How to Char Your Crust Using the Pizzeria Pronto Oven
There was a time when I thought that blackening meant you’ve burned your pizza, but these days I don’t cook a pizza without adding just a touch of char on the crust because charring adds flavor. My misconception that “black is burned” changed when I had my very first Neapolitan style pizza in New York. The pizza I ordered had a crust that was smattered in tiny black blisters, and I’ll never forget that first bite. The slight smokiness and ever-so-gentle bitterness were followed by the flavor of all the delicious ingredients piled on my pizza. So delicious!
Technique and Tools
To get some char on your pizza crust there’s a simple adjustment you’ll need to make regarding temperature. There’s also a handy little tool we’ll be using, and it’s an aluminum pizza screen along with your Pizzeria Pronto indoor or outdoor oven. The below method is not in the Pizzeria Pronto owner’s manual – but trust me. Here’s where the pizza screen comes in. The pizza screen is a tool that allows you to slow down the rate at which the bottom of your pizza cooks.
Charring your pizza crust:
- Preheat oven on “High” setting for 20-25 minutes.
- Prepare your first pizza and slide it into the oven.
- Cook the pizza 30-45 seconds and remove the pizza when you start to see the bottom pick up some char.
- Place the pizza onto the pizza screen and return it to the oven.
- Finish cooking the pizza another 3-5 minutes or until the top crust and topping are cooked and cheese has melted.
When your pizza is finished, remove the pizza from the oven and off the screen using a pizza peel or heat safe mitt. Then remove the screen and let it cool on a heat safe surface as it will be very hot! Make sure the screen isn’t placed in a location where someone will touch it while it’s hot.
This technique takes a little more attention to detail and some practice, but once you get the hang of things it might just be your new favorite method. Enjoy!
9 comments
Hi Christian! Unfortunately Nick found another job! Oh so sad. We miss him. I’m not sure what dough recipe he used.
Hi Nick,
Do you happen to have the recipe for that dough that developed such nice charring?
Hi Jim,
To answer your question, what we’re doing here is slightly overheating the pizza stones. Normal preheat instructions for the oven tell you to preheat on high for 10-15 minutes, then turn down the heat to medium high. With this technique, you’ll want to keep the control knob on the high setting for the duration of the cook. Preheating for 20-25 minutes overheats the stones and produces char spotting on the bottom crust early on in the cooking process.
The trick is finding the perfect timing to transfer the pizza to the screen. You’ll have to experiment with the timing, but I find that usually around 30-40 seconds is when you want to remove the pizza, place it on the screen, and return it to the oven. What this does is slow down the bottom crust (since we already have our nice char) so that you can continue cooking the top crust. You’ll get more char on the bottom of the pizza, and any bubbles on the top side should blacken with this technique. I’ve also had some success doming the pizza, which is basically lifting the pizza up (using the peel while it’s still on the pizza screen) and holding it close to the reflector for 30 seconds.
I’ve also tried the torch method, which works, but I agree with you that it doesn’t quite produce the flavor of a true char. After experimenting with this technique I started using it every time I cook pizzas in this oven.
Hi Doug,
Getting a fresh pizza into the oven can be a bit tricky at first, but once you get used to the process it’s easy. Use plenty of flour when you stretch out your crust, then brush off any excess before you make the pizza. I suggest using a wooden pizza peel sprinkled with a light dusting of all purpose flour. After you make the pizza, shaking the peel with a side to side motion will help get it moving…doing this before you try to put it in the oven will help significantly. I have a video where I demonstrate this technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz-Yr1q-fKM&t=36s
At the end of the video you’ll see the transfer technique I use. Hope this helps!
Hi Dan,
You can start your pizza on the screen, but you probably won’t get as much browning on the bottom crust. With this technique, we’re slightly overheating the pizza stones (to get some char on the bottom crust) then finishing the pizza on the screen so that the bottom doesn’t continue to over cook and the top will crisp up nicely.