Frozen Pizza Cooking Dilemma?

Question

I like frozen pizza from the grocery store very much, but every time I heat them up in the oven, the center remains less cooked than the edges. I have tried playing with the temperature settings. I lowered the heat thinking that it would help cook the 'whole' pizza and not burn the edges. I raised the temperature thinking that maybe that would cause everything to heat faster. I have even changed the sheet that I use to heat the pizza on. The result is always the same - the center of the pizza is never FULLY cooked. Does anyone have any advice that might help me get the whole pizza properly done???

Answer 1

If anyone claims to be a "connoisseur" of frozen pizza, then I guess you should pay attention to them. Otherwise I can give you some tips...

1) When it comes to cooking large frozen items, slower is better. Increasing the heat of the oven is more likely to burn the outside and leave the inside uncooked.

2) Metal pans are the best way to ruin any baked goods (be it rolls, pizza dough, or otherwise). Its not that you CAN'T use metal pans, but metal pans (especially aluminum pans) have very low "specific heat". I apologize for the chemistry term, but basically this means they transfer heat easily - so in a hot oven they get hot easily and quickly (and can burn your dough quickly). Aluminum also cools quickly, which is why you can handle aluminum foil after it comes out of the oven sooner than, say, a glass baking dish.

3) Lowering the heat wouldn't be such a bad idea if you werent cooking with metal pans. Because when that heating element heats up it will rapidly transfer the heat to the metal pan, still causing potential burning of the dough.

The first question is, how do you like your crust? If you like a really crispy crust, cooking directly on the rack without a pan at all may be your best bet. Lower the temp by about 25-50 degrees (depending on your oven) and just keep a close eye on it.

If you are like me, you like a well done but not-too-crispy crust. For this I agree with the posters that recommend the pizza stone. Stoneware has a much higher specific heat - meaning it takes longer to heat up and longer to cool down. In other words, once its hot - it stays hot.

If you place a frozen pizza on a *room temperature* pizza stone though you will most likely still end up with an under-done center. Because the stone will heat up from the outside -> in, and therefore your pizza will also.

Try this tip: Set the oven to about 75 degrees cooler than the recommended temp for the pizza and preheat you pizza stone. Once you have been at that temp for 5 or 10 minutes, increase the temp to the recommended level and take out the pizza stone. It will be hot so use proper precautions. Place the pizza on the hot stone for a few minutes while the oven continues to heat up. Then place the pizza (on the stone) back in the oven. Check on it when it gets to be about 5 minutes from the recommended time on the box, but it may need to go the whole time. This "preheating" of the crust should solve your problem.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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RE:
Frozen Pizza Cooking Dilemma?
I like frozen pizza from the grocery store very much, but every time I heat them up in the oven, the center remains less cooked than the edges. I have tried playing with the temperature settings. I lowered the heat thinking that it would help cook the 'whole' pizza and not burn the edges. I...

Answer 4

Pizza Convection Oven

Answer 5

place pizza directly on rack. i used to have that problem but now i have a convection oven so it is no longer a problem. the pizza stones are really helpful too. i prefer the pampered chef one. placing it in the broiler was also a great idea as mentioned previously. i think that you should try to solve this problem, don't order dominos, they're awful! I like to buy my plain cheese pizza from Sam's Club and then add my own toppings to it so i can get what i want and my boyfriend can have what he wants because you can really help turn an ordinary pizza into something gourmet without the hassle and expense of a fancy restaurant.

Answer 6

Never use a pizza stone for frozen pizza....too much moisture and stone doesn't let it release....making middle kinda yucky....
I lower the oven temp......place frozen pizza directly on oven rack....bake until bottom is brown and crispy....then I broil top to brown.....This makes a really crisp crust....and the pizza is cooked through and through.....
Pizza stones are the perfect thing for cooking a fresh pizza on....

Answer 7

Once the outer area is done, take it out and put foil all around the edge. Then put it back in the oven to finish cooking. Sort of a pain in the neck to do, but it would work.

Otherwise, call Domino's.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I use a pizza stone. Be sure to put it in the oven Before pre-heating. Once the oven is heated up, put your pizza on the stone. Also, make sure it doesn't thaw at all before cooking.

Good Luck!
gwyn

Answer 10

Maybe it is just your oven.Anyway,I do not use a sheet for my pizza.I place it right on the oven rack on a setting of 325,for 30-45 mins., and it comes out great each time.No burnt edges and the middle part be just as done as the edges.Good luck.