this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2025
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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!

(page 2) 15 comments
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[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

You could experiment. First try less sauce. Then maybe try making a different sauce. Lastly try a different dough.

[–] moody@lemmings.world 1 points 1 day ago

Cover the crust in cheese, put sauce on top, cover the sauce in a thin layer of cheese, add other toppings on top.

If you can, cook the toppings separately and put them on the pizza a few minutes before it's done, but the cheese being on the bottom does a good job of keeping the sauce from soaking into the crust.

[–] xvf17@sfba.social 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

@Telorand Soggy crust is usually from the toppings. Try using less marinara. Also experiment with pre cooking veggies, especially mushrooms.

Your oven temp looks a little low. I bake at 550° convection for about 6:30. Finally, if you don’t have a pizza stone or (preferably) a steel, you might consider that. It really helps get the crust done better.

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 1 points 1 day ago

I had a pizza stone once, and it was great, but it cracked one day, and I just never replaced it. I have a perforated pizza pan, and that seems to work well enough.

It's gotta be the moisture. I put mushrooms in with the marinara, and my SO likes extra sauce, so sounds like I need to do some trial and error with cooking temps and sauce moisture content. Lots of y'all do higher cooking temp, and I've never been brave enough to go hotter in the past.

[–] truthfultemporarily@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)
  • Dough should use x/2 water for x amount of flour, in weight. And no sugar. So for example 300 g flour, 150 g water, 3 g salt. You can feed the yeast some of the flour instead. But don't mix yeast and the salt.
  • Boil the sauce so it's as thick as possible. Should be very big, slow bursting bubbles.
  • Preheat oven as high as it can go. It will still be colder than a real pizza oven.
[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 1 points 1 day ago

I'll definitely try reducing the sauce next time and maybe going hotter temp!

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