Australian pizza
Flagship profileAlso known as: Aussie pizza
A genuinely distinctive Australian national pizza topping culture, most famously the breakfast-inspired bacon-egg-barbecue-sauce 'Aussie', built on a generic thin-to-medium base rather than a distinct crust tradition.
- Origin
- Australia
- Thickness
- thin
- Bake temperature
- 250-280 celsius (typically 265 celsius)
- Bake time
- 480-720 seconds (typically 600 seconds)
- Skill level
- beginner
- Domestic oven
- good
- Time commitment
- 2-4 hours
- Topping density
- generous
Origin and history
Developed from the 1950s onward by Italian immigrant pizzerias (Melbourne's Lygon Street is a widely cited early hub), Australian pizza culture is defined less by a distinct crust or bake method than by a genuinely distinctive national topping culture — most famously the 'Aussie' (bacon, egg, and barbecue sauce, echoing a traditional Australian breakfast) alongside other fusion and native-ingredient toppings.
Defining characteristics
- The 'Aussie': barbecue sauce base, bacon, and a fried or baked egg — a breakfast-inspired topping combination
- A broader culture of fusion and native-ingredient toppings (e.g. kangaroo, emu, or barramundi in some specialty preparations) alongside imported Italian, American, Greek, and Asian influences
- No single distinct crust or bake method — the crust is generally a generic thin-to-medium pizzeria base
Visual guide
Dough
- Hydration
- 58-65 percent of flour weight (typically 60 percent of flour weight)
- Salt
- 2-2.5 percent of flour weight (typically 2.2 percent of flour weight)
- Bulk fermentation
- 1-3 hours (typically 2 hours)
Mixing: Machine mixed
Kneading: Moderate kneading
Shaping: Hand-stretched
Expected crumb: Moderately open
Tolerance: An unremarkable, generic base dough; the style's identity is in its topping culture, not its crust
Common failure modes
- Baking a raw egg on the pizza for the full bake time cooks it unevenly; frying separately and adding after baking is more reliable
Flour choices
A generic, reliable base — this style is defined by its topping culture rather than a distinct crust tradition.
Construction and bake
- Stretch the dough
- Apply barbecue or tomato sauce
- Apply cheese
- Add bacon and other toppings
- Bake
- Top with a fried egg after baking if making an Aussie
Traditional method: Deck oven, moderate-high heat
Common modern adaptations
- Easily replicated at home with any standard round-pizza method
Techniques
A generic, reliable base — this style's identity comes from its topping culture, not a distinct shaping tradition.
Flavour and texture
A generic, moderately crisp base carrying genuinely distinctive Australian breakfast-inspired and fusion topping combinations
Serving
Cut into wedges
Cut into wedges · Shared, ordered by the whole pie
Ingredients
Ingredient intelligence
Sauce
The defining base of the 'Aussie' — bacon, egg, and barbecue sauce — echoing a traditional Australian breakfast rather than an Italian tomato base.
A standard base for the many Australian pizzas built outside the barbecue-based 'Aussie' tradition.
Cheese
A standard melting cheese beneath bacon and other toppings, with a fried egg typically added only after baking.
Toppings
One of the two defining proteins of the 'Aussie', echoing a traditional Australian cooked breakfast.
The signature breakfast-inspired finish of the 'Aussie', added whole and intact rather than baked into the topping layer.
Construction order
Derived from this style’s own structural ingredient data — see the construction order & topping load guide for why order varies by style.
- Sauce: Barbecue sauce, Cooked tomato sauce
- Melting cheese: Low-moisture mozzarella
- Primary topping: Cooked bacon
- Post-bake addition: Fried egg (post-bake)
Domestic adaptation
Straightforward to replicate at home; the topping combination defines authenticity, not the crust or oven
Common mistakes
- Baking an egg raw on the pizza rather than frying it separately and adding it after baking