Here’s a fun, hybrid comfort meal: an Oven-Baked Egg Pizza Toast Sandwich. It combines the crispiness of toast, the gooey satisfaction of pizza, and a perfectly baked egg, all made in one tray in the oven. It’s not a slow cooker recipe, but it’s a brilliant quick meal.

Overview

• Prep time: 5 minutes

• Cook time: 10-12 minutes

• Serves: 1 (easily multiplied for a crowd)

Ingredients

For the Base

• Bread: 2 thick slices of sturdy bread (sourdough, white bloomer, or brioche works best)

• Butter: softened, for spreading

The Pizza Layer

• Pizza sauce or passata: 2-3 tbsp

• Dried oregano: a pinch

• Garlic powder: a pinch (optional)

• Mozzarella: a handful, grated or torn (low-moisture mozzarella melts best)

• Pepperoni or other toppings: 4-5 slices (optional)

The Egg & Finish

• Eggs: 2 medium

• Salt and black pepper: to taste

• Chilli flakes: a pinch (optional)

• Fresh basil or parsley: torn, for garnish

Method

1. Preheat the Oven

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Prepare the Bread

Butter both slices of bread lightly on one side only. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press down firmly in the centre of each slice to create a shallow well or indent. This helps hold the egg in place. Place the bread, buttered-side up, on the prepared tray.

3. Build the Pizza Layer

Spread the pizza sauce evenly on each slice, leaving a slight border around the edge but making sure you build up a small rim of sauce around the indent you made — this acts as a wall. Sprinkle with dried oregano and garlic powder. Scatter the mozzarella evenly over the sauce. If using pepperoni, lay the slices flat now, slightly overlapping the rim to create a barrier.

4. Add the Egg

Crack one egg carefully into the centre well of each slice of bread. The sauce and cheese rim should naturally hold the egg. Season the egg with salt, pepper, and chilli flakes.

5. Bake

Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on how you like your egg:

• 10-11 minutes: runny yolk, just-set white

• 12-13 minutes: jammy, custard-like yolk

• 14+ minutes: fully set yolk

The bread should be golden and crisp underneath, the cheese melted and bubbling.

6. Finish and Serve

Remove from the oven and let it sit for 1 minute. Top with fresh basil or parsley and an extra crack of black pepper. You can eat it open-faced or sandwich the two slices together for the full “pizza toast sandwich” effect — just be warned, it’s gloriously messy.

Variations

Meat Lovers: Add cooked crumbled sausage, bacon lardons, or ham under the cheese.
Veggie Supreme: Scatter diced bell peppers, sliced black olives, and mushrooms before the egg.
Spicy Diavola: Spicy salami, jalapeños, and a drizzle of hot honey to finish.
Cheese Lovers: Mix mozzarella with provolone or a sharp cheddar and finish with grated parmesan.

Tips for Success

• Stale bread works better than fresh, super-soft bread as it holds the well more firmly and gets crispier.

• Create a proper well: The key is that sauce/cheese rim; it stops the egg white from running all over the tray.

• Watch the egg white: If the white still looks raw but the bread is browning too fast, loosely tent the tray with foil for the last few minutes.

• Line your tray: Eggs can sometimes overflow — baking paper saves you a scrubbing session.