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Pizza is the ultimate comfort food, and whilst it gets a bad wrap for being unhealthy, if enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, it doesn’t have to live up to its unhealthy reputation. Afterall, it does actually include many important food groups. Particularly if you make your own homemade pizza with wholefood ingredients, you can make pizza a regular feature on your menu. Whilst frozen pizza isn’t the same as homemade, eating it will be every bit as enjoyable. We think that food and guilt shouldn’t mix – so here’s how to preheat your oven for pizza so you can enjoy it at its best.
Whether you own a pizza stone or bake your pizza on a heavy tray, preheating an oven for pizza is essential. This is to make sure that you get an even bake on your pizza. Depending on your oven, the heat will be coming from mainly one direction – the top or bottom. Fan-assisted ovens are helpful here because they spread the heat through the oven more efficiently, but they still need preheating!
So that your pizza base browns and crisps up properly, it’s important to make sure the pizza stone or oven tray you’re baking it on is also in the oven during the preheating stage. The longer you preheat the oven for pizza, the better – although too long will just be a waste of energy. Don’t worry if your oven is really hot because cleaning your oven immediately after eating your pizza will be easier due to the residual heat – just make sure you don’t burn yourself! Here are our tips for preheating the oven for pizza, both homemade and frozen.
The oven preheat time for pizza will, of course, vary depending on your oven and what kind of pizza you’re making. Let’s take a look at preheating an oven for homemade pizza.
Ultimately, you’ll be following the recipe for your homemade pizza – the temperature for homemade pizza will generally be around 260°C – sometimes a little lower, but at least 230°C. All you need to do to preheat the oven for pizza is to turn on your oven at the right temperature and wait. Some recipes will tell you to start preheating the oven before you make your homemade pizza, but this can rack up an energy bill fast. Turning your oven on 30 mins before baking your pizza is enough.
Want to speed up the oven preheat time for pizza? Take out any baking trays that you’re not using that may be stored in the oven. This means that your oven is heating itself, and not the extra heavy metal trays, too. It’ll save time and energy!
Whether you’re pressed for time, a reluctant cook, or catering for a crowd, frozen pizza is a true all-rounder. It’ll save you a bunch on take out prices, and with the right preparation, can be just as delicious. Let’s jump right in.
- The best thing to do is follow the brand’s instructions. For frozen pizzas, you’ll probably be preheating the oven at a lower temperature than for homemade – around 220°C. This is so you don’t burn the outside of the pizza whilst leaving the inside raw and soggy.
- As above, remove any trays that you won’t use before preheating and then turn up the heat and wait.
- Once your oven is hot enough, you’re good to go!
Tip! In the mood for a colourful dessert after your pizza dinner? A fruit salad is super easy to make, and the prep is as easy as (pizza) pie! Just make sure you wash the fruit properly first. Make sure to register with Ask Team Clean to get fantastic articles and special rewards sent straight to your inbox.