Bubbles in the crust are caused by trapped moisture that expands when the crust is baked. Small bubbles can be left alone but the pizza must be watched during the cooking process in case very large bubbles form, as this can cause the cheese and other toppings to slide off the bubble. As they are forming, pop the large bubbles with a long-handled metal poker. To prevent severe bubbling, the fresh crusts and crusts formed from dough balls need to be docked before the pizza is sauced and topped. The parbaked crust has already been docked, if large bubbles typically form in your oven pop them as needed.

A dough docker is a common pizzeria tool, similar to a short rolling pin but with a handle and short spikes on the roller. It makes holes in the crust that look like the holes in a soda cracker, but the holes made by the docker do not go all the way through the crust. They staple pinch the dough together. A docker can be purchased from a food equipment and smallwares supplier that sells American Metalcraft products.

The docked side should be down.

Proofing is essentially a controlled increase in dough temperature. That activates the yeast which, in turn, develops the dough flavor and allows easier handling of the dough. Yeast fermentation allows the dough to stretch and not snap back. It also produces better browning in the oven, results in a crispier crust and a more bread-like texture.

It is not necessary to bake any of the crusts before you top them. However, under certain circumstances, some people do.

A gum line results when moisture from the pizza sauce penetrate the crust. This can be prevented by brushing the crust (with docking marks down) lightly with a vegetable based oil or by using a pizza sauce with more tomato solids and less water.

It’s not. It is only baked enough to stop the yeast development. This allows the crust to be more shelf stable and easier to handle than a fresh crust. Once the parbaked crust is topped and baked it will be entirely cooked.

The best way to tell if your pizza is fully cooked is to look at the bottom of the crust. A well-browned and crispy crust will be an indication of a pizza that is done. The crust will get crispy during the last one to two minutes of baking. In addition, the cheese should be fully melted.

We highly suggest only cooking the self-rise or high-rise from the freezer. Our parbaked crusts need to be slightly thawed in order to prevent breakage when separating them. Our parbaked crusts are packaged so the 1/3 at a time can be removed, placed in a plastic bag and stored in the cooler.

The Self-Rising crusts can be cooked directly from the freezer or thawed and cooked. They do not need to be proofed.

We offer a self-rising crust with a raised edge. Also, our dough balls and fresh crusts can be used to form a crust with a raised edge.

Yes. Our Gluten Free crusts are produced in a different facility than our traditional crusts in order to guarantee they are Gluten Free.

Our crusts are best suited for deck and conveyor ovens. Tavern style pizza ovens also work well. Our crusts can be cooked in convection ovens but they generally do not produce a crisp crust. No matter what kind of oven is used, we recommend that the pizza be cooked on a pizza screen or directly on the oven deck or chain.

General guidelines are as follows:

Conveyor oven: 5 minutes at 500°
Deck oven: 7-8 minutes at 500°
Tavern style oven: 11 minutes

These are guidelines only. The optimum time and temperature varies by individual oven and experimentation is required to determine what is necessary for your equipment.

At the conclusion of its shelf life the product will begin to lose its ability to rise and its taste profile will change. If the crusts are not kept frozen until ready for use, these same issues will occur long before their intended shelf life is reached.

We have an extensive network of distributors through whom we sell our products and we prefer to support them. Also, all of our products must be picked up at our dock. Shipping of product can be arranged for an additional cost.