Many people cannot eat a full pizza in one serving, which can lead to there being leftovers. We all know that simply warming cold food up in the microwave does it no justice, so how can we keep our pizza warm to lock in its amazing taste and crispness?
The answer is simple - use the oven. You may be thinking that, if you leave your pizza in the oven in order to keep it warm, you will overcook it. However, if you follow this exact method, you will be left with crispy and perfectly cooked food.
How Long Can Pizza Be Left Out?
If you will be using your oven to keep your pizza fresh, it is important that you do not leave it out for too long beforehand. As with chips or bread, leaving pizza standing out in the open for a long period of time can leave it tasting stale.
It is estimated that you will not be able to get that freshly-baked taste back once your pizza has been left out for two or more hours. If you cannot finish your meal in one serving, make sure that you put it in the fridge or cover it as soon as possible.
However, if you want to keep your pizza warm, your best bet would be to slide it back into the oven until you are ready to finish it off. This will lock in that amazing, freshly baked taste that everybody loves.
What You Will Need
In order to keep your pizza warm in the oven, you will obviously need an oven. However, there are a few other utensils and materials that will also come in handy.
Tin Foil
If you need to keep your food warm for a short period of time, you can simply cover your pizza with tin foil. However, this will not do the trick in the long run.
For example, if you bake your pizza in the morning for an evening event, the tinfoil won't keep it warm enough.
Oven Grill
The oven grill is not necessary, but it can work wonders for keeping your pizza crispy and evenly warm.
If you use an ordinary tray or pan to hold your pizza in the oven, you will notice that the underside can become soggy. This is obviously not ideal, and the best way to avoid it is by using an oven grill.
The grill allows the heat from the oven to reach both the top and the bottom of the pizza, ensuring even warming. The open bottom also allows the cooked pizza dough to breathe, which prevents it from becoming soggy.
How To Place Your Pizza
As we have mentioned, you should cover your pizza with tin foil before sliding it into the oven. This will prevent your food from browning and will ensure that the entire pizza is kept perfectly warm.
If you have an oven grill, lay your pizza on it. You will not want to situate the grill too close to the heating element, as this will lead to your food becoming burnt. It is a much better idea to store the pizza as far away from the heat source as possible.
What Temperature You Should Set Your Oven To
Certain ovens have a ‘warm’ setting, which is meant to be used to keep pre-cooked food warm. This setting usually warms the oven up to about 170 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you do not have this setting, you should still preheat your oven to about 200 degrees. However, the temperature does depend on how long you plan on leaving your pizza in the oven.
For example, if you will be warming it up for more than 20 minutes, do not set the temperature to more than 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
How Long Can You Leave Pizza In the Oven?
If the temperature is set low and your food is as far away from the heating element as possible, you can leave it in the oven for a long period of time. However, it is important to note that the texture of your pizza may change if it is left for longer than two hours.
Alternative Ways Of Keeping Your Pizza Warm
Tin Foil
We have discussed that you can use tin foil in order to keep your food warm for short periods of time. If you would like to use this method, simply wrap each individual slice of pizza in the foil. This should work for roughly 10 - 20 minutes.
Slow Cooker
Slow cookers work very similarly to normal ovens when keeping food warm. It is important that you preheat the cooker before inserting your pizza. Make sure that you set it to a warm setting, as this will ensure that your pizza does not become overcooked.
Microwave
Even though microwaves can negatively affect the taste and texture of your food, they are convenient and very easy to use. They will also warm your food in very little time. All you have to do is place the pizza in the microwave and set the timer for 2 minutes or so.
Conclusion
You can store your pizza in the oven in order to keep it warm. However, there is a specific way in which you should do this to avoid burning or overcooking your food.
You will need tin foil and an oven grill if you have one. These are used to lock in the freshly baked flavor and texture of new pizza. Simply wrap your food in the foil, lay it on the grill, and place it in the oven. Make sure that you do not situate the pizza too close to the heating element.
Some ovens have a ‘warm’ setting that is meant for keeping food warm. If yours does not have this, set the temperature to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit. You should not leave the pizza in the oven for any longer than 2 hours - if you do, you risk changing the texture of your food.