Frozen pizza is a hidden gem in most grocery stores, especially for a quick ready-to-eat meal. Knowing how to cook frozen pizza can help transform an ordinary meal into a restaurant-quality dish. If you want key tips for working with frozen pizza, you can get more on this site.
How To Cook Perfect Frozen Pizza
Instructions are useful for a more user-friendly experience, but they can often lead to lackluster results. It’s far too often that hungry pizza aficionados find their frozen pizzas come out burnt or soggy. These issues arise because companies don’t offer the best instructions for achieving the perfect cook.
Instead, it’s best to use the printed instructions as basic guidelines with a few important tweaks. We guarantee these tips are bound to improve your pizza cooking experience ten-fold.
Step #1: Defrost the Pizza
You might have noticed that on your pizza’s packaging, it advises that you don’t defrost the pizza. In most cases, this is because the company wants to avoid contamination by thawing and refreezing. For your safety, always make sure you don’t refreeze pizza after thawing.
You’ll want to take the time to let the pizza reach a cool temperature before popping it in the oven. This process ensures that the cheese, toppings, and crust aren’t frozen solid and cooking from that state. We guarantee you’ll have far better results using near-fresh ingredients than frozen ones.
Step #2: Make Holes in the Crust
This tip is particularly beneficial for the best-frozen pizzas because it allows you to have better ventilation. The more warm air that can travel through the crust, the better the cooked pizza will be. Individuals who typically experience undercooked centers in their frozen pizzas are bound to love this step.
Buying pizzas wrapped in cellophane is ideal for this since you don’t have to worry about losing toppings. All you have to do is flip the pizza over so the topping side is facing down.
Using a sharp knife, punch several small holes in the crust so that steam can escape instead of getting trapped inside. It’s the perfect solution for a thoroughly crispy crust that you won’t soon forget.
Step #3: Get Ready for High Heat Settings
Did you know that most commercial pizza ovens can get as hot as 1000 degrees Fahrenheit? Home ovens won’t reach nearly as high, but you should still consider cooking your frozen pizza at maximum temperatures.
The higher the heat, the better the cooking quality, especially when it comes to getting restaurant-quality crust and toppings. Ideally, you’ll want to set your oven at 550 degrees Fahrenheit and allow the range to complete its full preheating cycle.
If you have a specialty pizza oven at home, you’re in even more luck. These luxurious appliances take the guesswork out of crafting artisan-quality pies since they reach extreme temperatures.
Step #4: Preheat the Baking Sheet
This step applies to anyone using a baking sheet or pizza stone when cooking. It’s always best to use cookware when working with pizza, making the meal easier to serve. Also, you won’t have to worry about grease and toppings collecting and burning at the bottom of your oven.
When the oven has preheated, you can toss your pizza stone or baking sheet in without the pizza. Allow it to warm for five to eight minutes before taking it out and putting the pizza on it.
Step #5: Add Extra Toppings
While your baking sheet is preheating, it’s time to take a couple of extra steps to customize your pizza to your liking. Frozen pizzas are typically crafted using a decent amount of toppings, but you have the opportunity to make the pie your own.
Consider adding more pepperoni and certainly more cheese, though not too much; otherwise, the crust will become soggy. You can also take this time to add any extra seasonings that you prefer, such as Italian seasoning, garlic, or parmesan.
Step #6: Cook the Pizza
Now, it’s time for the essential part of the entire process, cooking the pizza. You’ll want to immediately transfer it onto your warmed pizza stone or baking tray. Before putting the pizza into your oven, though, consider dusting the crust with a little bit of olive oil for a crispier finish.
When deciding on cook time, you’ll want to make sure you don’t overcook your pizza for fear of burning. You also won’t want to use the broil feature at such high temperatures because it’ll char the dough before it cooks adequately. On average, five to eight minutes should be more than sufficient for cooking your pizza thoroughly.
Step #7: Let the Pizza Rest
If you’ve mastered the art of cooking a roast, you know the importance of letting foods set. However, unlike meat, you won’t let it rest for added juices and flavor. Instead, you’ll be preserving the integrity of your pizza’s toppings and cheese.
Unless you’re cutting the pie with a sharp pizza cutter, you’ll need to wait at least five to six minutes before slicing. Otherwise, the cheese will stick to the blade of your knife, and the toppings will slide around aimlessly. Although you won’t want it to be cold when it’s time for plating, the cheese should have time to settle.
Step #8: Cut and Serve the Pizza
You can use many options for cutting your pizza, many of which you likely have in your kitchen. The top three recommendations are a pizza cutter, a chef’s knife, or a rocking blade. Any utensil you reach for must have been recently sharpened for the highest-quality cut.
Chef’s knives can often be preferred because they allow you to easily manage the slice’s size and shape. Also, it’s a little more reliable when it comes to working with hot cheeses. Rocking blades are also notable since they boast chef’s knives’ sharpness with a seamless rocking motion.
Conclusion
Transforming ordinary frozen pizza into a higher-quality meal is simple with the help of user-friendly tips. Instead of floppy and bland crust with far too few toppings, you can easily customize it to your liking. We guarantee the next time your family has pizza night, they’ll be impressed with your improvements.
