Skip to content
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 heat source is far hotter than the surrounding chamber

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · from The outside chars before the inside cooks

    On a BBQ, a kamado without a deflector, or a pizza oven with an over-hot floor, the surface in contact with the pizza is running hundreds of degrees above what the rest of the pizza is experiencing, so it carbonises long before anything else is done.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The outside chars before the inside cooks", ranked 1 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The underside is charred evenly all over while the top is pale, on a BBQ, kamado or over-hot pizza oven floor.
    Rescue it now
    Move the pizza off the direct heat — the indirect zone on a BBQ, or a cooler part of the oven floor — and cover it or close the lid so trapped heat can finish the interior without adding more char
    Next time
    Set up genuine indirect heat, measure the cooking surface rather than the air, turn the pizza every 20–30 seconds in any directional-heat environment, and top far more sparingly than you would for a domestic-oven bake

    The outside chars before the inside cooksHow to get more char without burning the pizzaHow to get better pizza on a BBQPizza on a BBQPizza on a charcoal BBQBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

  2. The pizza was not turned often enough in a directional-heat oven

    Generally accepted

    Workflow and timing · from The outside chars before the inside cooks

    Wood-fired, gas pizza ovens and charcoal grills all heat one side dramatically more than the other. A stationary pizza blackens on the flame side while the far side stays pale and the centre stays raw.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The outside chars before the inside cooks", ranked 2 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The char sits on one side or in a pattern facing the flame, while the far side stays pale.
    Rescue it now
    Move the pizza off the direct heat — the indirect zone on a BBQ, or a cooler part of the oven floor — and cover it or close the lid so trapped heat can finish the interior without adding more char
    Next time
    Set up genuine indirect heat, measure the cooking surface rather than the air, turn the pizza every 20–30 seconds in any directional-heat environment, and top far more sparingly than you would for a domestic-oven bake

    The outside chars before the inside cooksHow to get more char without burning the pizzaHow to get better pizza on a BBQPizza on a BBQPizza on a charcoal BBQBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

Also possible

  1. The topping load is too heavy for a very short, very hot bake

    Generally accepted

    Toppings · from The outside chars before the inside cooks

    At 450 °C the exterior is finished in about 90 seconds. Heat has no time to penetrate a deep or wet topping load, so a heavily-dressed pizza is charred outside and raw in the middle by design.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The outside chars before the inside cooks", ranked 3 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The char is even, and the raw part sits under a deep or wet topping while thinly topped areas cooked through.
    Rescue it now
    Move the pizza off the direct heat — the indirect zone on a BBQ, or a cooler part of the oven floor — and cover it or close the lid so trapped heat can finish the interior without adding more char
    Next time
    Set up genuine indirect heat, measure the cooking surface rather than the air, turn the pizza every 20–30 seconds in any directional-heat environment, and top far more sparingly than you would for a domestic-oven bake

    The outside chars before the inside cooksHow to get more char without burning the pizzaHow to get better pizza on a BBQPizza on a BBQPizza on a charcoal BBQBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

  2. Trusting an air-temperature gauge rather than the surface the pizza sits on

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · from The outside chars before the inside cooks

    Lid and dome thermometers read chamber air, which routinely differs substantially from the stone or floor temperature that actually determines how fast the base cooks.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "The outside chars before the inside cooks", ranked 4 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    The dome or lid thermometer showed a normal reading, yet the base charred far faster than that temperature suggests.
    Rescue it now
    Move the pizza off the direct heat — the indirect zone on a BBQ, or a cooler part of the oven floor — and cover it or close the lid so trapped heat can finish the interior without adding more char
    Next time
    Set up genuine indirect heat, measure the cooking surface rather than the air, turn the pizza every 20–30 seconds in any directional-heat environment, and top far more sparingly than you would for a domestic-oven bake

    The outside chars before the inside cooksHow to get more char without burning the pizzaHow to get better pizza on a BBQPizza on a BBQPizza on a charcoal BBQBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

  3. The fire is far hotter than the chamber. On a charcoal grill the coals radiate intensely upward at the base while the lid is doing comparatively little for the top, so the two sides of the pizza are cooking at completely different rates.

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · Pizza on a charcoal BBQ · from The outside chars before the inside cooks

    Why it fits
    • Applies only if you are using "Pizza on a charcoal BBQ".
    How to tell it apart
    The base and rim are heavily charred within two or three minutes while the cheese has barely melted.
    Rescue it now
    Move to the indirect zone, close the lid, and let convected heat finish the top.
    Next time
    Use a preheated stone over the indirect zone rather than cooking over the fire, and let the fire settle before launching — freshly lit coals are at their fiercest and least even.

    The outside chars before the inside cooksHow to get more char without burning the pizzaHow to get better pizza on a BBQPizza on a charcoal BBQBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

  4. The pizza was launched at full flame and turned too slowly. The flame side of a gas pizza oven is dramatically hotter than the far side, so a stationary pizza chars on one arc while the rest barely cooks.

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · Pizza in a gas pizza oven · from The outside chars before the inside cooks

    Why it fits
    • Applies only if you are using "Pizza in a gas pizza oven".
    How to tell it apart
    One arc of the rim is black while the opposite side is pale, and the centre is undercooked.
    Rescue it now
    Turn the pizza immediately and keep turning every 20–30 seconds; move it away from the flame if the charred side is already dark.
    Next time
    Turn the flame down before launching rather than after, and turn the pizza every 20–30 seconds throughout the bake.

    The outside chars before the inside cooksHow to get more char without burning the pizzaHow to get better pizza on a BBQPizza in a gas pizza ovenBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

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.

Related