I’m sure you’ve made pizza before where the toppings are nicely browned but once you cut into it you find that the dough is a little soggy and not quite as crunchy and cooked as you’d like. When this happens it usually means that there is a lot of heat coming from the top of your oven but not much coming from the bottom. So, how do you avoid this happening? Here’s a guide for how to make sure your pizza is cooking evenly and you don’t end up with a soggy pizza crust.
Add Bottom Heat
Ovens are usually the hottest at the top. If you’re cooking your pizza on the highest rack, it makes sense that the top is cooking a lot faster than the bottom. Also, when you put your dough on a cool baking sheet, the cool baking sheet is going to transfer a cold temperature to the bottom of your pizza crust. In these cases, there are two solutions. You can either make sure you’re cooking the pizza on the bottom rack or use a pizza stone. A pizza stone might be the best solution here. Keep the pizza stone in the oven while it’s pre-heating so that it can warm up. When you transfer the dough to the pizza stone it will already be hot which will allow your crust to cook faster and better.
Use the Right Temperature
When using a pizza oven, it’s easy to set it to an extremely high temperature and cook the pizza for a shorter amount of time. However, when using a traditional oven it’s not the best idea to set your oven to that high of a temperature. In this case, you should cook your pizza for a longer amount of time on a lower oven rack. This will help the dough cook more thoroughly without the top burning. Another solution is for you to put the dough in the oven for a few minutes before adding the toppings. This will give the dough extra time to cook without having to worry about burning the toppings.
Don’t Use Cold Dough
If your dough is cold when you put it in the oven it’s going to take longer to cook. Make sure your dough is at room temperature to assure that it won’t need extra time in the oven.
Limit Your Wet Toppings
If you are putting wet and soggy toppings on your pizza, it’s likely that they will cause your crust to become soggy. The main culprit is the tomato sauce. If your sauce is too watery it’s going to affect the crispiness of the crust. Other toppings such as veggies can affect the crispiness too. If you’re putting only a small amount then it should be fine, but if you’re loading your pizza with veggies we suggest cooking them a little first to get rid of some of their water.
Order Delicious, Crispy Pizza from Neo Pizza
If you’re still having trouble making sure your pizza crust gets crispy, just throw in the towel and order a pizza from Neo Pizza! Our high heat pizza ovens allow the dough and toppings to cook evenly leaving you with a crispy, crunchy bite! We have a handful of specialty pizzas you can order or you can build your own! Stop into any of our locations or order take-out. If you have any questions for us, fill out a contact form on our website!