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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. Under-fermentation

    Generally accepted

    Fermentation · from Crust is dense

    Insufficient fermentation time means less gas production and weaker flavour development, both read as density.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Crust is dense", ranked 1 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The crumb is tight and the crust tastes flat after a short ferment, even though the hydration suits the style.
    Rescue it now
    Not fixable once baked; note the fermentation time and hydration used for next time
    Next time
    Increase fermentation time (within reason for the yeast quantity used) or hydration to match the target style

    Crust is denseHow to get an airier crustOven spring and how the crust sets

  2. Hydration too low for the intended style

    Generally accepted

    Dough formulation · from Crust is dense

    Lower-hydration doughs naturally produce a tighter, less open crumb.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Crust is dense", ranked 2 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The dough fermented fully and tastes developed, but it felt firm and dry when mixed compared with the style's usual dough.
    Rescue it now
    Not fixable once baked; note the fermentation time and hydration used for next time
    Next time
    Increase fermentation time (within reason for the yeast quantity used) or hydration to match the target style

    Crust is denseHow to get an airier crustOven spring and how the crust sets

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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