The Temperature Trick To Upgrade Store-Bought Frozen Pizza Crust

When you want a piping-hot delicious pizza pie, but don't want to mess around with cooking or waiting around for delivery, there's little that's better than a frozen pizza. But sadly, store-bought frozen pizza crust all too often comes out as a soggy mess. Fortunately for you, all you need is one simple trick to take your frozen pizza crust from soggy disappointment to crispy delight.

To upgrade your frozen pizza crust, the secret is a higher cooking temperature with less cook time. The exact time and temperature vary depending on the pizza in question, but generally, 500 or 550 degrees Fahrenheit for four minutes is a good guideline. Let your oven preheat like normal and, when it's done, quickly put the pizza inside. In just a few minutes, you can have a restaurant-quality pie with the crispy crust of your dreams.

The reason higher heat and less time work so well for frozen pizza crust is because it's closer to what a professional, dedicated pizza oven does. Pizza ovens cook at about 900 degrees Fahrenheit for as little as one minute. When pizza cooks for longer, the toppings start to release liquid and essentially steam the crust, turning it soggy and limp. This issue applies whether you're cooking from scratch or frozen, even with the best frozen pizza brands.

While you're using this hack, it's important to have the right tools for the job. One good tip is to use a dedicated pizza stone in place of a typical baking sheet. A pizza stone helps you further mimic the conditions of a brick pizza oven by helping conduct heat and cook the pizza more evenly. The result is a better pizza with a crispier crust. Unique as it may seem, upkeep isn't so bad, as you can easily clean your pizza stone with a little baking soda.

You also need tools that can handle the increased heat. A pizza stone can easily stand up to the temperatures you'll be cooking at, but your other utensils might be a different story. In particular, you may well need stronger oven mitts or pot holders. Not all oven mitts are created equal, and the ones you have now may not protect your hands from a seriously heated pizza stone. So, for safety's sake, look for a pair with high heat protection; high-quality silicone-covered mitts are typically very good at protecting your hands from hot temperatures.

Finally, remember that this hack won't work with every type of frozen pizza. Two good examples are deep dish and plant-based pizzas. With this method, deep dish pizza likely won't cook all the way through, resulting in a burned exterior and undercooked interior. Frozen pies with plant-based ingredients also can cook differently than classic ones, so the higher-temperature trick may also lead to an overly crispy or just burned result.