Making thick crust pan pizza

[HashBrowns]

My wife has decided to try making a thick crust pan pizza from her late aunt's recipe, but she's using Petezza's dough scaled to 22 ounces for a 14inch pan. She's planning on sauce, pepperoni, and a ton of cheese. Yeah, like, 20 ounces!

You know, she doesn't want an undercooked crust or burnt toppings, but she's got almost zero experience baking pizza. She's totally unsure about the right temperature and baking time. The recipe says 500 degrees for 15 minutes, but she's read elsewhere that lower temps for longer times are better for thick crusts.

To make it tougher, we don't have a pizza stone, so she's gotta go without.

Any advice on how she can bake this pizza properly would be a huge help!

 

[p!zzadel!c]

For a thick crust with that much cheese and no stone, 500F for 15 minutes might be a bit aggressive, especially if the pan isn't preheated.
I'd suggest preheating your oven and the pan while it's empty to 425-450F.
Once the pizza is assembled in the hot pan, bake it for 20-25 minutes, keeping a close eye on the crust and toppings.
The lower temp will help ensure the dough cooks through without burning the cheese.
If the toppings start getting too dark, you can always loosely tent it with foil for the last few minutes.
In case you try this, let me know how it goes!
Good luck!

 

[CrustCrafter]

Really appreciate the detailed suggestions. Never considered preheating the pan, but that seems like a clever idea for a thick crust. I'll definitely try turning the oven down to 425-450°F and keep a close eye on it. Great tip about using foil if the cheese starts to get too dark. I'm excited to give it a shot

 

[InfernoPie]

That sounds like an exciting challenge! When I made thick crust pan pizza for the first time, I discovered that baking it at about 450°F for 20 to 25 minutes really did the trick, ensuring the dough cooked all the way through without burning the cheese. I also found that using a darker pan made the bottom nice and crispy. It might be a good idea to start checking it around the 18-minute mark to prevent overcooking. Hope that's useful

How's she feeling about giving it a shot?

 

[Pizzulu]

My wife has decided to try making a thick crust pan pizza from her late aunt's recipe, but she's using Petezza's dough scaled to 22 ounces for a 14inch pan. She's planning on sauce, pepperoni, and a ton of cheese. Yeah, like, 20 ounces!

You know, she doesn't want an undercooked crust or burnt toppings, but she's got almost zero experience baking pizza. She's totally unsure about the right temperature and baking time. The recipe says 500 degrees for 15 minutes, but she's read elsewhere that lower temps for longer times are better for thick crusts.

To make it tougher, we don't have a pizza stone, so she's gotta go without.

Any advice on how she can bake this pizza properly would be a huge help!

Tell her to go with 450°F and start checking around the 20-minute mark. If the top browns too fast, a little foil over it will save the day Surely she's gonna get it right this time. Do help her toooo do be present if you can.

 

[Papa's Pizzeria]

My wife has decided to try making a thick crust pan pizza from her late aunt's recipe, but she's using Petezza's dough scaled to 22 ounces for a 14inch pan. She's planning on sauce, pepperoni, and a ton of cheese. Yeah, like, 20 ounces!

You know, she doesn't want an undercooked crust or burnt toppings, but she's got almost zero experience baking pizza. She's totally unsure about the right temperature and baking time. The recipe says 500 degrees for 15 minutes, but she's read elsewhere that lower temps for longer times are better for thick crusts.

To make it tougher, we don't have a pizza stone, so she's gotta go without.

Any advice on how she can bake this pizza properly would be a huge help!

Agree with them that the best way is to drop to 450°F and give it 22-25 minutes to settle down especially with that much cheese. Don't forget to preheat the pan helps. Also, @p!zzadel!c is right when they said foil is your friend if the top starts cooking faster than the bottom. That happens.

 

[woodfirewiz4rd]

Preheat your oven to 425°F if you're making a thick crust and not using a stone. Bake the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes before adding your toppings, and then let it cook for another 12 to 15 minutes. It's a good idea to preheat the pan to achieve a crispier bottom crust. Keeping the temp a bit lower helps avoid burning, esp. when you're using a lot of cheese.

 

[crispy3dges]

Bake at 450°F for 12-15 minutes on the bottom rack, then move it to the middle for another 8-10 minutes. To avoid a soggy crust, bake it for 5-7 minutes before you put anything on it. Make sure to oil the pan well. If you're using lots of cheese, cover it with foil if the top starts to get too brown. A lower temp helps keep the cheese from burning when you have a thick crust.