Undercooked Pizza Dough (Best Way To fix It)

By Kitchen Warrior | Pizza Baking and Cutting Tips

Undercooked pizza dough

Anyone who does not believe that cooking a pizza is an art form has obviously never cooked a pizza before. For your pizza to come out perfectly delicious, there’s a specific process you have to follow. If not, you could end up undercooking or overcooking your pizza dough. The good news is, however, that even if you do happen to have this problem at any point during the cooking process, there are a few things you can do to remedy the situation. If you are curious to know how, keep reading. 

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5 Reasons for Undercooked Pizza Dough

Before you can begin to find a solution to your problem, you must first find out what caused the problem in the first place. There are a few reasons why you could have ended up with undercooked pizza dough.

 1. Temperature

The temperature at which you cook your pizza is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the cooking process. If the temperature is too hot or too cold, you will end up with a less than appetizing pizza as a result. When it comes to undercooked pizza dough, the problem usually has to do with the fact that the temperature of the oven wasn’t high enough. 

Before doing anything, make sure that you preheat your oven so that it is hot enough when it is time to put the pizza in. Ideally, you want it to preheat at least 45 minutes before putting the pizza in. Another very important thing to consider is that you don’t bake your pizza on a cookie sheet. A pizza needs to be heated from the top and bottom so heating on a cookie sheet won’t provide that.

Instead, try using a pizza stone or a pizza steel. These hold a lot more heat and will be able to cook your pizza thoroughly.

2. Not Enough Time in the Oven

Unless you happen to have a wood-fired oven, you will need to bake your pizza in an oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Ideally, you want to bake your pizza at a high temperature for as little amount of time as possible. However, this isn’t to say that it should only be in there for a couple of minutes. Your aim is to bake the pizza long enough to be crispy on the outside but still doughy on the inside.

3. Overload of Toppings

As delicious as pizza toppings are, you have to be careful not to overload your pizza with too much. If you do, your pizza may end up being undercooked under all of the toppings and sauce due to the amount of moisture. If there is too much moisture on the pizza, it won’t get crispy enough and you will end up with undercooked dough.

4. Dough is Too Thick

Another reason your pizza’s dough is not cooked all the way through is because it is too thick. Heat takes longer to go through thick dough and bake the center of your pizza. If the dough is too thick and you don’t leave it in the oven long enough, the dough won’t bake.

5. Using the Wrong Materials

To make sure your pizza is cooked all the way through, be sure to use a pizza stone or pizza steel. As mentioned previously, a pizza stone or pizza steel holds heat the best. Many people try using cookie sheets instead, but a cookie sheet won’t get hot enough to cook the pizza from the bottom.

Best Ways to Fix Undercooked Pizza Dough

If you end up with undercooked pizza dough—don’t worry, there’s hope for you yet. There are still many different ways to fix your pizza.

Adjust the Temperature

One way you can fix your undercooked pizza dough is to adjust the temperature. Lower the temperature to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit and move your pizza dough down to the lowest rack. Then, you can cook it for about another three minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on it so as not to overcook it. You’ll know your pizza is done once it’s golden brown on the bottom. If it is still not cooked, keep putting it back in the oven for three minutes at a time until it’s cooked.

Use a Pan

If you have a pan handy, you can use it to heat up your pizza until the dough is cooked. A non-stick pan will work best for this. Be sure to lightly grease the pan with oil over medium flame. Leave it on the pan for at least five minutes or until the dough is cooked.

Use a Pizza Stone

By now, you should know just how invaluable pizza stones are. They can be used to cook a pizza as well as reheat one. This is your best bet when you want to make sure your pizza is cooked evenly all the way through. 

How to Prevent Undercooked Dough?

If you want to avoid having undercooked pizza altogether, simply follow these tips. First, make sure that you leave the uncooked dough out for a bit prior to cooking it so that it gets to room temperature. Cold dough not only takes longer to cook, but the top tends to cook first, which makes it more likely that the bottom will be left undercooked. 

Another way you can keep your pizza from undercooking is to keep from putting your sauce on too soon. If you do, moisture from the sauce will make it more difficult for your pizza to cook. Before adding sauce to the dough, be sure to add a bit of olive oil as this acts as a barrier for moisture.

Lastly, be sure that when cooking your pizza you are not using temperatures that are too high. This will only result in over cooking the top of the pizza but leaving the inside raw and undercooked.