pan pizza

[system]

We currently cook our pizzas on screens in a conveyer oven, We would like to also start cooking pan pizza. Are there any special techniques to this (dough can’t be as thick, pre-cook dough half way thru oven, etc…,) Thanks.

 

[system]

what type of oven do you have

 

[Tom_Lehmann]

You’re presently making thin crust pizzas in an air impingement oven, and you want to introduce a pan pizza too, but you say that the dough can’t be as thick…as what? Are you wanting to make a thin crust and just bake it in a pan? Or do you want to make a true, deep-dish, thick crust pizza? If you want to go the latter route, get some deep-dish pans from Lloyd Pans <lloydpans.com> and begin experimenting with dough weights for the new crust. Think in terms of 12 to 16 ounces for a 12-inch deep-dish pan. Use vegetable oil in the pan, shape the dough to fit the pan and drop into the oiled pan, cover the pan (Stacking pans are great) and allow the dough to rise in the pan for 45 to 70 minutes. You will need to experiment to determine what dough weight and proofing (rising) time gives you the crust characteristics that you want. Experiment with the time and temperature settings on your oven. Begin at 475F and about 7 minutes bake time and you might find that you can bake both side by side. If you find it too difficult to work with fresh dough in your deep-dish offerings, then you can par-bake the proofed deep-dish dough. For this, you will need to drop the temperature to about 400F and set the time at about 4 minutes. Then experiment to find the time and temperature that works best for you. Be sure to remove the par-baked crusts from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven, and place them on screens to cool. Store at room temperature for up to three days in a plastic bag. To bake a pizza from the par-baked crusts all you wil need to do is to put the crust back into the same size pan it was par-baked in, (use some oil in the pan) then sauce and dress to the order, and you might find that it can be baked right along side your thin crust offerings. We are doing this very thing in Guatemala where we are baking the thin and thick crust pizzas in the same oven, on the same conveyor.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

 

[George_Mills]

[. If you find it too difficult to work with fresh dough in your deep-dish offerings, then you can par-bake the proofed deep-dish dough.

Great article Tom. What you do before you put your product in the oven is the most important factor in producing a quality product.

None of our clients,That I know of, pre bake pan pizza crusts, some may bake both pan and non pan at the same time and temperature but most all allow more time for deep pan.

Chuck if you have a double deck oven you may wish to set one deck time and temp for pan and the other for non panned pizzas.

Many of our clients use a split belt on one deck of a double decker and quite a few use triple deck units.

George Mills