Fundamentals of a Crispy Bottom?

[Bende]

Hey guys,

What would you say are the basics of accomplishing a firm, crispy underside to Siclian or similar pan bake method?  Something I'm always striving for and never quite satisfied with.

Believe I'm well equipped with the right Detroit Style seasoned pans, but more interested in dough approach / hydration, oil vs. butter (crisco?), cooking methods, or other aspects I'm not thinking about.

Much appreciated, thanks guys,

Ben

[charbo]

For a crisp bottom, use plenty of oil in the pan.

[bowlyou]

I do a thin coating of crisco, then oil and then once the pizza is almost done I take it out of the pan and bake it directly on my steel for a few minutes

[Jose L. Piedra]

Best Practice: Bake it twice

Alt: use as low an oven temp as practical so as to keep it in the oven as long as possible.

Also the dough should be well-kneaded in any case.

[foreplease]

Yours is one of the beat topic names I have seen, Bende. There can be no confusion about what kind of help you’re looking for - and it’s a topic many people wonder about.


Since you already have suitable pans the only thing I can add to the advice others have given is play with the percentage of water your dough has. I can’t blanketly say “use more water,” of course, because I have no idea what you are doing. There is probably a point where higher hydration and lower oven temps will not work well together but I don’t know where those points intersect. I agree with trying to keep it in the oven longer and would probably try that before changing my dough. Good luck.

[IEatPizzaByThePie]

Oven position cannot be overstated. I could not get a nicely browned, crisp crust in my blue steel until I moved it to the bottom.

Although not optimal, if you have a large cast iron skillet, you can finish off in that. Have it pre-heated, then add a little bit of oil and give your pieces just a couple minutes to lightly "fry" the crust.