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
Insufficient spacing in the proofing container
Generally acceptedShaping · from Dough balls merge together during fermentation
Dough balls expand significantly during fermentation and will merge if placed too close together.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Dough balls merge together during fermentation", ranked 1 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The balls rose by a normal amount but were set close together or touching when they went into the container.
- Rescue it now
- Gently separate merged balls with a floured bench scraper and reball if they haven't overproofed
- Next time
- Space dough balls generously, or use individual proofing containers/trays with dividers
Dough balls merge together during fermentationScales, mixers, dough boxes and cutters: what matters
Fermentation running longer or warmer than planned
Generally acceptedFermentation · from Dough balls merge together during fermentation
Extra rise from an unexpectedly warm environment increases how much the balls expand.
- Why it fits
- Recorded cause of "Dough balls merge together during fermentation", ranked 2 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
- How to tell it apart
- The balls were well spaced but have risen and spread far more than usual, often after time somewhere warmer than planned.
- Rescue it now
- Gently separate merged balls with a floured bench scraper and reball if they haven't overproofed
- Next time
- Space dough balls generously, or use individual proofing containers/trays with dividers
Dough balls merge together during fermentationScales, mixers, dough boxes and cutters: what matters
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.