Why Your Pizza Crust Browns Unevenly [Causes & Solutions]
Uneven crust browning leaves one side or areas of the crust pale and undercooked, while the other is dark or burnt, resulting in a unbalanced overall bake. This is mostly a result of inconsistent heat distribution in your oven. This page details the exact causes and provides actionable solutions for achieving uniform, evenly-baked crust
This page is part of PizzaBlab’s Pizza Making Troubleshooting Guide. It provides a practical overview of the most common causes for this problem, each with a brief explanation, actionable solution, and links to related articles for deeper understanding.
The sections are listed from most to least likely, meaning the first cause typically represents the most common reason for this issue, with likelihood decreasing as you move down the list. That said, several causes can often overlap or share similar likelihoods – it’s ultimately up to your process to identify which factors are at play.
Cause 1: The Dough Receives Heat Unevenly, Causing Some Areas to Brown More Than Others
Explanation:
Uneven heat, particularly in a wood-fired oven, causes areas more exposed to radiant heat to brown faster and more intensely.
Solution:
Rotate the pizza during baking to ensure all areas receive even heat and bake uniformly.
Read More:
Additional Notes / Information
Tips for rotating pizza based on the baking method:
- Wood-Fired Oven (Live Fire): With live fire, the crust browns faster due to intense radiant heat. This requires rotating the pizza frequently to prevent burnt areas. For instance, when baking a Neapolitan pizza (about 1-minute total bake time), rotate every 10–15 seconds, watching the dough carefully.
- Home Oven: Typically, a single 180° rotation halfway through the baking time is sufficient.
← Back to PizzaBlab’s Troubleshooting Index
Enjoy the content on PizzaBlab? Help me keep the oven running!
