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Baking Pizza is an interesting task especially if you are baking at home. Getting a final result that is crunchy and tasty is the joy despite the work required.
Have you ever seen a pan of water in the oven when baking Pizza? Have you ever wondered why that is done? Have you thought of the mechanism involved? You should read on to gain clarity. You will learn a thing or two.
Making Pizza in an oven requires hot air to bake quickly. Pizza is usually baked in an oven for 8-10 minutes at 400 °F. In baking pastries, the temperature differs slightly from that of Pizza. This is because Pizza is baked in such a way that the outer parts are crunchy and the inner parts are soft and chewy. Air is a poor conductor of heat.
Adding water improves the amount of moisture in the oven. This helps the hot air to conduct more heat and distribute heat more evenly. This makes the pizza faster and better.
Water In The Oven When Making Pizza Explained
Pizza is baked in such a quick manner. The high temperature is necessary to graze the surface faster and penetrates the inner parts. This is why the water in the oven is used in some cases.
The moisture generated helps to cook the surface a bit more. This explains why the pizza crust is brown and gives a crispy and chewy texture.
The essence of the temperature is to quickly turn the crust to brown. The moisture from hot air cooks the pizza top a little more. This technique is quite a popular one. It can also be used in making bread. This is done for a better crust on the bread.
Methods To Be Used: How To Handle Water In The Oven
Here are simple methods that can be used to take care of water in the oven.
1. A Pan Of Water In The Oven
This requires that you place a bowl of water (not one to be affected by heat) on the upper part of the lower parts of the oven. This will increase the humidity in the oven. You do not have to put the bowl on the same rack as the pizza.
2. Sprayer
A sprayer can be used to spray water into the oven. Ensure to preheat the oven. You can also spray while baking is ongoing; this spreads the heat more evenly. Be careful to avoid spraying directly on the Pizza.
3. The Skillet Method
One sure way of properly distributing heat and moisture is using the cast iron skillet in the oven. Put a cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat. While you load the pizza into the oven, be sure to add ice cubes to the skillet or a little amount of water.
Skillets are known to usually take a while to get heated up and release the heat gradually. This is good for this technique as the heat melts the ice. This gives a humid atmosphere in the oven that browns the pizza crust and also adequately cooks it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens If I Spray The Pizza dough directly With Water?
Spraying the pizza dough or pizza crust may make the pizza too soggy, especially if too much water was sprayed. You do not need water to bake the pizza properly. While you can spray a little quantity on the rim of the pizza pan, be careful not to overdo it. If you are open to experimenting that could be one for you.
What Do I Do If I Do Not Want To Use Water?
It is not compulsory to use the water technique. If you would not, preheat your oven to 400 °F-425 °F. Place your pizza carefully into the oven and bake quickly. You can also increase the temperature to about 475 °F. This has to be done with utmost care in a short time, say, 8-10 minutes.
I Do Not Use Water But My pizza Ends Up Watery, Why?
This could be a result of the cheese used as a topping. Ensure to warm up the cheese at room temperature before using and dab out the cheese to wipe away any form of water or moisture. You could also cut (not grate) the cheese into thinner slices to reduce the surface area and the amount of water that could come out. Avoid pre-cooking too many of the ingredients so you do have too much moisture to contend with.
Final Thoughts
Placing water in the oven when making Pizza is a good way to reduce baking time as the hot air and moisture the pizza faster. While this is a common technique, the absence of a bowl of water in the oven does not hinder the Pizza from achieving a great taste in a short time.
This technique also requires that you handle the bowl of water correctly. If you have not tried this before, this is a good time to do so. Do that for your next homemade Pizza.
