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PizzaHQ

Pizza troubleshooter

Choose what you saw — up to three things — and, if you know them, what you baked on, the style and the bake. PizzaHQ ranks the likely causes from its 57 documented symptoms, 137 recorded causes and 36 equipment-specific branches, and for each one says why it fits, how to tell it apart from its neighbours, what you can still rescue, and what to change next time.

2. What did you see? Choose up to 3.

1 of 3 chosen.

3. Context (optional — sharpens the ranking)

Ranked causes

Most likely

  1. The centre is simply thicker than the rest of the base

    Generally accepted

    Shaping · from The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked

    Shaping that pushes dough inward, or a disc opened from the rim rather than the centre, leaves a thick middle that needs materially longer to cook through than the thin ring around it.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked", ranked 1 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The doughy area is visibly thicker than the surrounding base when you cut through it.
    Rescue it now
    Return the pizza to the hottest available surface for another two to three minutes, shielding the rim with foil if it is already dark
    Next time
    Stretch from the centre outward and check the disc against the light for an even thickness before topping; top the centre no more heavily than the rest; and preheat the baking surface fully so the middle of the base gets real conducted heat

    The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cookedHow to stop pizza going soggyPizza in a domestic ovenPizza in a wood-fired ovenDough hydration

  2. Too much topping, and too much of it wet, concentrated in the middle

    Generally accepted

    Toppings · from The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked

    Topping load insulates the base from top heat while adding water to it, so the centre is simultaneously receiving less heat and more moisture than anywhere else on the pizza.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked", ranked 2 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The base is an even thickness, but the centre carries the heaviest or wettest topping and is wet beneath it.
    Rescue it now
    Return the pizza to the hottest available surface for another two to three minutes, shielding the rim with foil if it is already dark
    Next time
    Stretch from the centre outward and check the disc against the light for an even thickness before topping; top the centre no more heavily than the rest; and preheat the baking surface fully so the middle of the base gets real conducted heat

    The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cookedHow to stop pizza going soggyPizza in a domestic ovenPizza in a wood-fired ovenDough hydration

Also possible

  1. The bake was too short because the rim finished first

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · from The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked

    In a very hot oven the exposed rim colours in well under two minutes, which can force the pizza out before heat has penetrated a loaded centre.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked", ranked 3 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The rim was already dark when you pulled the pizza from a very hot oven, so the centre was not given time.
    Rescue it now
    Return the pizza to the hottest available surface for another two to three minutes, shielding the rim with foil if it is already dark
    Next time
    Stretch from the centre outward and check the disc against the light for an even thickness before topping; top the centre no more heavily than the rest; and preheat the baking surface fully so the middle of the base gets real conducted heat

    The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cookedHow to stop pizza going soggyPizza in a domestic ovenPizza in a wood-fired ovenDough hydration

  2. Insufficient bottom heat from an unheated or under-preheated surface

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · from The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked

    The centre is the part of the base furthest from any exposed edge, so it depends most heavily on conducted heat from the surface underneath it.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked", ranked 4 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The whole underside is pale, not just the centre, after a short preheat or a bake partly off the surface.
    Rescue it now
    Return the pizza to the hottest available surface for another two to three minutes, shielding the rim with foil if it is already dark
    Next time
    Stretch from the centre outward and check the disc against the light for an even thickness before topping; top the centre no more heavily than the rest; and preheat the baking surface fully so the middle of the base gets real conducted heat

    The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cookedHow to stop pizza going soggyPizza in a domestic ovenPizza in a wood-fired ovenDough hydration

  3. The base is thicker in the middle than at the edges, usually from shaping that pushed dough inward rather than outward, and the thick section has not had enough heat to cook through.

    Generally accepted

    Shaping · Pizza in a domestic oven · from The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked

    Why it fits
    • Applies only if you are using "Pizza in a domestic oven".
    How to tell it apart
    The centre is thick, pale and doughy while the rest of the base is cooked, in a domestic oven.
    Rescue it now
    Return it to the hottest surface for another two or three minutes.
    Next time
    Stretch from the centre outward and check thickness by holding the disc up to the light before topping. Docking the centre also helps on thicker bases.

    The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cookedHow to stop pizza going soggyPizza in a domestic ovenDough hydration

  4. The pizza is too heavily topped for the bake length. At 450 °C the rim is finished in under 90 seconds, and there is simply no time for heat to penetrate a deep, wet topping load in the centre.

    Generally accepted

    Toppings · Pizza in a wood-fired oven · from The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cooked

    Why it fits
    • Applies only if you are using "Pizza in a wood-fired oven".
    How to tell it apart
    The rim is well charred and the centre is raw and wet, after a 60–90 second bake in a very hot oven.
    Rescue it now
    Move the pizza to a cooler part of the oven floor away from the flame and give it another 30–60 seconds, accepting more colour on the rim.
    Next time
    Top far more sparingly, and pre-cook anything wet. A very hot oven demands restraint that a domestic oven forgives.

    The centre is doughy or raw while the rest is cookedHow to stop pizza going soggyPizza in a wood-fired ovenDough hydration

How this works

Every cause shown is one PizzaHQ has already documented, either on a symptom page or as an equipment-specific branch. The troubleshooter does not invent causes; it ranks the documented ones against what you told it.

A cause starts from its recorded evidence confidence and its editorial rank within its symptom. An equipment-specific cause for the equipment you used rises sharply, and causes for equipment you are not using are set aside. A kind of cause (bake environment, fermentation, toppings…) that also explains another thing you saw rises again — one explanation for two observations is more likely than two separate faults.

If you name a style, its recorded equipment fit, bake temperature and bake time are compared with yours; a bake far outside the style's range, or equipment PizzaHQ records as a compromise for that style, raises the heat and equipment causes and says why.

Assumptions

  • Causes are bucketed — most likely, also possible, less likely — rather than given a percentage; the underlying ranking is additive and every addition is listed under 'Why it fits'.
  • 'How to tell it apart' is the observation PizzaHQ records as distinguishing that cause from the symptom's others.
  • Bake temperature and time only count when a style is chosen, because they are judged against that style's recorded range.

Limitations

  • Only documented symptoms can be diagnosed. If what you see is not listed, the closest symptom page is the better starting point.
  • Equipment-specific branches exist where equipment genuinely changes the answer; most dough-stage problems have none, by design.
  • A ranking is a starting point for checking, not a verdict — the distinguishing observations are there so you can confirm or rule out each cause yourself.

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