Whether you make pizza all of the time or this is your first time, you need to choose the right temperature for your oven. That way, you can ensure the pizza will cook evenly and taste great.
Read on to learn about the ideal pizza oven temperature based on different factors.
Temperature of Oven for Pizza
The best oven temperature for pizza varies based on the oven you’re using. If you’re making pizza at home, you may only have a conventional oven. Many conventional ovens can only get as hot as around 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
When using a conventional oven, you might cook your pizza between 450 and 500 degrees. However, if you have a pizza oven, you could get twice as hot, at 1,000 degrees. If you use a pizza oven, though, you may only cook your pizza at around 700 to 800 degrees.
Restaurants may have commercial ovens that they use to cook pizza. They can get as hot as a standard pizza oven, but they may stick to temperatures around 800 degrees.
How to Choose the Correct Oven Temperature?
I love making homemade pizza once a month or so. Luckily, I found a pretty good recipe, and it tells me exactly how hot my oven needs to be.
But maybe you’re still experimenting with recipes. Or perhaps you have a frozen pizza rather than a homemade dough. I’d recommend the following tips to help you choose the right oven temperature for your next pizza.
Consider Your Oven Type
First, I’d ask you about the type of oven you have. As I mentioned, some ovens can cook pizza at much hotter temperatures than others.
I typically use my standard home oven, and it can reach about 500 degrees. The recipe I use calls for the oven to be 475 degrees, which is pretty hot for a home oven, but it’s so worth it.
But maybe you’re more of a pizza connoisseur than I am, and you have a pizza oven. You could heat it as hot as 800 degrees. Then, you could cook your pizza faster and make it crispy.
Follow a Recipe
My biggest tip for beginners is to look for a good pizza recipe. That’s what I did when I first started making pizza at home, and I keep using a recipe to this day.
The recipe makes it super easy to know how hot the oven needs to be. Plus, I don’t have to worry about whether I’ll overcook or undercook the pizza.
If you want your pizza to taste amazing, you need some sort of guidance. And unless you’re willing to take a cooking class, a recipe is probably the best thing you’ll get.
Think About the Type of Pizza
I’d also compare pizza types, such as New York and Chicago. I love the traditional Neapolitan pizza, and it’s what many of us think of when we think of pizza. If I had a pizza oven, I would heat it to 900 degrees to get that expected taste.
But I’ve also had some tasty Chicago deep dish pizzas. When making those, I’ve heard you should lower the oven temperature to 400 or 425 degrees. Sure, cooking the pizza will take longer, but you can make the crust super fluffy.
Meanwhile, I’ve found that you should cook New York-style pizza in the middle. I’ve never made this style of pizza, but apparently, you’re supposed to set your oven to about 550 degrees. But if you have a pizza oven, you could cook it at any temperature up to 800 degrees.
I would experiment with the exact temperature, particularly if I didn’t have a recipe. Then, I would note the perfect temperature for future pizzas.
Watch the Oven
One of my favorite things about making pizza is that I can just put it in the oven and wait for the timer to ding. But I know that if you don’t have a recipe, you don’t have that luxury.
If I had to make pizza without a recipe, I would make extra dough. Then, I’d choose the lowest temperature I want to try for the first pizza.
I might raise the temperature for the next round. But if the temperature seems fine, I would say to experiment with the cooking time. If the pizza gets burnt, I would lower the cooking time, and I may even watch the oven every few minutes to check for visual changes in the pizza.
That way, I’d know when the cheese melts and the crust starts to brown. However, I would also keep the pizza from getting totally ruined from too much time in the oven.
Use a Thermometer
I’ve never had to do this, but I may go out and buy an infrared thermometer. As I was learning about the right pizza oven temperature, I learned you want to aim for between 200 and 205 degrees as the internal temperature.
It can be as hot as 210 degrees, but try not to let the pizza get much hotter. I’d point the thermometer at the pizza to make sure it’s reached the right temperature.
If it’s too cold, I’d set a timer for about a minute. Yes, I’d rather sit for longer, but I don’t want to overbake the pizza, so I’d use the thermometer every minute or so until the pizza is ready.
Keep the Pizza Warm
A few weeks ago, I started making pizza a bit too early for when I wanted to eat. So what I did was cook the pizza as normal, but then I lowered the temperature to keep the food warm.
The oven was turned down to about 180 degrees. That was plenty hot enough to keep the pizza fresh, and it was just as tasty when my family and I finally got to eat it.
I like that this gives you more flexibility when making pizza. Maybe you’re not hungry when it’s done, or your relative works a little late one night. You can still have a good meal, and your work won’t go to waste.
Why the Oven Temperature Matters for Pizza?
Selecting the right temperature when making pizza is crucial. Because of the crust, it’s almost like baking sweets or other goods. Baking is like a science in that you need things to be exact to get the desired results.
Here are a couple of reasons why you need to carefully select the oven temperature for pizza.
Cook Evenly
First, you need to make sure the pizza cooks evenly. The crust should rise, and you may see an air bubble or two develop. Of course, you also want to make sure the cheese melts all the way and that any other ingredients heat up.
If you set your oven temperature too low, your pizza may take too long to cook. And even if it does cook all the way through, it may not taste good.
You may also have to risk burning your crust for the cheese to melt, for example. That can make it harder to enjoy the process of making and eating the pizza.
Expected Taste
Depending on the pizza you’re making, the temperature could affect how it tastes. While you may need a higher heat for one type, that same temperature could burn another type of pizza.
If you make pizza often, you’ll want to use the same temperature so that the taste stays consistent. Changing one little thing could make a huge difference, especially when it comes to the oven.
While you may want to experiment with toppings, those things shouldn’t change the results. On the other hand, adjusting the temperature could leave you with a burnt or undercooked pizza.
