Bake Frozen Pizza Directly On The Oven Rack And Thank Us Later

Frozen pizza is renowned for its convenience — and how hard it is to mess up. Still, there are plenty of ways to upgrade your frozen pizza, but most focus on toppings rather than the crust. Edges that look golden brown on the outside but feel chewy on the inside can be a bit of a letdown, but it feels almost inevitable with frozen pizza. But fear not — there is a solution; you just need a little faith to see it through. Baking your pie directly on the oven rack can lead to an even, crispy crust all around.

Here are the two biggest factors in this soggy equation: temperature and moisture. Frozen products are wetter than fresh by virtue of accumulating water droplets in the freezer. Home ovens reach temperatures of between 400 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit, while real pizza ovens get as hot as 900 to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. That type of heat removes any amount of liquid and gives you a nicely-charred crust. When baking frozen pizza on an oven tray, the (already lower) heat doesn't circulate efficiently enough to bake out all the water, leaving your crust a little softer than ideal. The oven rack has no barriers to the heat and therefore allows for more even baking. It is necessary to note that while thawing frozen pizzas is helpful when using the tray, this should be avoided if using the rack, lest your pie fall victim to gravity.

Preheating is important for achieving a golden brown crisp, and even if you're adjusting for convection oven cooking, this is still vital. You may be able to pull your frozen pizza out of a convection oven sooner than with a conventional one, but frozen pizza requires so little time in the oven to begin with that this might not make a difference. Plus, toaster ovens actually run the risk of over-crisping recipes due to their fans drawing out moisture so efficiently, so maybe this could come in handy if you're looking for a crunchy crust.

A further difference between the two is heat retention. Convection ovens cool down significantly faster than regular ones, so there's no time to dally with the door open — or your heat might escape. Their smaller size also might not be able to accommodate bigger pies, and you may be limited to only one or two, while conventional ovens can handle a few at a time to ensure a larger family gets everything ready together. For just one pizza, however, either one will bake perfectly well, and you can instead focus on trying new and creative toppings.