Soggy in the middle

[Genie6873]

Ever since I got a Fibrament stone my pizzas get soggy in the center a little while after they come out of the oven.  I cook my pies at 550 degrees; I've never had this problem till I got the new stone.  HELP!!

[mkevenson]

Ever since I got a Fibrament stone my pizzas get soggy in the center a little while after they come out of the oven.  I cook my pies at 550 degrees; I've never had this problem till I got the new stone.  HELP!!

Genie, before you switched to the Fibrament stone, what did you use? Also, we may be able to help if you tell us your dough recipe.
I use the same stone without your problem.
Sorry to have posted before. Tom.
Mark

[Genie6873]

I was just using a regular pizza stone, like one that can be found at Target but it cracked one night so I got the Fibrament stone because of all the great reviews and 10-year warranty.

My dough recipe is this - 1 1/2 tsp yeast, 4 cups KA bread flour, 1 1/2 cups water, 2 tbs sugar, 1/4 cup olive oil - cold rise in fridge for 2 days.   
I know everyone in this forum speaks in percentages when talking about dough, but I think that's confusing. 

Thanks Mark

[deb415611]

are you heating the stone before using & for how long

[Genie6873]

Yes I heat the stone to 550, once it hits 550 I heat for an hour or more.

[TXCraig1]

The Fibrament stone is almost certainly less conductive that your previous stone. You might need to bake your pies longer now.

[Genie6873]

the crust is crispy and brown, it's just that after it sits for a few minutes the center starts to get soggy.

[TXCraig1]

If you've made no other changes, it would seem that it would have to be that less heat was delivered to the pie. You might try cutting back on the sauce and the cheese marginally. Can you post some pictures that show what you see as "soggy?"

[mitchjg]

the crust is crispy and brown, it's just that after it sits for a few minutes the center starts to get soggy.

When it "sits" for a few minutes, what is it sitting on?  I ask because you may want try putting it on a wire cooling rack rather than a flat plate or pan.

[mkevenson]

I am wondering if that amount of oil is part of the problem?

Mark

[Genie6873]

I put the pizzas on a giant chopping board out of the oven.   I will try a cooking rack next time and cut the olive oil, see if that helps.  Although the wet spot does look more watery than oily.  I'll take pictures next time.

[The Dough Doctor]

A couple of other things come to mind. Try eliminating the sugar entirely from the dough formula. This will force you to bake the pizza a little longer to get the bottom crust to color up resulting in a more robust bottom crust characteristic. Also, you might be stretching the dough skin a little too thin across the center section. This can give you a condition where the crust is initially crispy, but very quickly turns soft and soggy.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[Pizza Quixote]

My experience is that wet centers come from too many wet toppings - sauce, fresh veg, fresh mozz. I cut them back, move away from the center, and also do a Trenton cut (bar pie cut) so there are no pointed ends.

[Genie6873]

Okay, I took the advise given and cut out the sugar, less olive oil, I got a wire rack, minimal sauce, less cheese and I even got a scale and started measuring my ingredients by volume.
I think it came out great!  It was not soggy.  The peppers could have been cooked more so I'll pre-cool the next time.
Thanks Dough Doctor!

[Don K]

That pie looks great Genie. If you cut the peppers smaller they should cook fine.

[mkevenson]

Genie, ,BEAUTIFUL pie.


Mark

[The Dough Doctor]

Absolutely GREAT looking pie! I agree, just cut the peppers a little smaller and they should bake just fine.
Great color, great edge, great balance between toppings and edge dimension too, just an all around great looking pizza. 
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor