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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. Yeast is dead or too old

    Generally accepted

    Dough formulation · from Yeast does not foam when proofed

    Yeast gradually loses viability over time, especially once opened and exposed to air and moisture; past its use-by date, or stored somewhere warm and humid, live cell counts can drop enough that a proof test shows little or no activity.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Yeast does not foam when proofed", ranked 1 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Nothing at all happens, even in comfortably warm water with sugar, and the yeast is old, opened long ago or stored warm.
    Rescue it now
    If the yeast shows genuinely no activity after 15 minutes in correctly warm (around 38-43C) water with a pinch of sugar, treat it as dead and use a fresh packet rather than proceeding — a dough made with dead yeast will not rise no matter how long it ferments.
    Next time
    Store yeast in a cool, dry place (the refrigerator or freezer for opened packets), check the use-by date before starting, and use water that feels comfortably warm rather than hot to the touch — around body temperature is a reasonable rule of thumb.

    Yeast does not foam when proofedYeast and fermentation basics

  2. Water too hot

    Generally accepted

    Dough formulation · from Yeast does not foam when proofed

    Water above roughly 50C kills yeast outright rather than activating it; a proofing test using water that felt merely 'warm' to the touch can still be hot enough to be the actual cause.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Yeast does not foam when proofed", ranked 2 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Fresh, well-stored yeast showed no activity, and the water felt hot rather than comfortably warm or was never checked.
    Rescue it now
    If the yeast shows genuinely no activity after 15 minutes in correctly warm (around 38-43C) water with a pinch of sugar, treat it as dead and use a fresh packet rather than proceeding — a dough made with dead yeast will not rise no matter how long it ferments.
    Next time
    Store yeast in a cool, dry place (the refrigerator or freezer for opened packets), check the use-by date before starting, and use water that feels comfortably warm rather than hot to the touch — around body temperature is a reasonable rule of thumb.

    Yeast does not foam when proofedYeast and fermentation basics

Also possible

  1. Water too cold

    Generally accepted

    Dough formulation · from Yeast does not foam when proofed

    Very cold water slows yeast activity dramatically rather than killing it — the yeast may still be alive but the test needs longer than 10-15 minutes to show visible foam.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Yeast does not foam when proofed", ranked 3 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    A few bubbles appear but foam builds very slowly, and the water felt cool or barely lukewarm.
    Rescue it now
    If the yeast shows genuinely no activity after 15 minutes in correctly warm (around 38-43C) water with a pinch of sugar, treat it as dead and use a fresh packet rather than proceeding — a dough made with dead yeast will not rise no matter how long it ferments.
    Next time
    Store yeast in a cool, dry place (the refrigerator or freezer for opened packets), check the use-by date before starting, and use water that feels comfortably warm rather than hot to the touch — around body temperature is a reasonable rule of thumb.

    Yeast does not foam when proofedYeast and fermentation basics

  2. No sugar included in the test

    Supported, with regional variation

    Dough formulation · from Yeast does not foam when proofed

    A small amount of sugar gives yeast an immediately available food source, producing a faster and more visible foam response during a standalone proofing test than yeast mixed directly into a full dough recipe, which already contains starches the yeast must first break down.

    Why it fits
    • Recorded cause of "Yeast does not foam when proofed", ranked 4 of 4 by PizzaHQ's editors.
    How to tell it apart
    Activity is weak but present, the water temperature was right, and the test used plain water with no sugar.
    Rescue it now
    If the yeast shows genuinely no activity after 15 minutes in correctly warm (around 38-43C) water with a pinch of sugar, treat it as dead and use a fresh packet rather than proceeding — a dough made with dead yeast will not rise no matter how long it ferments.
    Next time
    Store yeast in a cool, dry place (the refrigerator or freezer for opened packets), check the use-by date before starting, and use water that feels comfortably warm rather than hot to the touch — around body temperature is a reasonable rule of thumb.

    Yeast does not foam when proofedYeast and fermentation basics

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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