'Bagels And Lox' Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Bagels and lox are quite the dynamic brunch duo, and the smoked salmon-topped favorite just got a major upgrade with this breakfast pizza recipe. Featuring all of the classic fixings of smoked salmon bagels, this 'bagels and lox' breakfast pizza recipe reinvents the wheel in all the best ways possible. The from-scratch pizza base makes up the "bagel" portion of the recipe, featuring a crust appropriately coated in everything but the bagel seasoning. A plethora of fresh toppings, including the essential cream cheese and smoked salmon, transforms the pizza into something truly special and unlike any brunch main you've enjoyed in the past.

We're big fans of grabbing bagels and lox from our local bagel shop, but making this pizza at home was a fun way to enjoy those same flavors in a new way. Though this recipe really does rely on classic bagels and lox inspiration, serving it in pizza form allows those flavors to truly meld and sing — plus it's a lot prettier than your standard bagel. From the everything bagel-seasoned crust to the herby cream cheese, smoky salmon, crisp veggie toppings, and briny capers, this breakfast pizza is a total smorgasbord of ingredients that all bring something different to the table, yet taste so great and cohesive in a given bite. This pizza is also great for feeding a crowd (you can even bulk up the
dough and make two), and it goes down even easier than a bagel.

The base of this recipe starts with the bagel-inspired pizza dough, for which you'll need a packet of active dry yeast, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, kosher salt, olive oil, and everything bagel seasoning. Next, you'll elevate plain cream cheese with fresh dill, fresh chives, lemon zest, salt, and pepper, to make the "sauce" to spread on the pizza. Finally, lox-inspired toppings include smoked salmon, red onion, English cucumber, avocado, capers, and arugula.

In a large bowl, stir to combine the yeast, sugar, and ¾ cup warm water.

Cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

Add the flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons of oil; stir to form a rough dough.

Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

Using wet hands, stretch the dough up and fold it over itself 3-4 times. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Repeat Step 5 two more times, then wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 550 F or as high as it will go.

Flour a clean surface.

Flour a baking sheet.

Using floured hands, stretch the dough to form an 11-inch round, leaving a thicker crust around the edges.

Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Drizzle all over with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle the edges with everything bagel seasoning.

Once the oven is preheated, bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned. Set aside to cool.

While the crust cools, to prepare the cheese topping, in a medium bowl, stir to combine the cream cheese, herbs, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

Spread the cheese evenly over the center of the cooled crust.

Top with smoked salmon, onion, cucumber, avocado, and capers.

Finish with arugula and serve.

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Yeasted dough is something of a backbone within the baking world, making up the base for staple recipes ranging from pizza to bagels to breads and more. When working with yeasted dough, like in this recipe, it's all about patience. It's more important to pay attention to the dough itself than the clock. Yeasted doughs take time to rise, and depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this process may happen more quickly or more slowly (the colder your kitchen is, the slower it'll go). So, instead of giving the dough a rigid timeframe to rise in, pay more attention to when it has adequately risen and puffed up. 

You may notice that this recipe doesn't involve any kneading, so those steps that call for stretching (and repeating) are pretty crucial. The stretching helps activate the gluten, which will, in turn, yield a baked pizza crust with that perfect chewy-crisp texture. This recipe calls for a total of three stretching sessions with 15-minute rests in between, and the combination of stretches and resting is essential to establish the right texture in a yeasted dough like this one (without the need for kneading). 

As we've just touched on the need for patience when preparing a yeasted dough, you may be wondering if any of the prep work can be done in advance. Fortunately, you can indeed work on the pizza dough upwards of four days in advance; go through all of the stretch and rest periods as called for, then wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate. Another option is to freeze the dough for up to a month, then transfer it to the fridge the night before you intend to make the pizza to allow the dough to fully thaw. 

You can also fully prepare and bake the pizza crust, but then save it to actually assemble the pizza the next day. Follow the recipe as written up until the crust is out of the oven, let it fully cool, then wrap tightly in plastic until you're ready to use. For optimal freshness, try to use the crust within a day, and simply add the toppings as instructed before slicing, serving, and enjoying.

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