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.
Ranked causes
Most likely
Excess bench flour or semolina left on the dough's surface, creating a dry, low-grip layer under the sauce
Generally acceptedShaping · from Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)
The same dusting flour that stops dough sticking to the peel also stops toppings gripping the dough if too much is left on top rather than shaken off underneath.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)", ranked 1 of 3 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The dough's top surface looks dry and floury, and sauce and cheese skid on it at the slightest movement.
- Rescue it now
- Gently reposition displaced toppings before the pizza goes in, or immediately after launching while the surface is still soft
- Next time
- Shake off excess bench flour before topping, use a thin even layer of sauce or oil for grip, and handle the assembled pizza smoothly and confidently
Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)How to get cheese to behave better
Too little sauce or oil to act as an adhesive layer between the dough and the cheese
Generally acceptedSauce · from Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)
Cheese needs some moisture or fat underneath it to bind to the dough surface before baking sets it in place.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)", ranked 2 of 3 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The dough surface is clean, but only a very thin smear of sauce, or no oil, sits under the cheese.
- Rescue it now
- Gently reposition displaced toppings before the pizza goes in, or immediately after launching while the surface is still soft
- Next time
- Shake off excess bench flour before topping, use a thin even layer of sauce or oil for grip, and handle the assembled pizza smoothly and confidently
Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)How to get cheese to behave better
Also possible
Aggressive movement while topping, launching, or transporting the pizza to the oven
Generally acceptedShaping · from Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)
Toppings that aren't yet bonded to the dough can shift or fall during a jerky launch or an uneven carry to the oven.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)", ranked 3 of 3 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The toppings stayed put on the bench and only shifted during a jerky launch or an uneven carry to the oven.
- Rescue it now
- Gently reposition displaced toppings before the pizza goes in, or immediately after launching while the surface is still soft
- Next time
- Shake off excess bench flour before topping, use a thin even layer of sauce or oil for grip, and handle the assembled pizza smoothly and confidently
Cheese or toppings slide off before baking (while topping or launching)How to get cheese to behave better
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.