Company is coming. It’s the holidays, company is always coming. Friends, family and loved ones from afar will pass through your doors. Some will stay just the day, some will stay awhile. You’ll stay up late talking, sharing memories and just, well, catching up! Then, morning comes all too early and you drag out of bed, head to the kitchen to get a pot of coffee going. After the first cup clears your cobwebs, you suddenly realize – you have to make breakfast for a dozen people! 12 hungry mouths to feed. OK, maybe you have more or maybe you have less, you still need to feed them! The thought of all those dirty pots and pans makes you want to crawl back into bed. Never fear, friends! The breakfast braid is here to rescue you. You can impress your family and still maintain a relatively clean kitchen.
The breakfast bunch –
You’ll need a 13 x 18 baking sheet, which is NOT the one you see pictured. That pan is too small. I got out the right pan, later. The rest of the ingredients are eggs, chopped fresh spinach, chopped mushrooms, roasted red peppers, cheese, a refrigerated tube of pizza dough and some sesame seeds to make it pretty. You’ll need some butter to cook the eggs, too.
Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the baking sheet. This makes moving the breakfast braid much, much easier.
Preheat the oven to 425º.
Crack the eggs into a medium sized bowl.
If it’s your normal practice to add milk or water to your scrambled eggs, go ahead and do it. Sometimes I do, this time I didn’t. Give them a whisk.
Get out a skillet and melt some butter in it.
When it’s melted, swirl it around to cover. Then, pour in the eggs.
As the eggs cook, push the solids towards the center, so they don’t cook all the way through.
You don’t want to cook the eggs all the way. You want them soft set. Runny. Yes, runny. They’ll continue to cook and they have to go into the oven.
While the eggs are cooking, time to get the dough ready. Get your half sheet pan with the parchment paper on it. ( I got out the right pan) Pop the roll of pizza dough and spread it out onto the pan.
Gently stretch it to fit the pan. Pinch together any tears that happen. Get a knife and carefully make diagonal cuts about 2 inches apart, along both sides of the dough, leaving about 4 inches solid in the middle.
Time to build the layers. Start with the chopped fresh spinach. Evenly spread the spinach down the center of the dough.
Add a layer of mushrooms, keeping it all in the center.
Pile the eggs on next.
Let me share my latest find with you, a vegetarian cheese. A great tasting, vegetarian cheese.
This is Red Apple Naturally Good Kosher Cheese. It looks like all the cheeses in their Naturally Good Kosher and Screaming Dutchman line are vegetarian. And, look at that easy to read label! Check your markets for this cheese. If they don’t carry it, ask them to!
Back to the recipe. Get your vegetarian cheese out and grate a cup’s worth.
Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs.
Get a couple of red peppers out of the jar, pat dry and dice up.
Spread them over the top of the breakfast braid.
Now, fold one end of the dough up and over the filling. The end piece first, then the first piece on either side. Press the dough edges to seal it.
Then, fold the next strip up and over the filling. Left, then right. Or right, then left. Just do one side, then the other. Leave gaps for the filling to show through.
When you get to the middle of the breakfast braid, turn it around and start at the other end.
Continue folding one side, then the other until you reach the middle. then seal the dough edges down.
We need an egg wash, so separate out an egg white to use, or pour some liquid egg whites into a small dish. Whisk it with a fork. Brush the breakfast braid with the beaten egg wash, then sprinkle the entire top with sesame seeds.
Bake the breakfast braid at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve. This makes 6 good sized servings.
This is so easy and so versatile. You can change up the fillings, even make them for lunch or dinner. If there’s a crown at your house, it’s no more trouble to make 2 or 3 at the same time. So, relax, enjoy your coffee. You’ve got this breakfast thing under control!
- 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups lightly packed chopped spinach
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- ½ cup diced roast red peppers – jarred or fresh made
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten.
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 425º.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a large baking tray. Unroll dough onto the parchment paper and pat into a 10 x 15 inch rectangle. With a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts about 2 inches apart along both long sides of the dough, leaving about a 4 inch solid center.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beaten eggs and cook until soft scrambled, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Arrange the chopped spinach down the center of the dough. Add a layer of sliced mushrooms next. Spoon the soft set scrambled eggs evenly over the dough center for the next layer. Top with the shredded cheese. Sprinkle the roasted red peppers down the center, as the last layer.
- Bring the end piece of dough, up and over the filling end and bring the top strip of dough over the filling. Press the edges to seal. Braid dough over top of filling by alternating strips from each side. Fold the bottom edge up and over the end, sealing it with the last two edge strips.
- Brush the breakfast braid with a beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 425º for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes, slice and serve.