The grill setting in a home oven – does it help? Test plan
Switching on the grill for the last minute is common advice for pizza in a home oven. Our test plan: does it give a better top, and what happens to the base?
Updated 13 september 2026
Results Planned
The experiment is planned. We will publish the measurements as soon as the runs are done — even if they contradict what we expected.
Method
Status: planned. This test has not been done yet. This page describes the set-up so that the method can be scrutinised before any results exist. Figures will be added here once the runs have been done and repeated – even if they contradict the hypothesis.
The question
In a home oven the base is often done before the top, or the other way round. The grill element for the last minute is the standard advice for getting colour on top. Does it help, and at what cost?
What we already know
Established knowledge: the grill element gives intense radiant heat from above and can colour the rim and cheese quickly. How much depends on the oven’s power and the distance to the element, and that varies a lot between ovens.
Hypothesis
Grill at the end gives clearly better colour on the rim and a shorter total time, without affecting the base noticeably.
How the test will be run
The same dough and toppings are baked with and without the grill at the end. The steel temperature is taken before every pizza, and tops and bases are photographed against a grey card.
Limitations
One oven. Ovens with weaker or stronger grill elements may give completely different results – which is why the page will also explain how to test your own.
Background: pizza in a home oven, the pizza setting, burnt bottom, pale top and how we test. All tests are listed under Tested.
