Pizza tips and ideas? No more soggy dough please!

TGNman · October 2012

Hi All

Big fan of the BGE and I have enjoyed it for several years now. I have an XL, with cast grille, standard grille, place setter and a couple different pizza stones.

I have done some smaller pizza's once before with a friends help and it turned out great. I then tried myself (probably different dough but....) and I can't seem to keep the wheat dough from being soggy, or almost un-cooked really. I can't tell which one it is. We use all fresh vegetables and limited cheese. It seems the vegetables have too much water in them and I can't keep it from messing up my dough.

I was wondering if anyone has any secrets or tips they would like to share. Is the wheat dough the problem? I was wondering how grilling the veggies first or even the dough first would work out? Seems like a pain but I have to think it could help..???

Also, we buy our wheat dough when we are out of town where they have a Trader Joes. But in my area there is no good raw dough available. Does anyone have any suggestions on receipts for fresh dough or someone who ships it maybe?

Thanks in advance for any help and assistance!

Mark

Skiddymarker · October 2012

My son's Italian mother in law is the pizza queen, if you like a pan bread crust. Her's are always awesome. She makes a potato and onion with anchovies that is incredible. She pre cooks her potato and onion slices in the microwave, Just to warm them really, and it seems to drive out some of the moisture.

The other thing to try is to let your shredded cheese, spread out on a plate, sit for 15-30 minutes so some of the moisture evaporates - and go easy on the sauce.

Doc_Eggerton · October 2012

High in the dome. Plate setter, grid, upside down Woo, stone. Let it stand at temp for a long time (like an hour.).

Cook the dough at the recipe temp. Don't try to cook too hot if that is not what is called for. Turn the pies every 5 minutes.

I like most of my cheese to be under the toppings, so the toppings caramelize a little.

Duganboy · October 2012

I bake my crust for about 5 minutes with just the sauce on it. Then I add cheese and other toppings. Crust bakes better when it isn't loaded down with all the cheese and toppings.

gerhardk · October 2012

Have you tried different brands of cheese? Some cheeses have much higher fat content than others. If you over do the toppings it can keep the crust from cooking properly. How are you determining that the pizza is done. If your recipe says 10 minutes just use that as a guide, I look for caramelization on the cheese and check under the crust to make sure it browning. I think if the top is done before the bottom of the crust you may not have let the stone come up to temp.

Gerhard

jeroldharter · October 2012

Grill the veggies first to get the water out and cook them. I have never had a pizza dough worth eating that contains wheat flour. Just my opinion. Try 00 flour. Maybe your sauce has too much water. Try a thicker sauce, e.g. BBQ sauce or pesto.

TGNman · October 2012

Hi All

Thanks for your help.

It sounds like I am using too many toppings and possibly not a hot enough pizza stone.

My wife likes wheat....fiber women! But I am going to try the 00 Flour though. I will tell her it has wheat in it. ;)

Thanks again, going to try again this weekend.

Mark

SamFerrise · October 2012

Whole wheat pizza is nasty. Double Zero flour is the best or King Arthur bread flour is a good alternative.

booksw · October 2012

If you have a publix near you they sell a multigrain pizza dough that has some whole wheat in it but not so much that it effects the way the dough sets up when you cook it.

70chevelle · October 2012

Go easy on the sauce and vege's and/or precook the veges. When I do white pizza (tomatoes and cheese) I slice the tomatoes and lay them out on a drying rack seasoned with salt, pepper and pizza spice for 4-12 hours. Most of the moisture is gone and it intensifies the flavor. I also use the same process for my sauce. A can of San Marzano tomatoes, drained in a sieve for a few hours and then into the food processor or use an immersion blender. Season the same as the tomatoes above. No more soggy dough!

Mickey · October 2012

Doc_Eggerton A couple of years ago Tom put me on to cooking at the top of the adj rig by not using the platesitter. Now I do like he, cook on top of adj rig with just the one stone. You are far enough from the lump no problem.

tgkleman · October 2012

+1 on the Publix pizza dough. Also, as stated, you need to wait 30 - 45 minutes to preheat the stone before the pizzas go on.

SamFerrise · January 10

If you do not like soggy pizza put your sauce on last. My Brother and I had a pizza place for 34 years and we were famous for our deep dish pies. The sauce always went on last and it made a huge difference. We learned that trick from a guy we called Big John back in 1968. Not many places were doing deep dish pizza back then. We had about 50 deep dish pans that became seasoned and blackened. They were never washed, only scraped down every night.

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Pizza tips and ideas? No more soggy dough please!

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