# Cooking frozen homemade pizzas



## nosworthy (Jan 2, 2009)

I've done this a few times but they haven't turned out anywhere near as nice as when they are cooked fresh straight away. When cooked as soon as they're made the recipe I used said turn the oven up as high as it will go and the pizzas were spot on, really nice. Yet when I've made a batch and frozen some for later, cooking them at the highest temp left the outside burned and the middle barely cooked. I tried 200C after this and they were better but still over done on the outside and underdone in the middle.

Does anyone else freeze your pizza and cook from frozen? Would a pizza stone help even cooking from frozen? Is the thinner the base the better for cooking from frozen? Any advice appreciated.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

I freeze balls of dough and thaw them to make pizza.


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## benway (May 24, 2009)

In my experience a pizza is best when you get some char on the crust without drying it out.  For this reason pizza is usually best at the highest temperature you've got access to.  400 C is more in line with what pro pizza ovens can reach.  In the case of a frozen pizza, the outside gets a bit of a head start compared to the inside which will stay cold longer which is actually kind of a benefit!

If you pizza is burnt on the outside and barely cooked in the middle, I assume that by outside you mean the edges and middle means the center of the round pizza.  I have two suggestions for this.  In frozen pizzas especially but even in fresh pizzas, liquid tends to pool in the center so its not a bad idea to leave the dough slightly thicker there to prevent this.  A pizza stone will perhaps cook your pizza more evenly as well.


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## theslowcooker (Apr 18, 2011)

Every time I try and cook a frozen pizza whether it's one I made or a "take-n-bake" from the local pizza place, they always turn into a 4/10 dish. I always have to end up choosing whether I want my outer edge or the middle of my pizza done perfectly. I can't have both as they always have burned edges and doughy middles.


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## benway (May 24, 2009)

Apparently this is a common problem. My girlfriend who considers herself something of a frozen pizza connoisseur solves it by slicing her pizza quarters before freezing it and separating the slices just a bit in the oven. Otherwise she has also covered the edges in foil halfway through cooking.


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## mikez (Jun 13, 2010)

I donno how on point this is but what I like to do is take freshly baked pizza be it homemade or from one of my favorite pizza places, cut into slices and freeze right away..  then when I want a slice of frozen fresh pizza I can pull it out, put it on the toaster oven high setting and it comes out perfect. You can also put it on the toaster on medium where its just thawed and finish on a hot cast iron skillet. That is another trick for crispy crust pizza or day old pizza whatever reheat on a hot cast iron skillet and the bottom gets perfectly crispy and the rest gets cooked just right as well


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## penguin (Aug 30, 2008)

I usually cook several pizzas all in one night.  We eat one fresh out of the oven for dinner, then slice the remaining pizza's and freeze them already cooked.  When we need a quick meal from the freezer, I pull out a few slices.  Let them thaw for just a few minutes, then broil at 500F for 4-5 minutes.  It reheats nicely and you get a re-crisping of the crust.  It's the best option we've found so far.  Honestly nothing beats a homemade pizza right off the pizza stone though . . . Good luck!


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Penguin,

I agree with the pizza stone idea.  I don't have one, but I've heard that they get incredibly hot and cook the pizzas thoroughly and evenly.

Broiling/grilling is a great idea too.  If we're in a tearing hurry, I heat up precooked pizza in the microwave on a plastic rack (oh no not a microwave!) then crisp it under a high grill, with maybe a bit of extra cheese, dried oregano and smoked paprika.  Not perfect, but it works for us at times.


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