How to Avoid a Soggy Crust on Your Pizza

If you find that your pizza crust is soggy, the first thing to look at is your cooking method. Using a pizza stone just about always solves this problem. The heated stone make your crust nice and crunchy and cooks the toppings perfectly. 

Be sure to preheat your oven properly. Crank it up to at least 425°F (220°C), ideally 500°F (260°C) if your oven allows, and let a pizza stone or steel heat up for 30-60 minutes. This high heat absorbs moisture from the dough fast, locking in that crisp base. No stone? Use a perforated pizza pan or baking sheet flipped upside down, preheated just the same. 

Soggy crusts also sometimes develop if you are using a vegetable that has a high water content, like mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, or peppers. There are a few things you can do to help prevent this. First, try cutting your vegetables very thin and using less of them. You can also pull out your pizza half way through cooking and add those vegetables that are troublesome midway through baking. This way they have less time to release their moisture. 

Remember, also, to place these watery vegetables on the top of your pizza, not under the cheese. This will expose them to more of the dry air in your oven, allowing them to release their moisture into the air instead of into your crust. There are a few vegetables, however, that benefit from being placed under the cheese. These include broccoli and spinach. Finally, you can try blanching those watery vegetables first before placing them on your crust. To blanch them, simply precook the vegetables for a short time by steaming, boiling, baking, or sautéing them. I’ve also read tips that say you can prebake your pizza crust for a few minutes before topping it and sending it back into the oven. But I don’t really think this step is necessary and it can change the taste and texture of your pizza.