I’ve been doing this for a while, but it’s a problem I’ve never solved. Dunno if it’s my crust recipe or something I need to do during construction.

The recipe is as follows:

  • 1c water, 120°F
  • 1 packet dry active yeast (2.25tsp)
  • 1Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2Tbsp olive oil
  • 3.5C white flour
  • 1tsp salt
  1. Mix the yeast and sugar in the warm water, wait to bloom
  2. Add everything else and mix into dough.
  3. Knead, proof
  4. Roll out, transfer to pan
  5. Second proof (optional)
  6. Preheat oven to 425°F
  7. Construct pizza with favorite toppings
  8. Bake at 425°F for 15min or until cheese is sufficiently browned

Step 7 usually has jarred marinara, meats (except pepperoni), spices, and cheese, and all the veggies (and pepperoni) go on top.

Still, the very middle part of the pizza ends up a little doughy, just where the sauce meets the crust. The outside of the pizza is just fine, but the only thing I can think is that the sauce is adding too much water. Do I need to add a layer of oil before the sauce, or should I try to reduce the sauce before adding it? Should I reduce the temp and increase the time?

Thanks!

Edit: Everyone has had some great ideas. I’ll have plenty to try!

  • jtsk2009@lemmy.ca
    0·
    1 month ago

    I am sure the serious foodies will downvote this comment but I precook the crust to prevent this. Roll out the dough and put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 then remove. Then just finish the pizza as you normally would.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 month ago

    Less sauce, and more heat. Dont cook it on a metal pan, get a stone or steel. Crank your oven up as high as it can go, and heat for 20-30m before putting the pizza in.

    Also, marinara, especially the jarred kind, is not a sub for pizza sauce as there is way too much liquid. Get pizza sauce, or check seriouseats for their sauce recipe as a starter.

    Edit: also, 120F is too hot for proofing yeast as it will kill it. 80-100F is more ideal.

    • Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
      0·
      1 month ago

      A stone or steel and higher temperature+less time will help immensely. Even a preheated cast iron pan would help. (Look at specific cast iron pizza instructions, I haven’t made any)

      I tend to do 500f for 6-7 minutes on a baking steel and even heavier toppings are good.

      Also: what toppings? Uncooked mushrooms and pineapple are super wet, cooking them beforehand is important.

      • Tug@kbin.earth
        0·
        1 month ago

        This right here, pre-heat the pan/stone and you’ll get a better crust. I’m presuming you’re not making the crust too thick.

      • Psycho84@lemm.eeEnglish
        0·
        1 month ago

        Came to say something similar: I use a pizza steel and bake at 500°F for 5-8 minutes, and my doughs usually turn out crispy and delicious.

        • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
          0·
          1 month ago

          They can be had for pretty cheap, really, but I prefer putting my fresh made pizzas in a cast iron skillet.

          Go one tier lower from the middle rack of the oven and cook at 450 instead of 425. Make sure your pizza stone or skillet is pre heated and fully up to temp with the oven before putting in the crust you made (like, pull out the skillet from the oven, set the crust in and put back in oven.). Put a fair amount of butter or olive oil in a skillet just before laying in the dough.

          Don’t use the convection setting on your oven. You want the heat to rise from under the skillet/stone. It’s also why you go to a lower rack than the middle. It gets the bottom hotter and more crispy faster.

          Obviously, you’ll have to adjust your times a bit for when to put in the sauce and toppings.

          A great part about using a skillet is that not only will it cook similar to a stone, the ability to add butter and oil to the bottom really adds to the crisp texture of the bottom of the crust, and if you pull out out of the oven because your toppings are all done, but you find the crust still isn’t quite crispy enough or not quite done as you’d like, you can cook it a bit more on the stove top. Your pizza game will be 200% better. I’m a huge lover of non thin crust crispy crusted pizzas and I’ve been using a stone for frozen pizzas and a skillet for my fresh made pizzas for the past 20 years.

          • Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            0·
            21 hours ago

            I use a 12" cast iron. I turn the oven to 450°F (a gas stove circa 1990’s) so I heat it for a while 60 mins, and pre-heat the pan for 30mins.

            Assembling the pizza in the hot pan is quick hot work, but worth it. No crust issues, even if its inferior dough.

  • kokope11i@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 month ago

    “all the veggies” bring all the moisture. Cut back or precook the wet stuff. Go easy on the sauce.

    • Telorand@reddthat.comOP
      0·
      1 month ago

      Go easy on the sauce.

      Only as a last resort. I’m pretty sure my SO would cook me alive, otherwise!

  • inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 month ago

    425 is a little low. Pizza is all about heat, I pre-bake my crust for 7 at 450 to firm crust, then add sauce, cheese and toppings. Like many others said, a pizza stone is a huge help.

  • RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    1 month ago

    A lot of people have mentioned getting a pizza stone or steel and cooking at higher temps, and they’re 100% right.

    I just want to add that steel is definitely the way to go if it’s in the budget - specifically, steel has more thermal mass and conducts heat better than stone.

    Crust crispness is entirely a function of how much heat you’re able to supply to the surface, and when baking in a standard oven (max ~500F) instead of a pizza oven (700+ F), you need all the help you can get - which means steel, preferably at least 1/4" thick.

    Sticking with the tools you have, you can try preheating your pan, like you would a stone/steel, before putting the topped pizza on it.

    • Telorand@reddthat.comOP
      0·
      1 month ago

      Thanks for the advice! I had a stone once, but it cracked (from heat), and I just never replaced it. A pizza steel is something new I’d never heard of until people mentioned it in the comments, so I’ll have to look into that.

      I have a double-layered, perforated pan that’s maybe 16ga altogether, but I can try preheating that.

      • RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        1 month ago

        For sure look into the pizza steel.

        Stones often crack not because of heat specifically, but because of moisture.

        They should really only ever be exposed to moisture once fully heated, and allowed a little extra time after the pizza bakes to dry out before turning the oven off.

        A pizza steel will be more resilient, though it can rust if washed regularly without seasoning (just like a cast iron / carbon steel pan)

        A big oven safe pan is a good start, the heavier the better.

  • skribe@aussie.zone
    0·
    1 month ago

    The olive oil might be causing it to become too doughy. You don’t need it (or the sugar). Both are for taste and texture. You’ll likely need to fiddle with the water if you lose the oil.

    I’d also recommend measuring by weight and not volume. It’s more accurate. Buy yourself some cheap kitchen scales.

  • 0ops@lemm.ee
    0·
    1 month ago

    Lots of good advice in this thread, here’s one more that I discovered: spread the sauce thinner in the center of the pie. As the pie cooks the fluids will often pool in the center, so intentionally leaving the middle dry-ish can help compensate for that. I like my pizza really saucy, but I’ll leave the center barely wet with sauce, and that’s fine because it’s only the first couple bites of the slice anyway.

    Also just mind the fluids you top the pizza with. If you’re doing pepperoni, then you really don’t need olive oil on top of that.