What's the key to keeping the edge of a pizza crust chewy?

[Telly Savalas]

I'm trying to master the art of pizza making, and after several attempts I've almost got it down. The part of the crust covered by the sauce and toppings is exactly the way I want it, yet the edge of the crust along the perimeter is all hard and crunchy. So do any DU cooks have the answer to the question: whaddaya do to keep that part chewy like the rest of the crust? Would brushing olive oil over it help? I can't really think of anything else to try.

[KitchenWitch]

1. try using tinfoil around it while you bake it.

[DebJ]

2. A tinfoil hat pizza????

[KitchenWitch]

5. yup LOL

[madinmaryland]

4. uhhh. . .

this?

:tinfoilhat:

[RagingInMiami]

3. Drizzle the crust with olive oil before putting it in the oven

[fluffernutter]

14. yep, i agree. you can add garlic & parm too

:9

[pinto]

6. smaller edge, olive oil, foil - as mentioned - or, oddly, hotter oven.

Pizza cooks quick and hot. If you have a slow oven, crust will burn before pie gets good and bubbly....

[Trajan]

7. Glutin .....

and heat ....

You should use bread flour, you HAVE to yeast it, you have to let it rise (proof), you have to work the dough to make the glutin rubbery .... then you cook it in a very hot oven, on a stone or brick shelf .... for a short amount of time ...

DONT let the middle of the crust dry out, which is what happens if you let it cook too long in a less than super hot oven .... Ray's Pizza in NYC uses an 800 Degree oven, and the pizza is DONE (at your table) in 5 minutes ....

Sure, brush it with Olive Oil if you wish, but the key is using the proper heat level most of all, followed by using a pizza stone, and treating the dough properly ....

Thats my opinion, at any rate .... Im a rank amateur ....

[RagingInMiami]

9. And if you cook it on a pizza stone

Preheat the oven for a good 20 or 30 minutes with the stone inside to get it really hot.

[bif]

10. I totally disagree

I cook my pizza at around 350. And when it's done I put it on a cookie tray so the moisture is removed from the bottom of the pizza. Otherwise it gets soggy. The first time I made pizza I did it in a hot oven and the crust got burned before the toppings were done. If you're doing two, I'd rotate the 2 pies every 10 to 15 minutes so they'll cook evenly.

[RagingInMiami]

11. I make my pizza ultra thin, like they do in italy

And i drizzle olive oil on the pizza stone as well as sprinkle corn meal on it to prevent sticking.
I always put the oven at about 425 degrees and cook the pizza for about ten minutes. I've never had a problem.

[ooglymoogly]

16. umm

pizza is american invented in ny i think. yes now they make it just about everywhere in italy but it is american. i agree thin is best. thick pizza is just bread pie. i lived in rome for twelve years and could only find one place in trastevere that made pizza and it was an american import....but that was a long time ago...a place in naples made a facimile of pizza that was aaexcelent.

[RagingInMiami]

19. Pizza was invented in naples centuries ago

But it was a very basic concoction of thin dough, sauce and cheese.
In fact, the pizza Margherita, which consists of basil, cheese and sauce to represent the colors of the Italian flag, was named after a 19th Century queen.
But you probably knew that, having lived in Rome.
It was the Italians in NY that invented the Americanized pizza that we know of today with all the various toppings, but they only expanded on an old world recipe.

[bif]

8. Here's the secret. But you can't tell anyone, okay?

I brush olive oil on it,. Then I sprinkle parmesan cheese and garlic powder on it. It makes the crust into the best part of the pizza.

[mattclearing]

12. I think it might be the temperature.

What temperature are you cooking it at?

Higher temps will make it crustier.

A lower temp will leave it chewier, but will take longer to make. In commercial pizzerias, this is a real problem.

If you are just doing it at home, though, then you can afford to take the time.

[Telly Savalas]

13. 475F on a pizza stone

Last time I brushed olive oil on the part of the crust where the toppings go. While making it, I put the TV on food TV for background noise, and there happened to be a show about making pizza on at the time. The guy recommended the olive oil to prevent the moisture from the toppings from making the crust soggy. I tried this and it did the trick, but I didn't cover the edge with oil. Hence I was theorizing that the oil might help the edge from drying out, hence leaving it chewier.

The pizza was good and with the exception of the edge it was a nice and chewy crust. I'm just wanting more knowledge, so I'll have more control over process.

[Donailin]

15. Microwave n/t

[MissB]

17. Could it be your dough recipe?

I'm assuming you're making your own dough. Mine is never crunchy. I'm wondering if you're working the dough too much.

I bake mine at 425 on a cookie sheet. I do have a pizza stone, but I never use it. :shrug:

I never brush anything on the outside edge of the crust.

[B Calm]

18. Olive oil