There are many unique types of pizza pans and each one of them produces a different style of pizza. The pizza pan you need depends on the type of pizza you would like to serve. Read on to learn more about the different pizza pans out there and how each style affects your pizza making.
The main difference between a pizza stone vs pan is that a pizza stone provides an overall crispier crust. A ceramic or cordierite pizza stone mimics the cooking process for brick oven pizza, using the porous surface of the stone to absorb excess moisture from the dough and make the crust crispier as it bakes.
Use a cast iron pizza pan to produce crispy thin-crust pizza. Cooking with cast iron has many benefits, including excellent temperature retention to promote a nice, evenly-cooked crust. In addition to being used in the oven, a cast iron pizza pan can be used on the grill and stovetop.
Ideal for producing crispy, thin-crust pizza, a pizza screen is a flat mesh disk that offers superior airflow and heat distribution. Its mesh design allows for the rapid circulation of air to quickly cook and brown the pizza dough. To see the best results, use a pizza screen to bake your pizza in a conveyor pizza oven.
Compared to regular pizza pans, deep dish pizza pans have high metal sidewalls and are used to create the buttery, thick crust for Chicago-style pies. They commonly feature straight sides but are also available with tapered sides to easily stack and store.
A Detroit-style pizza pan features a rectangular shape and high sidewalls that is ideal for creating the popular regional pizza. It is typically made with dark hard anodized aluminum to help with browning and deliver the thick, extra-crispy crust the style of pizza is known for.
Featuring a flat, non-rolled edge, cutter pizza pans have an unfinished top edge that can cut dough, which allows you to roll out the dough over the pan with a rolling pin for fast, consistent results. Due to the angled rim, cutter pizza pans are best used to produce medium and thick crusts.
The most traditional pizza pan type in a pizzeria, coupe pizza pans are standard round pans that allows pizza makers to bake, slice, and serve pizza on the same pan. The coupe style is excellent for conducting heat, which cooks pizzas evenly and quickly.
Very similar in construction to coupe pizza pans but with a wider rim, wide rim pizza pans are most often used for service and presentation. The extra room offered by wide rim pizza pans makes slicing, transporting, and serving pizza a breeze.
Pizza screens are the best pizza pan for crispy crust since their mesh design allows the air and heat to circulate and come in contact with the dough as it bakes. Pizza stones are also great for achieving a traditional crispy crust but will take much longer to cook than using a pizza screen.
The main difference between a pizza screen vs a pizza pan is that pizza screens feature a mesh construction and do not have sidewalls, while pizza pans have sidewalls, can come in solid and perforated surface styles, and can be used to serve pizza after cooking it.
The chart below has the following columns: gauge, inches, millimeters, and pan material. It provides how thick each gauge is in inches and millimeters and the type of material each pan comes in. To understand what gauge means, think of thin-crust pizza. To have a crunchier crust, you will want a higher gauge, like 22 or 26. If you want a chewier crust, choose a thicker pan, like a 14 gauge.
Gauge | Inches | Millimeters | Pan Material |
---|---|---|---|
14 | 0.0641 | 1.628 | Heavyweight Aluminum Pizza Pans |
18 | 0.0403 | 1.024 | Standard weight Aluminum Pizza Pans |
20 | 0.032 | 0.813 | Standard weight Aluminum Pizza Pans |
22 | 0.0299 | 0.759 | Tin-Plated Steel Pizza Pans |
26 | 0.0179 | 0.455 | Aluminized Steel Pizza Pans |
Not only does the type of pan and the thickness impact the style of the crust, but the pan surface also plays a big part in what the pizza crust will be like. Whether or not the pizza pan is solid or has holes will affect the airflow and heat distribution given to the pizza dough as it cooks. Read on to learn more about the different pizza pan surface styles to decide which is best for the crust you want to cook.
Coatings can assist with ease of cleaning but also impact how your pizza cooks. Below is a breakdown of standard pizza pan coatings.
If you purchase dark coated pans, it's necessary to understand that darker finishes retain more heat and accelerate baking time. Lighter silver pans will reflect heat instead of absorbing it, which slows down the baking process.
These pizza pans have a corrosion-resistant anodic oxide finish that will not flake. You can also expect the cook time for your pizza to decrease with anodized hard coated pans because of their dark finish.
Silicone glaze pans are special because the glaze is applied to the pan in addition to the anodized hard coating. The silicone helps to reduce sticking, which cuts down the amount of pizza pan oil needed to coat the pan by almost 50%. Because of the coating, silicone glaze pizza pans do not require seasoning before first use.
Uncoated pizza pans are the lightest in color and will require your pizza to cook longer in the oven due to their reflective properties. Uncoated pans will need to be seasoned before being used first.
Most pizza pans need to be seasoned before they are first used. Seasoning a pizza pan isn't as hard as it seems, as long as you follow these 10 easy steps. After you first season your pan, it is necessary to periodically reseason it to prolong its life.
Preheat your oven to a normal baking temperature for pizza (somewhere between 450 and 500 degrees).
Hand wash your pan in warm soapy water.
Immediately pat the pizza pan dry.
Put the pan in the oven. Let it dry completely and warm up.
Remove your pan from the oven and cover both sides of the pan with a thin layer of shortening oil.
Cover a baking sheet with foil and place it on the bottom rack of the oven.
Place your pan back in the oven on the rack above the sheet pan.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and wipe off excess oil with a cloth.
Don't wash the pan. Allow the extra oil on the pan's surface to prevent the pizza crust from sticking.
After you use a metal pizza pan to make pizza, wash your pan by hand with a soft sponge and metal-safe detergent. When cleaning your pans, do NOT use:
Clean your pizza stones by using a stiff-bristled brush to clear off any stuck-on food once the stone has cooled down.
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