How To Stop Your Pizza Base From Burning

For pizza lovers, making the perfect pizza crust is tricky. Cold dough can become a burnt pizza base or a burnt pizza bottom very quickly. But why is your pizza burnt?

Is it a burnt pizza bottom because of the pizza dough?

Have you used too much sugar? Are there too many pizza toppings or not enough pizza toppings? Should you use an infrared thermometer?

To ensure that you have that perfect pizza and avoid pizza burns, you’ll need to master making excellent pizza dough as well as baking pizzas for the right length of time.

The main cause of burnt pizza crust is the heat source is too close to the bottom of the pizza. You need less direct heat, so move your pizza to a higher shelf.

But are there other causes for your burnt pizza? What’s the best way to bake pizza? How does the oven temperature affect your pizza dough?

Have you used too much flour? Is a thick crust pizza more likely to burn?

Well, we have all the proper baking info that you need for the perfect pizza.

Why Does Pizza Base Burn?

Here are some of the main reasons that pizza crust burns:

Pizza Is Too Close To The Oven’s Heat Source

Does more heat mean the best pizza?

Most ovens have their heat source on the oven floor. However, a pizza oven, a wood fired oven or wood fired pizza oven has its heat at the back of the cooking chamber.

Even if you have pizza steel or perforated pizza peel between your pizza and the oven floor, your pizza dough could still burn.

It might cook your pizza faster, but if you leave it unattended, then you can expect burnt pizza.

All you need to do is move your baking pizza away from your oven’s heat source and monitor the temperature using an infrared thermometer.

Excess Flour On Your Pizza Base

If you are concerned about your baking pizza sticking to your parchment paper, baking sheet, or bare stone or steel surface, then you might be tempted to cover the cooking surface with excess flour.

But if you use excessive flour in a pizza oven, you must be aware that it can burn when exposed to high temperatures.

Therefore, if you use too much flour with your pizza dough, you are increasing the chances of your pizza crust burning.

Even substitutes for wheat flour like corn flour and almond flour will burn when exposed to high direct heat. You’ll want to avoid excess flour of all types.

Instead, use a baking sheet or parchment paper to create a barrier between your cold pizza dough and your hot surface.

Too Much Sugar In Your Pizza

Some pizza lovers have a baking method where they put a little bit more sugar in their pizza dough to get that classic golden pizza bottom texture. However, this might also result in your pizza burning.

You won’t actually need extra sugar in your pizza dough, especially if you are using a pizza oven that can reach a high heat.

We would recommend that you use only the required amount of dough and trust that the heat from your wood fired oven will create that golden-brown pizza crust.

Prevent Your Pizza Base Burning

Now that we’ve had a look at some of the main causes of pizza burning, let’s discuss how you can avoid burnt pizza bottom in the future.

Bake Pizza Higher Up In Your Oven

Find out where the heating element of your oven is and place the pizza at the opposite end. If your heating element is on the bottom, then place it on a high shelf and vice versa.

This is a great method of avoiding uneven heat distribution and your pizza cooking unevenly.

You’ll have to trust that sometimes more heat doesn’t equal good pizza and can often result in burnt pizza bottoms.

Make sure that you avoid direct heat. Consistent heat is more important for having a thoroughly cooked pizza.

Less Flour On Your Baking Sheet

If you are using pizza flour to make a crispy crust, then you should use less, as wheat flour burns at a very high temperature.

If you really want to use wheat flour, then you should sprinkle very little on your pizza steel.

Cover Your Cooking Surface Under The Bottom Of The Pizza

Instead of using flour, you should try using a buffer between the baking tray and the pizza bottom.

This will not only protect against burnt pizza, but it will help it cook evenly and allow you to remove the pizza bottom easier after cooking.

By using a buffer such as parchment paper, you can reduce the amount of direct heat that your pizza bottom is exposed to.

You can also use aluminum foil, as this is a great conductor of heat, especially if you are using a gas oven. Just check to see when the pizza bottom has become firmer and then slide a sheet of aluminum foil underneath.

A pizza stone or steel is also a good method of reducing the amount of heat and will prevent burnt pizza. A pizza stone or steel is how they bake pizzas properly in a classic pizzeria.

You can place your pizza stone higher in your oven or immediately between the pizza and your heat source.

Pizza Oven Temperature

It will be tempting to put your oven on high heat, especially if you want the bottom of your pizza to cook quicker. However, this might cause it to cook unevenly and result in the dreaded burnt pizza bottom.

Setting a lower temperature for your oven is one surefire way of eliminating burnt pizza. This is especially true if you are using a pizza oven, a wood fired oven or a wood fired pizza oven.

Conclusion

We hope that our guide to burnt pizza base has helped you to cultivate a delicious pizza. Make sure that you are sticking to your pizza dough recipe and not adding too much sugar or pizza flour.