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Original poster

Homemade Pizza - Where Am I Going Wrong??

28 replies

MissWooWoo · 15/12/2011 18:00

The underside of the base seems to take an age to cook by which time the cheese on top has turned into an unappetizing brown leathery topping. You know those pizza's that you find in food courts that have been sitting there all day under the lights? Thassa ma pizza!

I tried using Jamie Oliver's "foolproof" thin crust recipe. It didn't work. Thinking that it was me not the recipe I tried using a ready rolled pizza dough with just a thin covering of tomato sauce so as not to saturate the base.

I'm using a "pamper chef" Blush stoneware flat tray that is supposedly ideal for pizza.

I could just buy a nice one ready made and reheat it but dd really loves doing the toppings.

I'd like to take the pizza out of the oven and for the base to be cooked and the cheese to be gooey and yello - how can I achieve this?

Please help!

OP posts:
sunnysunchild · 15/12/2011 18:07

I do home made pizza all the time, but use a metal pizza tray that has holes in in, presumably it helps to cook the underside. Was from Tesco and inexpensive.
The oven is a fan oven and really hot, never had a problem with the base yet.
hth

Original poster
MissWooWoo · 15/12/2011 18:09

so maybe it is the wanky pamperchef tray? I have a very good hot fan oven

OP posts:
bigTillyMincepie · 15/12/2011 18:10

I cook homemade pizza quite often using Jamie Oliver's Norah's dinners recipe. The DC can make them on their own now!

I use a metal pizza tin with holes in the base (to let out steam?) like sunny, but I believe the pizza stones are good too. The oven has to be as hot as poss, and they only take about 10mins to cook.

exexpat · 15/12/2011 18:12

Second the pizza tray with holes in. Brought mine back from Italy (insert poncey emoticon here) but have seen them loads of places here (eg this one from John Lewis). Never had undercooked base.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 15/12/2011 18:14

Use a normal baking tray but pre heat the oven and the tray before cooking the pizza (put pizza on greaseproof paper and transfer it to the hot tray)

SantaffetaClaus · 15/12/2011 18:16

I used the wankered Pampered Chef pizza stone and its ace. The trick is to heat your oven to max ( mine is 250 C ) with the stone in it. Roll out your pizza dough ready, then at the last minute work fast. Get the stone out the oven, transfer the dough and build the topping quickly ( as you say thin covering of tomato sauce so as not to make it sloppy ), then whack back in fast for 7-8 mins.

Original poster
MissWooWoo · 15/12/2011 18:17

200c is hot enough isn't it? I did preheat oven, although not the stoneware, so maybe that's where I'm going wrong

OP posts:
MrsHerculePoirot · 15/12/2011 18:17

I use this pizza dough recipe www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4683/pizza-margherita-in-4-easy-steps . We roll the base really as thin is it will go abd use immediately for thin crust. Cook on pampered chef pizza stoneware and is fine. Make our own toppings though and if mire than one just put on normal baking tray and find that us fine too. If want deep pan base leave dough to rise and then reknead slightly before using.

I reckon the thinner the better for the base and preheat the stoneware first 'might be worth a try?

SantaffetaClaus · 15/12/2011 18:19

Stoneware must be hot, thats the whole point of it.

EssentialFattyAcid · 15/12/2011 18:19

I use the metal tray with holes in from Lakeland - no problems

Original poster
MissWooWoo · 15/12/2011 18:21

ok, so if using the notsowankyitseems pampered chef stone I need the oven hotter and I need to get the stone hot first.

I won't be having pizza again for a while but will definately do all of the above next time

thanks!

OP posts:
WhereTheWildThingsWere · 15/12/2011 18:22

Base needs to be really thin and cooking directly on the shelf is way better than anything you can put under it.

What you really need is Pizza Mesh beats any kind of wankery stone Wink

See also Quickachips genius.

QuintessentiallyFestive · 15/12/2011 18:26

You must leave your ovenware in while heating up the oven, especially since it is stone, and will take a while to heat up!

PreHeatedOven · 15/12/2011 18:27

I have same problem and has given up now!
Will get pizza tray I think.

FreeButtonBee · 15/12/2011 19:47

Turn oven to "nuclear" for at least 10 mins prior to putting in the oven. I sometimes put the base plus sauce into the oven for 2-3 mins then take it out and put on the rest of the toppings. Gives the base a bit of extra time to cook.

Takver · 15/12/2011 19:51

I pre-cook the base for 10 minutes before adding the topping. So, as follows (as instructed by Mancunian-Italian friend Grin)

Roll out base nice & thin, stick on baking tray, cook in hot oven for 5-10 mins (say gas 6 or 7)
Take out, spread on tomato sauce not too thick (very important)
Add toppings & cheese, back in oven & cook for another 15 minutes or so until it looks done.

Always works for me.

breatheslowly · 15/12/2011 20:25

DH makes great pizza. The oven is at 220c (fan) with the pizza stones hot in the oven. He presses the dough out quite thin on greased baking parchment and then tips it onto the stone and eases the paper off. He then quickly tops with passata, mozzerella and toppings (all in little bowls so that he can do it really quickly.

I think it is really important to have the oven and stone really hot and the dough quite thin. He makes the dough in our breadmaker.

storminabuttercup · 15/12/2011 21:49

The stone needs to be hot hot hot!

I used the dough from the BBC website ( tasty margarita In 4 steps or something) never failed me yet!

ChrisMissWooWoo · 15/12/2011 22:04

someone's a Big Cook Little Cook fan Grin

SeasonsGripings · 15/12/2011 22:29

You need to heat the oven and the tray to a very high temp - 250C if possible.

I have a normal pizza stone and it out performs the Pampered chef pizza stone and was less than half the price. I bought the Pampered chef stone because I was led to believe that the stone didn't need pre-heating - what a load of guff! It's performance is poor and it cost £££'s, a waste of money. My favourite baking tray - a Tefal patisserie tray works better than anything else, if only I could find another.

I put my pizza dough on parchment paper and top it - then when all's hot in the oven, I open the oven, pull out the shelf and plonk the pizza on top using the parchment paper.

If you have an oven with a base heat + fan oven function then use it.

ChrisMissWooWoo · 15/12/2011 22:50

you see that's what I thought about the pampered chef stone, I thought you weren't supposed to pre heat it. Still, I've got it now so might as well try and get the best out of it.

Who the hell thought up the name "pampered chef" anyhow? Makes me feel ill

SeasonsGripings · 16/12/2011 00:00

The pampered chef stone works well for oven chips...no need to preheat stone - apart from that a big waste of money - like many pampered chef products!

gastrognome · 16/12/2011 06:30

I use ready rolled pizza dough, stretched out thin onto a non stick baking tray. One to two tablespoons of passata (no more or it goes soggy), plus a ball of well drained fresh mozzarella (I prefer the cows milk version for cooking as the buffalo milk kind seems to be wetter), shredded, and then 9 mins in a hot (230c) oven. Perfect pizza every time.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 16/12/2011 09:46

Would also recommend that you leave your finished pizza to one side for 30 - 45 minutes before baking and allow the base to rise a little. And don't be tempted to put too much topping on it... I've found that too much topping results in a soggy, undercooked base before now, even with the tray with holes.

ChrisMissWooWoo · 16/12/2011 10:21

ha ha Cogito I started reading your post and thought "what kind of a freak can leave a pizza for 30-45 minutes before eating it Grin

soooooooooo want another pizza now after all these top tips

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