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. Fresh, delicate herbs added before baking rather than after

    Generally accepted

    Workflow and timing · from Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the oven

    Thin fresh leaves like basil have very little moisture and mass to protect them; oven heat, especially at high Neapolitan-style temperatures, dries and chars them well before the pizza itself is done.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the oven", ranked 1 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Delicate leaves such as basil blackened whether tucked or exposed, because they went into the oven at all.
    Rescue it now
    Pick off visibly blackened leaves; the pizza is otherwise unaffected
    Next time
    Add delicate fresh herbs after baking rather than before, as a finishing touch, reserving any pre-bake herbs for sturdier, less delicate ones

    Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the ovenPizza in a domestic ovenUsing the grill or broiler for pizza

  2. Herbs placed directly on top rather than tucked under cheese or sauce for partial protection

    Generally accepted

    Toppings · from Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the oven

    Fully exposed leaves have no protection from direct radiant heat, unlike herbs partially shielded under cheese.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the oven", ranked 2 of 2 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Only the fully exposed leaves on top are charred, while any partly under cheese or sauce came out greener.
    Rescue it now
    Pick off visibly blackened leaves; the pizza is otherwise unaffected
    Next time
    Add delicate fresh herbs after baking rather than before, as a finishing touch, reserving any pre-bake herbs for sturdier, less delicate ones

    Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the ovenPizza in a domestic ovenUsing the grill or broiler for pizza

Also possible

  1. A domestic-oven bake is many times longer than the bake the Neapolitan convention of baking basil on assumes. Thin leaves exposed on top dehydrate within a minute or two and then char.

    Strongly supported

    Toppings · Pizza in a domestic oven · from Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the oven

    Why it fits
    • Applies only if you are using "Pizza in a domestic oven".
    How to tell it apart
    Basil leaves placed on top before baking came out black and brittle after a bake of several minutes.
    Rescue it now
    Remove the blackened leaves and add fresh ones now — residual heat will release their aroma.
    Next time
    Add basil after the bake, or tuck it under the cheese where it steams rather than burning. The bake-it-on convention does not transfer from a 90-second oven to a 10-minute one.

    Fresh herbs blacken or wilt in the ovenPizza in a domestic oven

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