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How do I get a crunchy crust on the bottom of my deep dish? PLEASE HELP!

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babyjake

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I am looking to get a crunchier crust on the bottom of my deep dish. Unfortunately, I am not having much success. I have been using low gluten sapphire flour, corn oil etc. I have aluminum deep dish pans. Which I pre-bake, run through the own half way, then put toppings on and run through. Yet no success, they still don’t have that crispy bottom. Please Help!
 
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I assume your using the oil to coat the inside of the pan before you put the dough in the pan?
 
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Hi babyjake

Are the pans you use shiny aluminum or black ?
The black pans bake best.
What make and model ovens are you using and at whit time and temperature are you baking?

George Mills
 
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Someone directed me to this thread. I have a lot of ideas that may help. Since you said “deep dish” I will approach this as if you mean something akin to Malnati’s and Uno. I’ll reply again after I’ve had a chance to think about everything. Here are some of my credentials: http://ryanspizzablog.blogspot.com.
 
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First of all, parbaking creates a lot more work than should be necessary, and it probably doesn’t help you achieve the results you crave. I’ve thought a lot about parbaking, and I see no reason to ever parbake any kind of pizza, either in a pizzeria setting or at home.

Aluminum pans surely work fine, but I think tin-plated steel pans are the most appropriate pans for deep dish. The darker the better.

The formula I’ve been using most recently for deep dish:

100% Pillsbury AP flour
58% Water
0.30% ADY
21% Corn oil

Malnati’s dough has no salt, cornmeal, or semolina, and it’s not hard to find proof. (Just google “Lou to go” or something like that, then click “Images” at the top of the results page.) Their dough does contain a small percentage of olive oil, but I substitute more corn oil for the olive oil because using both creates more work but no noticeable difference in the pizza.

I’ve been wanting to try Superlative flour, although I suspect it has too much protein to work well with deep dish. However, that may be exactly what you want. Maybe I’ll try it soon.

Although I think my deep dish is every bit as good as Malnati’s, if not better, I still have a ton to learn about this style.

I have at least one more post on the way.
 
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OK, so how to make it crunchier. You said crunchy on the bottom specifically, so I’m gonna look at it from that angle, but I’m also gonna look at it from every other angle that comes to mind. It sounds like you use a conveyor oven. I’ve never baked deep dish in a conveyor oven, so that may be a bit of an obstacle.

Anyway, here are some ideas:
  • Bake longer. This should make the entire crust crunchier; not just the bottom. Also, of course, cheese and toppings will be more done.
  • Decrease the hydration of the dough. That should also make the entire crust crunchier; not just the bottom. However, it should not affect the cheese or the toppings.

    []Increase the oven temperature by 25-50 degrees. This way the top and bottom of the pizza should end up a little more done than the interior of the pizza.
    [    ]Do not parbake. Parbaking is so pointless. All it does is create more work/labor, higher gas/electric bills, and amateur-quality pizza.
If I have any other ideas, I’ll share.
 
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