Soggy Bottoms

[dusty]

Well, we had pizza night #3 over the weekend and, I must say, they are getting progressively better and more creative. My oldest built a fine calzone, the middle one made an apple turnover, and the youngest, Kyle, made this "pop tart-looking" thing by spreading rasberry jelly on a half baked skin, topping it with cream cheese and then baking it. They were all delicious!One strange thing though.
The thin-crust pizzas that I have been making are soggy on the bottom - in the middle that is. They are browned nicely and they taste good, but I can't cut a wedge, fold the outer crust, and eat it by hand without it collapsing. And the leftovers, traditionally one of my favorite breakfast foods, are even soggier. My wife has been making her crust a bit thicker and cooking them longer in a cooler spot - close to the entrance. Hers are not soggy and are excellent the next morning.
I am wondering if my oven is too hot. If they are cooking faster than the dough can bake. Or might I be useing too much sause?
Has anyone else expirienced this?

dusty

[james]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

Great topic. I've moved it to Pizza.
James

[Richard]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

could be that the dough is too thin in the center

[dusty]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

could be that the dough is too thin in the center

Could be..., but I have tried to keep the thickness the same from edge to middle. Key word: tried!

dusty

[gjbingham]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

My wife says I have a soggy bottom ;(

What are your oven floor temps like dusty?

[arevalo53anos]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

Normally, soggy dough is signal of wet fillings.
Drain the tomatoes when doing sauce, protect your pizza disk with a thin layer of EVOO, before to add the sauce.
Do not use fat muzz or lots of filling.
Could your oven be unbalanced in temperature?
In charging the oven with a lot of wood, the dome temperature goes fast to higher temperatures while the hearth is still cold due to be protected from the heat by the wood over it.
Even if the dome walls are not embeded with heat, the surface of them are hot, and helped by live flames, burns the pizza toppings and the cornicione in less than a minute, while the center of the dough (on the not so hot hearth) is not cooked.
I hope this help.

Luis

[dusty]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

My wife says I have a soggy bottom ;(

What are your oven floor temps like dusty?

That's not very nice! Accurate, maybe, but not nice!

I can't recall the actual number, but I think hot- hot. I got the dome to go clear, I let the fairly good sized fire burn down for about 15 minutes, then raked it to one side, brushed and started cooking. I dunno. 750? I will make a note next time. Have you not had this problem?

dusty

[dusty]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

Thanks Luis, that did help. I have not been draining the tomatos. I have just smashed them and been useing the juice too. Very moist.

BTW. What is EVOO?

dusty

[mfiore]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

EVOO = extra virgin olive oil

[gjbingham]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

Dusty,
Same problem I had for the first two pizza nights. I raked the coals over the entire floor for about 15 minutes, then pushed it all to one side and added several more pieces of wood to get the flame burning from that side all the way to the other.
Then it was way too hot for the first pizza, but the crust was done in the middle. I didn't use the thermometer the last time but I'm thinking the oven was above 850. I let it cool a bit and tried again, less burning, crusts still done. In my oven, I think the flames have to be crossing the midline of the dome to keep the oven to pizza temp.
Hang in there. Re-read the oven management tips. Learn how your oven works. I don't think its the dough being too thin. That would require less heat to cook. Too much sauce or too watery - sounds reasonable.

[Frances]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

Rubbing a thin film of olive oil all over the base before adding the toppings is something I was taught to do in school cooking classes (many many years ago), and I kept on doing it for the WFO pizzas out of pure habbit. That and because the pizzas turned out well - why change something that works?

But I did mean to ask about it sometime, so its nice Luis brought it up. EVOO serves as a miosture barrier, right? Which means it could well help with Dusty's problem.

Does anyone else make their Pizzas this way? What's the verdict: good idea, or a non-authentic pizza hut type of faux pas?

[arevalo53anos]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

Frances:
Sorry because I am going to use my own judgement on myself...
Yes, to use a thin film of EVOO over the dough pizza disk before the sauce is a good idea. Even more if you are not so fast to spread the toppings over it or if you like heavy ones.
Authentic pizza is exactly the pizza that you like!!!

Luis

[gjbingham]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

If I remember correctly, they add the EVOO after the pizza cooks in Sicily. Makes sense if the oil breaks down in heat and looses its flavor.

[RTflorida]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

I shoot for authentic and then put my own spin on things to suit some of the varied toppings I use. I say, if it helps to avoid a "soggy bottom" , give it a try; I plan to try it just out of curiosity. As long as the flavor only breaks down or dissipates from the extreme heat, and does not turn bitter or burned, it sounds good to me. What is the worst that can happen? One bad pie?
Hey, as I have said before " even bad pizza is better than the best of most anything else"

RT

[DaveHI]

Re: Soggy Bottoms

My inlaws bought me a DVD/cookbook from a competitor. He recommends EVOO with garlic pressed into it as a barrier. Paint on with a brush and then the sauce. It's not a lot of oil but it does keep the dough separated from the toppings. And a bit of garlic can't be bad!