-what-is-proofing-learn-how-to-proof-breads-and-other-baked-goods","linkCopy":"proofing bread","category":null}'>proofing bread</a>. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Chill the butter if necessary. “Room temperature” can mean different things depending on the weather. If your butter is too soft when you add it to your brioche dough, the dough will be very runny (resembling pancake batter), and it will take longer for the butter to absorb. If the dough does not come together, you can chill the entire mixing bowl in the refrigerator for ten to fifteen minutes. If your butter is too cold when added, it will take longer for the dough to come together because it will take longer for the mixer to break down the butter. Too-cold butter is not ideal, but it’s better to err on the side of colder butter than warmer butter. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 4. Work ahead. You can make both the brioche dough and the mushroom filling for this recipe ahead of time. The brioche dough will keep up to five days in the freezer and one day in the fridge, and the mushroom filling will last four days in the refrigerator. If you make the dough and filling ahead of time, all that’s left is to shape and bake the pizzas when you’re ready. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 5. Get creative. Joanne’s recipe for brioche pizza dough is only a starting point—don’t be afraid to unleash your creativity. Try layering on fillings such as tomato, bacon, ham, or mozzarella or cheddar cheese; consider cracking an egg into each bun. </li></ol>

5 Tips for Making Joanne Chang’s Mushroom and Thyme Brioche Breakfast Pizzas

Joanne Chang’s Mushroom and Thyme Brioche Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Pastry chef Joanne Chang’s easy breakfast pizza recipe features a pizza crust made from fluffy brioche dough, topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, and baked until crispy. This unique take on homemade pizza is sure to be a new family favorite.

Pastry chef Joanne Chang’s easy breakfast pizza recipe features a pizza crust made from fluffy brioche dough, topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, and baked until crispy. This unique take on homemade pizza is sure to be a new family favorite.
