Why does my pizza crust turn out too hard?
I made pizza from scratch, including the dough. I followed the recipe correctly and kneaded it for around 30+ minutes until it passed the windowpane test. It was stretchy and not too dry or wet. I let it sit and then proof in the fridge before stretching it out and baking it on a pizza steel (That was heated for 1 hour at 525F). The crust turned out WAY too hard, so much so that if I tried to fold the tip of the slice it would crack like a cracker. I like pizza crispy but I still want to be able to fold it! The dough seemed fine and nice and stretchy and easily workable before I put it in the oven... it was light and airy and the outer crust formed those nice big bubbles (that were way too hard, though)... what went wrong? Is it possible that I over kneaded? How do I keep a crispy outer crust but still nice and foldable so I don’t break my teeth when I eat it? Also, after kneading the dough can I let it rise in the fridge overnight?
Best Answer
Possible problems:
- You have too little water in the dough (you said that it felt OK, though)
- You baked it for too long at too low a temperature (likely).
- You let it proof for too long or too high a temperature (sounds like this may not be the case if you followed the directions and had it in the fridge).
- You kneaded it too much (likely).
I'd suggest making sure the hydration is correct according to your recipe, kneading 10-12 minutes, then cooking it on a pizza stone or baking steel in a really hot oven so it cooks as quickly as possible. Let us know if this solved your problem.
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Quick Answer about "Why does my pizza crust turn out too hard?"
The most common reason pizza crust turns out hard and dry is that the pizza has baked for too long at a low temperature. To get a good crust, the pizza has to be baked quickly at a high temperature. Other reasons pizza crust gets hard are that the dough is too hard, didn't rise properly, or the use of a rolling pin.Why does my pizza crust come out hard?
Sometimes when too much flour is added, dough will come out hard and stiff. This can be caused by overworking the dough either by hand or with a roller. Overworking dough will pop all the tiny bubbles that make pizza crust so airy and fluffy once cooked. The hard crust can also be caused by the type of flour you use.How do you soften a tough pizza crust?
As long as the pizza has been stored well wrapped, however, retrogradation can be temporarily reversed by reheating the pizza to at least 140 degrees\u2014the temperature at which the starch crystals break down and release the trapped moisture, softening the crust.What do you do if your pizza base is too hard?
So how do you actually fix tough pizza dough? If your pizza dough seems tough and it hasn't been proven or baked yet then balance out the flour with some more water as this will wetten the dough and allow the gluten to develop.Why do you cook pizza longer for softer crust?
At the same time, the baking sheet is trapping moisture in the crust, keeping it from drying out a lot. So that's why you use a higher temp, or bake longer, but end up with a less-crispy crust. When the pizza is on the oven rack, the air circulates all around it, drying the crust more and making it crisper.Why is my pizza crust hard? 3 possible reasons
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Answer 2
It sounds like the dough was kneaded too much. Rather than go by time in kneading a yeast dough recipe I try to go by the way it feels including texture and elasticity. I've had great success with my Kitchen Aid mixer and the dough hook. Also, be careful not to add too much flour if kneading by hand. A shaker with flour in it works perfectly to disperse an even, light layer of flour when flouring a board during the kneading process (or when rolling out any type of dough)
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