Quote:
Originally Posted by tranquility
Tx, I usually do that but noticed my crust was already getting burnt. Any tips? I put my frozen homemade pizza on bake @450F for 15 mins. Somehow the centre is always undercooked compared to the edges.
|
Cheese thickness.
The cheese looks way to thick for my liking on the photo you posted.
Pizza is a balance of getting what you want on it (toppings) and getting it all cooked properly. The edge of the crust often burns before the toppings are cooked. Raw and sloppy toppings are...yuck.
A true pizza deck oven or wood fired oven is the gold standard. Any household oven is an approximation of the deck oven. A heavy pizza stone helps.
My mitigations to avoid burning crust (I don't have a deck oven) and cooking the toppings properly:
- heavy thermal mass under the pizza. I use an induction 12" sautoir, it's heavy. I have used a stone in the past with equally good results. Preheat the oven for minimum of 45 minutes with the thermal mass inside before baking. I still seek a more "done" bottom crust. I like crunchy, but not burned, crust.
- thin and evenly spread layer of toppings. "Meat lovers" and similar pizzas don't really do very well in a home oven. They can become lakes of cheese and grease with uncooked veggies.
- Highest oven temp possible. Mine goes to 550 deg F.
- A touch of broiler at the end, if needed. My pizza builds are thin enough that everything is cooked without using the broiler. Heavier topping loads will need a touch of broiler.
Summary: it's a balance. Don't load a mountain of toppings. Spread the toppings ultra-evenly.