Have you ever seen a pizza pan with holes?
Why do pizza pans have holes?
A pizza pan has holes because it helps the pizza cook more evenly and faster. It gives the hot air a place to flow through and all over the dough, which helps to impart a crispy crust.
Contents
Pizza Pan With Hole Vs No Holes
A pizza cooked on a pan with holes will have a crisper crust and cook faster compared to a pizza cooked on a pan with no holes. The crust will be thinner, however, because the dough rose faster around the edges of the pie. So the results are not completely the same.
Trying to compare a pizza cooked on a pan with no holes to one cooked on a pan with holes, you will notice that the pizza cooked on the pan with holes has more of an even appearance than the pizza cooked on the pan without holes. The dough is rising faster around its center, and this causes it to puff up more into that cohesive, puffy shape.
When you take a bite of the pizza, it will be crunchier around the edges and thinner in the center. When you take a bite of the pizza cooked on the pan without holes, it will be fluffier all around. The edges will still taste crispy, but not as crunchy because there was less air flow around them to help make them crisp.
The pizza with holes cooks faster than one without because it has more air flow.
Do You Grease A Pan With Holes?
Yes. It is a common misconception among people that a pizza pan with a hole should not be greased before use. This is not true. It is necessary to grease the holes when making the pizza dough, if you have enough of them to go around.
How Do You Use A Pizza Crisper Pan?
A pizza crisper pan is used to make your pizza crust crispier. To do this, the crust needs to cook through with the pizzeria’s pizza recipe, which can be done by dropping the dough into an oiled pan that has holes in it. This will cause the dough to rise evenly around its edges and make it more crispy.
Each pizza should be cooked individually on the pan, and not stacked on top of each other. The best time to use a pizza crisper pan is when you want to make a lighter-style pizza crust, which will not sop up oil as much as other types of crusts.
Do Pizza Pan Holes Affect Cooking Time?
Yes. The holes will allow for more air to flow through the dough, which will make it cook faster. The crust becomes crisper as well from the increased airflow. Over time, a pizza pan with holes can develop a patina on its surface, and this makes it even more crispy and/or crispy-sounding than other pans.
Related reading – Fermented pizza dough. All about pizza stones. Do pizza ovens have to be round?
Conclusion
Pizza pan holes are not there for decorations. They are there because it will give the dough more air to flow through, which will help it cook faster. Who doesn’t love pizza that is good and ready in an instant?
