How to use the online timer
Twelve minutes is what a domestic oven at full temperature needs for a pizza, whether that is a base made at home on a Thursday evening or something from the freezer at the end of a long week. A proper pizza oven does the same job in ninety seconds at three times the heat, which is precisely why home pizza never quite tastes the same and why the technique has to differ.
Preheat the tray, stone or steel along with the oven — a base landing on cold metal steams before it bakes, and no amount of extra time fixes a soggy middle. Put the oven as high as it goes, count from the moment the pizza goes in, and keep this tab open while it runs, since the countdown stops the instant the page closes.
Toppings are where most home pizzas fail. A wet mozzarella, a generous ladle of sauce and a pile of vegetables all release water that the twelve minutes cannot drive off, leaving the centre pale and slack. Less sauce, drained cheese and anything watery cooked off beforehand does more for the result than any adjustment to the time.
Common questions
Why is the base soggy in the middle?
Usually a cold tray or too much on top. Preheat the tray, stone or steel with the oven, go lighter on the sauce, and cook off anything watery before it goes on. Extra time will not fix it.
Should the oven be as hot as it goes?
Yes. A domestic oven is already far cooler than a pizza oven, so any heat held back shows in the result. Give it a full preheat rather than putting the pizza in while it is still climbing.
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