When i buy a pizza from a supermarket, the cooking/heating instructions
invariably say to put the pizza directly on the top shelf of the oven with a
baking tray on the shelf underneath …
Now, my question is as follows :
Is the baking tray there
TIA people.
To catch mess. If you put the frozen pizza onto the baking sheet it tends to trap moisture and the crust doesn’t get properly crunchy/chewy so that’s why they tell you to put it right on the rack, but that also means possible drippage and that doesn’t smell nice. I also find that cranking up the oven about 50F higher than the box says results in much better pizza overall. Then again my oven is a touch slow.
This. I don’t buy frozen pizza, so I’m not sure what temps they recommend, but when I make my own I put them in at least 425 F, which is about 219 C.
Packaged pizza often has things like random shreds of cheese and pieces of topping loosely adhering to the bottom of the crust - the tray is there to keep your oven cleaner, if those fall off.
I don’t usually bother following that instruction, but in cases where I do, I place it on a separate wire cake cooling rack, on a tray - simply because the rack is easier to clean in the sink than the wire shelf from the oven
I can’t see the bottom tray doing anything except collecting anything that falls off the pizza. What I find surprising is the statement that pizza directions “invariably” all say the same thing. In my experience, pizza baking directions vary wildly from one brand to another (and I always use my own variants anyway).
For instance, one type – the kind with the most authentic pizzeria-style crust – calls for a hot oven (480F) and placing the pizza on the lowest oven rack to properly bake the crust, using the parchment that comes with it. I keep a pizza stone on the lowest rack and put the pizza with parchment underlay directly on that. Another type calls for a much cooler 400F oven and longer time on an upper rack. I prefer to use a perforated pizza pan and parchment paper. Moving the pizza stone to the upper rack for this type helps to brown the crust a bit more.
That sounds good to me. I use a wire cake rack for my laptop at home to help with airflow. Back when I used to cook pizza for the family I used these trays, which ensure a good crust:
I have one of those! In my new place here the previous owner left it behind, and it’s improved my crust baking wonderfully.
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a frozen pizza. Are they edible these days?
(serious question, not snark)
mmm
I would imagine they want the pan there to catch anything that falls. When the cheese melts, liquid fat can easily drip off.
We don’t get frozen pizza much, but when we do if the pizza is small enough, we air fry it on the bare rack. There’s a dedicated pan for catching whatever.
Remember the ones with bigger holes?
We got a two pack of pizzas at Costco. I don’t know why the box illustration is like that because the cauliflower crust was crunchy, more like biscotti than something you could fold. I thought the crust was one of the best I’d ever had. The toppings were just ok, but of course that can be doctored somewhat.
If you’re going for something more “deep dish” requiring a pan for cooking, I’ve heard that Pizza Hut’s secret to delicious crust is buttering the pan.
Thanks for all the input peop’s. I won’t bother with the tray - i always have a
sheet of Aluminum foil on the base of the oven anyway for that sort of thing.
I did try with the tray recently to see if it might make for a crispier base, but it
didn’t seem to make any difference (which is why i asked you lot !)
I’ll try the higher temp next time see if that works. Maybe not too much hotter - the pizzas i usually get are chilled, not frozen…
I meant all the ones i buy ! Which tbh is from quite a narrow range 'cause the GF only
likes thin & crispy bases.
I happen to own a big 15-inch cast iron skillet that holds and distributes heat very well so it’s great for cooking frozen pizza. I always add extra pepperoni and mozzarella so the pan catches any grease, and I can leave the pizza in a little longer to give the extra toppings time to cook while the crust comes out right.