Does Pizza Dough Have Egg In It? Find Out Now!

You’ve likely found yourself here, wondering “Does pizza dough have egg in it?”

Generally, no. The classic form of pizza dough is made from a few basic ingredients, none of which are eggs.

However, people are always experimenting with food. Some people add egg to their pizza dough to achieve a different texture, taste, or look. For this reason, you should always double-check any dough you didn’t make yourself.

There are a lot of reasons you might need to keep eggs out of your diet. The most common are allergies or a special diet like veganism or keto.

Luckily, one of the world’s favorite dishes is incredibly easy to make egg-free! In fact, pizza dough is generally egg and dairy-free by default. 

Less fortunate, it’s become more common in recent decades to experiment with adding new things to pizza dough, including eggs. This means people avoiding eggs need to be careful about the pizza they eat.

Today, we’ll explore why people use eggs in pizza dough, and what someone avoiding eggs should keep in mind when eating pizza. To be specific, we’ll cover:

• A traditional pizza dough makeup
• The benefits of adding egg to pizza dough
• The drawbacks of adding egg to pizza dough
• Some FAQs about pizza dough, egg, dairy, and other restrictions.

Let’s get into it!

Traditional Pizza Ingredients

For decades, pizza has been a worldwide phenomenon enjoyed by millions in all its different forms.

It’s been changed, added to, and transformed completely by chefs from all over the planet. It’s an incredibly simple, delicious, and yet very flexible dish, and as such has been at the center of a lot of culinary experimentation.

This means that the ingredients used in pizza dough can vary greatly depending on who’s making it.

Generally, classic pizza dough is made from flour, water, and yeast. This means it’s completely vegan, with no egg or dairy of any kind. 

It’s fairly common to add sugar or salt to the recipe. Salt helps to enrich the flavor of the dough, while sugar increases the reactivity of the yeast – resulting in a better rise. You’ll find these in a lot of modern pizza doughs, especially at restaurants. 

You start by mixing some of the flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Then, it’s brought together with the water, slowly adding the rest of the flour over time. This will result in a smooth, sticky dough that should form into a ball easily.

Once it’s rested for 30 minutes to an hour – during which it should be doubled in size – it can be gently deflated and put onto a floured work surface. From there, you can knead the dough and form your pizza base.

Voila! You now have a pizza base, ready for all your favorite delicious toppings.

This classic method is timeless and incredible, despite its simplicity. It can create a wonderfully crunchy, soft, airy pizza base that is the perfect pairing for your toppings of choice.

It should be noted that keeping your ingredient proportions in check is very important when making pizza dough. Because there are so few components, any change in the ratio will have a large impact on the texture, taste, and behavior of the final dough.

Factors like the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, resting time, gluten content, and the wood and temperature of your pizza oven will also have a big impact on the final result.

In the same way, adding any new ingredients (including egg) will also change your dough drastically.

What are the Benefits of Adding Eggs to Pizza Dough?

There are a few reasons someone might use eggs in their pizza dough.

Using egg yolk in the dough is a great way of creating a richer flavor, helping the pizza base compete with flavorful toppings such as meat. Yolks also help to create a fluffier texture thanks to the fat they contain.

With egg yolks, your dough will become richer and thicker, with a deeper flavor. On the other hand, egg whites are a natural emulsifier thanks to their lecithin content.

This chemical helps to bind water and fat in the dough, creating a smoother, silkier dough. It also helps to reduce the shrinking of the dough during cooking.

The proteins found in eggs add structure and stability to the dough, allowing it to be more stretchy and pliable. This can make forming it into bases easier; tearing can be a very annoying challenge when rolling out pizza dough!

Some people brush beaten eggs onto a formed pizza base right before it goes into the oven, helping it gain more color and crispiness. It also provides a nice, glossy look for photos.

Basically, eggs used in different ways can change numerous features of the dough. It really depends on the final result the chef desires.

An often overlooked, additional utility of eggs in pizza dough is for gluten-free or keto-friendly bases.

Because gluten-free pizza dough can’t make use of the classic flour and yeast combo, it requires other methods of creating rise and texture in the base. 

Eggs are an often integral part of this, helping to make that classic, pizza crust texture without the gluten content.

Unfortunately, this means if you’re both gluten and egg-free, you may have problems finding pizza dough to suit your needs.

What are the Drawbacks of Adding Eggs to Pizza Dough?

The biggest drawback of including eggs in pizza dough is cost. 

Eggs are an expensive ingredient, and a significant amount is required to make a real difference to pizza dough. Normally, pizza dough is an incredibly cheap product to make. However, once you add eggs, the price rises considerably.

This is why most fast food pizza chains don’t use eggs in their crusts. For instance, almost all Papa John’s and Domino’s pizza dough doesn’t use any eggs at all.

Eggs also mean a shorter shelf-life for dough. This is another downside taken into account by corporations that need their dough to last as long as possible before use.

Additionally, using eggs creates a greater food safety risk. Flour, water, and yeast are all relatively safe ingredients to work with. You’re unlikely to spread any nasty diseases around your kitchen if you handle them and then touch other things.

Raw eggs, however, can carry bacteria such as salmonella. 

As such, you have to be careful not to cross-contaminate with other tools and surfaces in your workspace when making the dough – especially tricky when you’re constantly touching the dough to knead or shape it!

For this reason, excluding eggs makes for an easier cooking process with less risk of accidental contamination.

Finally, some people just don’t like the texture and taste of pizza dough with eggs. This is entirely based on personal preference. Some people enjoy a richer, chewier dough, while others like something airy and crisp.

Ultimately, if you do like the texture or look created by using eggs, you can probably achieve the same effect with cheaper ingredients (such as by using sugar for a browner crust).

Conclusion

In the end, much of creating the perfect pizza base depends on your personal preferences.

For some, egg yolks create a great texture in pizza crust. For others, it makes the base too chewy and rich and creates too much competition with the toppings.

If you’re avoiding eggs due to allergies, diet, or any other reason, you’re probably safe to eat most pizza doughs. However, keep in mind that some people do use eggs in their pizza dough recipes. 

So, if you’re eating pizza crust you didn’t make yourself, always check the ingredients first!

Ask the waiter at the restaurant, or read the back of the box on the frozen pizza. Though you’ll rarely find eggs included, it’s best to be safe and make sure.

FAQs