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Pizza night is the best night. We aren’t ashamed to admit that a night in with homemade pizza in front of the TV is one of our favourite non-occasions.
The only thing that can spoil it is a soggy pizza base. If you've ever asked "why is my pizza soggy," "why are my pizza toppings sliding around," or "how do I get a crispy pizza crust?" You're not alone. We’ve been there before, but now we have these easy ways to get crispy, perfect pizza.
You know when you make a piece of crispy toast, pop it on a plate with some spread and all of a sudden it’s soggy? Well, the same thing happens with pizza. The moisture and heat can’t escape, so it condenses on your crispy surface and turns it wet and soggy.
Use a pizza stone or a pan with holes to get a crispy pizza crust. A pizza stone will keep your pizza hot and its porousness will absorb some condensation. A perforated pan has holes that will let the condensation escape, just remember to place it on a rack as it cools so the holes can do their work.
This is essential for pizza stones as they will crack if put straight into a hot oven, but it also helps to bring your pizza to a high heat faster. High heat for quick cooking is one of the best ways to get a good crispy pizza crust, so pre-heating your pizza stone or pan will help a lot. Take care when placing your pizza on the hot surface.
Use the wrong type of cheese on a pizza and it can really affect your pizza base. Some cheeses separate, becoming oily and lumpy instead of melted and stretchy. This extra oil can make your pizza feel soggy, and toppings can start sliding around.
Too much fresh cheese with a high water content can also cause sogginess. For example, fresh mozzarella (the type that comes in liquid) should be used carefully, as too much will leave you with a floppy crust.
The best cheese for pizza is a blend of cheeses for great texture, flavour and colour that won’t compromise your base. A good combination is mozzarella for great stretch, cheddar for great flavour and parmesan for sharpness. Perfect Italiano Perfect Pizza Cheese combines all three in the perfect ratio so you can enjoy a perfect pizza easily.
As the old saying goes, less is more. As a common rule of thumb, try not to overload your pizza with more than four ingredients. Be particularly considerate of ‘wet’ ingredients that are likely to produce moisture. This includes ingredients such as fresh tomatoes, zucchini and fresh cheeses.
Pizza requires a very high oven temperature to get a puffy, crispy (but not dry) crust, with golden cheese and cooked toppings. Be sure to let the oven pre-heat for sufficient time to reach its peak temperature. At least half an hour is a good amount of time. Once your oven is at its hottest, then you can add you pizza and you'll soon have the ideal crispy pizza crust.
Concentrated tomato paste or passata is best to use for pizza sauce because it has already had the majority of the water content from the tomatoes cooked out. This means less excess moisture that could affect your crust's crispiness.
The same applies when using a creamy sauce base or a ricotta pizza sauce base. Make sure to only use white sauce that has been thickened, and a smooth ricotta that doesn’t have excess liquid in it.
Using the microwave to reheat pizza usually leads to floppy results, but you can get a crispy base on your reheated pizza by microwaving it on a piece of paper towel. The paper towel will soak up any steam underneath, keeping sogginess away. You can also reduce the power level of your microwave to get a more crisp result.
Use these tips and you'll have crisp pizza! Find plenty of recipes for pizza dough and toppings to make your own perfect homemade pizza here on myfoodbook, see some of them below.
GET THE RECIPE: Basic Pizza Dough
The first step to a crispy pizza base is having the right dough. Watch how to make great pizza dough step by step.
GET THE RECIPE: Cheesy Herb and Garlic Pizza
Test out your new crispy based pizza tips with this basic and delicious pizza.
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