Troubleshooting · symptom → cause → fix
Wet pizza – water pooling in the middle
There's water pooling in the middle of the pizza and the base underneath is soggy.
Most likely cause
The cheese is releasing water
How you know: Milky liquid runs out of the cheese during baking.
Do this: Cut the mozzarella or fior di latte into pieces and let them drain in a colander, ideally for an hour in the fridge. Pat dry before using.
Other possible causes
-
Too much sauce, or sauce that's too thin
- How to tell
- The sauce covers the whole surface in a thick layer and runs.
- Fix
- Around 70 g of sauce per 250 g ball is enough. Let crushed tomatoes drain a little if they're watery.
-
Wet vegetables
- How to tell
- Mushrooms, courgette or fresh tomato went on raw.
- Fix
- Pre-fry mushrooms, salt courgette and aubergine and let them rest, and deseed fresh tomatoes.
-
Not enough heat
- How to tell
- The pizza needs a long time in the oven, so the water has time to leave the cheese before the base is done.
- Fix
- More heat and a shorter bake. In a pizza oven the cheese barely has time to release any water.
Quick answer: the water almost always comes from the cheese and the sauce, not the dough. Dry the cheese, portion the sauce and prep any wet vegetables.
The nerdy explanation
Fresh mozzarella is largely water, and when it’s heated for a long time it releases liquid. In a 450 °C (840 °F) pizza oven the pizza is done before that happens. In a home oven at 250 °C (480 °F) the pizza stays in for several minutes – and that’s when preparation makes a difference. How much water different cheeses actually release is what the planned mozzarella test is set up to measure.
See mozzarella and topping order. More problems are in the troubleshooting section.
Frequently asked questions
Is buffalo mozzarella wetter than ordinary mozzarella?
Yes, mozzarella di bufala holds more liquid. In a home oven it's best added towards the end of the bake or torn over the pizza afterwards.
Does grated pizza cheese help?
Low-moisture grated cheese releases less water but tastes and melts differently. It's a choice, not a fix for Neapolitan pizza.