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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. Excess loose flour or semolina left under the dough, well beyond what's needed to prevent sticking

    Generally accepted

    Shaping · from Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burnt

    Any dusting flour or semolina not absorbed into the dough sits directly against the hottest part of the bake and chars quickly at high stone or steel temperatures, leaving a bitter black residue.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burnt", ranked 1 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Loose black dust brushes off the base, heaviest where the dusting was thickest, and excess was not shaken off before launching.
    Rescue it now
    Not fixable once baked; brush off any loose burnt residue visible on the base before serving
    Next time
    Use only as much bench flour or semolina as needed to prevent sticking, and gently shake or brush off any visible excess from the dough's underside before launching

    Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burntCooking on a pizza stonePeels and launchingBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

  2. Very high baking surface temperature, common with a well-preheated steel or stone

    Generally accepted

    Bake environment · from Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burnt

    The higher the surface temperature, the faster any loose flour on it scorches rather than simply toasting.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burnt", ranked 2 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Even a light, well-shaken dusting scorches, and the stone or steel was preheated especially hot.
    Rescue it now
    Not fixable once baked; brush off any loose burnt residue visible on the base before serving
    Next time
    Use only as much bench flour or semolina as needed to prevent sticking, and gently shake or brush off any visible excess from the dough's underside before launching

    Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burntCooking on a pizza stonePeels and launchingBrowning: Maillard, caramelisation and char

Also possible

  1. Too much dusting flour was carried from the peel onto the hot surface. Loose flour has no moisture to protect it and carbonises on contact at pizza temperatures.

    Generally accepted

    Workflow and timing · Peels and launching · from Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burnt

    Why it fits
    • Applies only if you are using "Peels and launching".
    How to tell it apart
    There is a layer of black, bitter-tasting powder on the underside of the base and on the baking surface.
    Rescue it now
    Brush the surface clean before the next pizza; the burnt flour will otherwise transfer to it as well.
    Next time
    Dust the peel lightly and evenly, use semolina rather than flour — coarser grains roll rather than sticking and burn less readily — and consider a perforated peel that sheds excess as you launch.

    Flour or semolina scorches underneath the base, tasting bitter and burntPeels and launchingBrowning: 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.

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