“Why does my ooni pizza oven burn?”. Nobody enjoys burnt pizza! It may be harmful to your health to consume. Fortunately, there are several easy methods you can use to keep your pizza from burning.
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Is it True That Pizza Should Be Burned? (Burn vs. Char)
The pizza is a classic pizzeria that is almost always cooked in a wood-fired oven. You’ve certainly noticed the tiny, charred marks on the crust. Should it be like that? Or do they burn your pizza every time?
The Neapolitan style of pizza traditionally comes with a charred crust. The term leoparding refers to small charred areas that may appear on the surface of the pie. The quick bake in the scorching wood-fired oven is one aspect of this leaopard design. However, the blackened areas add taste to the crust. Charring can be found on both the top and crispy bottom of the pizza. However, it’s crucial to point out that there is a difference between burnt and charred pizza.
When you bake pizza at a high temperature, the sugars in the flour caramelize and provide a savory and somewhat bitter flavor. This is what you generally want from a Neapolitan pizza since the savor and bitterness combine with tomato sauce and creamy mozzarella to create an excellent balanced taste profile. It’s important not to pull out the pizza until just before the burning process begins, or you’ll get burned pizza, which is not what you want!
If you leave the pizza in the oven for too long, the crust will begin to burn and it will develop a black, extremely bitter, and terrible flavor. If allowed to cook long enough, the pizza could even become coal.
Why Does Pizza Crust Burn?
There are several reasons why your pizza may burn. The most apparent reason is the temperature and duration, but poor quality flour, excessive flour, and the use of cold pizza dough can all contribute to burning. Depending on the heat source, you may bake your pizza in a variety of ways. The top burns first on some occasions, while the bottom burns first on other instances.
Let’s look at all of these individual variables and how we may prevent scorching.
How To Stop Pizza Base Burning Ooni
Time and Temperature
The most essential aspects of burning anything are temperature and time. You require a balance between time and temperature when baking pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven or a home oven. Even if the temperature is lower, the pizza will burn if it is left in the oven for too long.
Maintaining The Balance Between The Top And The Bottom
A balance must be struck between the top and bottom baking temperatures of the pizza. If the baking surface is too hot, the bottom of the pizza burns before the top is done. Similarly, if the heat from above the pizza exceeds that from below, the toppings may burn while the bottom is still raw.
When it comes to baking, you must keep an eye on the pizza. It’s also vital to check the bottom of your pizza for doneness because it’s difficult to tell when it’s done visually. A pizza peel (in addition to turning the pizza) can be used to do this.
When it comes to achieving this balance, various baking techniques have varying difficulties. Some have a higher danger of burning the top crust, while others have a greater risk of burning the bottom crust. As a result, understanding your preferred method is critical.
How To Avoid Burning Pizza In An OONI Pizza Oven
It’s similar to a wood-fired oven to cook pizza in a tiny, portable oven like an Ooni Pizza Oven. Because they are so tiny, you frequently run into problems with uneven heat in these little ovens. The side of the pizza that is closest to the fire burns faster. As a result, keep an eye on the pizza while it bakes. And turn it in if necessary.
The Effect Of Ooni Pizza Crust Burning
Baking at a high temperature causes certain foods to burn quicker than others, so if you bake pizza at a high temperature, you should reduce or eliminate these components. If you have trouble with burnt pizza, Neapolitan pizza is the ideal place to start. Find out how to make genuine Neapolitan pizza.
Excess Oil In The Dough
Olive oil is frequently used in pizza dough recipes either online or printed. Oil and other fats aid heat transmission, which speeds up the baking process. Baking thick-crust pizza at a lower temperature can be beneficial since it will help to prevent overbaking. However, it will also accelerate the burning of your pizza.
This is why Neapolitan pizza dough is so lean. A dough with no fat. To prevent burning, you want the dough to cook and brown as little as possible while baking in a wood-burning oven.
If you’re using a hot home oven, as described above, or a pizza stone or steel to make pizza, the same rules apply. You should consider leaving the oil out of the dough or at least lowering the amount used.
Excess Of Sugar
Suger is another prevalent component in pizza dough. Sugar is frequently the first thing in your pizza dough that browns and burns. The reason for this is that sugar begins to caramelize at 320°F (160°C). Sugars may help your crust brown faster while also burning more quickly.
Sugars, like oil, are not included in traditional Neapolitan pizza dough because they don’t mix well with the high-heat treatment. So if you don’t want the pizza crust to burn, consider eliminating all of the sugar from the dough entirely.
Using The Wrong Type of Flour
Flour also contains carbohydrates, including traces of sugar. As a result, the speed at which flour burns is determined by the kind of flour you use.
I recommend high-heat Italian pizza flour for making pizza in a brick oven or a pizza stone in your home oven. My first choice is Caputo Pizzeria’s Tipo 00 flour, which is designed for pizzerias. This dough combination was developed with the heat of a pizza oven in mind to prevent burning.
Too Cold Dough
Baking cold pizza dough will result in stretched dough burning. This is known as measles in pizza cooking, owing to a chemical reaction that takes place when the chilly starch is exposed to high heat. If you’re soaking your dough in the fridge, leave it out for at least 2-3 hours before baking the pizza.
Excess Flour on the Dough
Excess flour on the dough or peel will almost certainly burn in the oven. When high-temperature wheat flour is exposed to extreme heat, it burns and generates unpleasant odors and tastes in your pizza. As a result, when you bake your pizza, you must avoid overusing flour.
To begin, shake off any excess flour from the dough. You may also try a perforated pizza peel to get rid of excess flour. It allows for even more air to enter the oven, which prevents sticking and improves cooking performance over a solid metal countertop. When dusting the peel, you may use less flour because of the extra ventilation.
It’s not recommended to use fine wheat flour for dusting your pizza peel. One of the popular alternatives is cornmeal, which burns at low temperatures as well as gives taste to the dough, although this might be undesirable (particularly if you are trying the Neapolitan-style pizza). Semolina is a superior alternative. Semolina is a more coarse form of wheat flour that can handle heat better. (Caputo also produces high-quality semolina, which you may purchase here)