There are many ways to make pizza and regardless of the type of oven you are using, to achieve that world-famous golden-brown crispy crust, you will need to make sure that you cook the pizza correctly.
Many people will use a pizza stone, and the baking stone is a great way to cook pizza but in some cases, a cast iron pan is a preferable option. Most people will opt to use a pizza pan in a fan-assisted oven but of course, they can be used in a wood-fired oven too.
It is important to preheat your pizza pan so that when you put the food into the oven, the high heat instantly hits it from the bottom and starts to cook the dough giving you that thick crust pizza that you have been craving.
In this post, we will be looking at why heating your pizza pan is important and how you can make the most out of using a baking steel with some great tips for making excellent pizza.
Do You Need To Preheat A Pizza Pan?
It is no secret that a pizza dough recipe needs to be cooked in a hot oven, this way, you will ensure that the food comes out with a beautiful crisp crust and pizza toppings that are cooked evenly.
Cooking a pizza in an oven with a gradual temperature change will not yield the best results and the ingredients may not cook as well. Putting the pizza onto a hot baking surface will give you a nice crust and golden toppings.
That being said, there are people who would say that making pizza in a pizza pan should be done totally differently from using a pizza stone. This suggestion is that the pizza should be constructed in the pizza pan and putting the entire thing into a pre-heated hot oven; whereas using a stone, you would place the pizza onto the pizza stone using a pizza peel once the pizza stone has been left to heat up in the oven.
This method means that the pizza would steam cook from the bottom and this could cause a soggy thin-crust offering that a lot of pizza lovers would not enjoy.
Most home cooks would agree that heating either a baking stone or a pizza pan is important to get crispt pizza crusts and perfectly cooked toppings.
What Temperature Do You Cook Pizza On A Pan?
The type of baking steel that you are using will depend long you must heat the oven in advance. For a 1/4 pizza pan, 60 minutes at 280ºc in your kitchen oven would work well. For a 1/2 inch pan, you might boost this time to 90 minutes. If you are using a wood-fired oven, the temperature will be far hotter at around 500ºc 30 minutes may be enough before you are ready to cook pizzas.
You should maintain this temperate while the pizza dough cooks.
How Do You Cook Pizza On A Pan?
You should place the pan onto the oven rack to heat while you prepare the ingredients – this might include stretching the dough using a rolling pin and adding tomato sauce and other things to the pie base.
When the pan is ready, you will need to add the pizza – this same method would apply if you were using a baking stone. To get great pizza you should cook it for 10-15 minutes in your kitchen oven but the cooking time will reduce to around 2 minutes.
One of the major problems with using a pan as opposed to a stone and pizza peel is that the dough may stick to the pan. But one of the best things to fix this is to use a baking sheet, parchment paper, or some corn meal flour.
Conclusion
To make great pizza you will need to cook using either a pizza stone or a pan, and it is important to heat the oven and pan before you put the pizza inside. This will allow the pizza to start cooking immediately from underneath and produce the type of pizza crusts that are synonymous with professional pizza. Furthermore, your cheese and toppings will cook evenly.
You may find that your pizza recipe sticks to the pan and this is down to the nature of the dough but using either a cookie sheet, parchment paper, or some other item to line the pan will prevent it from sticking.
