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
Hydration too low for the intended airy style
Generally acceptedDough formulation · from Crust is cracker-like when it shouldn't be
Low hydration limits steam production during baking, which is part of what creates an open, airy crumb.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Crust is cracker-like when it shouldn't be", ranked 1 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The dough was hand-stretched but felt firm and dry, and even the rim baked crisp with little open structure.
- Rescue it now
- Not fixable once baked
- Next time
- Increase hydration toward the style's typical range and hand-stretch rather than roll, if an airy result is wanted
Rolling pin used where hand-stretching was intended
Generally acceptedShaping · from Crust is cracker-like when it shouldn't be
A rolling pin compresses out gas that hand-stretching would have preserved.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Crust is cracker-like when it shouldn't be", ranked 2 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The dough was rolled with a pin, and the whole disc, rim included, baked flat and evenly thin.
- Rescue it now
- Not fixable once baked
- Next time
- Increase hydration toward the style's typical range and hand-stretch rather than roll, if an airy result is wanted
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.