The Layering Tip That Prevents Delicate Pizza Toppings From Burning

When making your own pizza, there are a few things to consider, such as using the best pizza crust – whether you want it thin and crispy or thick and doughy — and choosing the right toppings. For that last one, you could be making the crucial pizza topping mistake that's burning those more delicate add-ons: not putting them beneath the cheese.

Hearty pizza toppings, such as pepperoni, sausage, or even thick produce like bell peppers, won't falter under the intense heat of the oven. But more delicate ones, like certain greens or thinly-sliced vegetables, could burn if they're exposed to the high temperatures required to bake that pizza crust. The easiest way to prevent this is to put those toppings underneath the cheese. The direct contact with the sauce will keep the delicate toppings from drying out, and the cheese will prevent exposure to direct heat. Thinly sliced mushrooms, fresh spinach, and fresh herbs are good toppings to place under the cheese. But the cheese you use matters, too, because certain cheeses can also burn quickly under high heat.

Most pizza crusts bake in a standard oven somewhere around 450 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're using a pizza stone for a perfectly crispy crust, you might want to crank that pizza oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit – all without worrying about the delicate toppings burning at such a high temperature. However, hiding those toppings under the cheese won't make much of a difference if the cheese doesn't have the right moisture and fat content. After all, cheese too can burn. You want the right amount of moisture and fat in a cheese for melting, which is part of the reason mozzarella is such a good choice. Avoid low-moisture, low-fat cheeses, such as parmesan, because you'll end up with burnt cheese on top of those toppings.

On the other hand, cheeses with too much moisture, such as burrata, will wind up adding plenty of water to the pizza, ruining those toppings beneath them and ultimately preventing the pizza dough from crisping nicely. Stick to a classic mozzarella cheese for melting, or use options like provolone or fontina, which melt without burning or crisping up and keep that stretchy texture pizza cheese is known for.