How long does a homemade pizza take to cook at 400?

We have all thought about how long it takes to cook pizza. Maybe you have thought about this after queuing for almost half an hour at your favorite pizzeria. Or you have craved pizza and thought how long it would take you to make your own at home.

The time it takes to cook pizza is highly dependent on factors like the temperature levels and the style of pizza.

Some pizzas take longer than others to cook. Other things that affect cooking time are the number of toppings, crust type, and the pan you use.

Factors that affect cooking time

The crust

The cooking time for pizza will highly depend on the type of crust and the crust size. If you bought a premade crust, expect it to take less time than dough that you make from scratch.

The size of the crust has a significant influence on time too. A thin crust will take a shorter time than a thick crust. Thin crusts take up to 5 minutes, with most of them taking 3 minutes. Thick crusts can take up to 45 minutes.

If you are making your pizza at home, it will be wise not to have a thin crust and make thick ones instead.

This is because thin crusts require incredibly high temperatures that most home ovens cannot provide. If you cooked a thin crust in the typical home oven, the crust will not be as crispy as it should be.

Roll your dough to form a thick crust that is at least half an inch thick. Cook until the pizza crust is golden brown. This takes at least 45 minutes.

The Toppings

The type of topping that you put on your pizza will also determine how long your pizza lasts in the oven.

If you are going to put uncooked proteins like sausages, bacon, or chicken, the pizza will take longer to ensure that the toppings cook well. For pepperoni, if you want it to be crispy, you will have to cook it fast in a scorching oven. Therefore it will take a shorter time.

If your toppings mostly consist of vegetables, then the cooking time will reduce significantly. If you cooked vegetables for a long, they would lose the crunch, and worse, they will lose their nutrients. We still need to be healthier after eating pizza.

For your vegetables to take even a shorter time, you can cut and slice them into slice pieces.

If you had cooked your toppings already before adding them to your pizza, the cooking time would be shorter than if you had added them before cooking first.

Prepare your proteins the way you want them. Remember not to have soup, stew, or juices from your protein. You do not want a soggy crust.

You can also saute your vegetables using olive oil before adding them to your pizza. Then distribute all the toppings on the crust evenly. This will ensure the crust cooks evenly.

The pan

The pan you cook your pizza on will not only determine the quality of your pizza but the time it will take to cook your pizza. If you cook your pizza on a pizza stone, the cooking time would be considerably shorter compared to cooking on a baking sheet or a baking pan.

Put your pizza stone in an oven 30 minutes before cooking time. This will give it ample time to preheat to the required temperatures. Next, you will put your pizza on the pizza stone when put into the oven. It will start cooking immediately.

A pizza stone will retain a lot of heat. This means your pizza will be exposed to a lot of heat for some period. Hence it will cook faster with this heat. If your recipe does not specify how long you should cook your pizza on a pizza stone, reduce the cooking time to around seven minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

If you do not have a pizza stone, it will be wise to preheat your pan and sheet. Remember, this is usually metallic and does not retain a lot of heat. Therefore, it will take a longer time for your pizza to cook.

Style of pizza

There are 12 main pizza styles in the united states. These styles are named after the regions where they were discovered. They include Neopiltan, New York-Style, Sicilian, Chicago, California, Detroit, New Haven, Greek, St.Louis, Omaha, Ohio-Valley, and Colorado-style pizza. All these pizzas have different cooking times.

Neapolitan style pizza

This pizza has a skinny crust with minimal toppings. If you choose to cook it, you will have to ensure that you have an oven that reaches up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. A perfect Neapolitan pizza takes a minute to cook in a Neapolitan oven. This will result in a crispy, crunchy crust.

If you are cooking it at home, it will take 7 minutes to cook well in the regular home oven. However, it will not be as crispy as it should be.

New York-style pizza

This pizza borrows its crust from the traditional Neopolitan pizza. If you are looking to cook this pizza style, you should have an oven reaching 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Since it is a thin crust pizza, it will take less than three minutes to cook. The end product will be a crispy crust with crispy toppings. The pepperoni cooks well in this heat and becomes crunchy. Delicious.

If you have the home oven, it will take you about 7 to 10 minus to cook. Like the Neopolitan style pizza, do not expect it to be very crunchy if you used the standard home oven.

Sicilian style pizza

This is a pizza that originated from Sicily in Italy. It is a rectangular pizza with at least an inch of crust. The crust is not crispy but porous.

You can easily make this pizza at home with your standard oven since it requires temperatures of up to 500 degrees F. only.

The total average cooking time will be 40 minutes for a Sicilian pizza. You will first put your dough on your baking sheet and spread it out well. Then bake it for 20 minutes until it starts to bronze.

Then remove it and add your toppings. Return it and cook it for 15 minutes again so that the toppings can cook well and your cheese melt.

Chicago deep-dish style pizza

As the name suggests, this pizza is made in a deep dish, and you stretch it to take up the shape of the container. The edges are raised, and the middle part is flat. The crust is more than an inch thick at the center and two inches at the edges. This style of pizza also has lots of topping.

Because of its features, this pizza style takes longer to cook. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  This will take approximately 45 minutes to cook well.

California style pizza

California-style pizza is a combination of many American pizza styles. It borrows its crust from traditional Neopolitan pizza.

However, its twist comes with the toppings. The toppings consist of local produce from local farmers. Most of its toppings are as organic as they can be.

Most of the Californian-style pizzas are vegetarian. This means they will take a  shorter time than most pizzas to cook.

However, the toppings have to be given ample time to cook; therefore, it will take longer than Neapolitan-style pizza. A standard California-style pizza takes 15 minutes to bake.

Detroit-style pizza

This is an American pizza that originated from Detroit. It is also called the top red pizza because the delicious Detroit sauce is put on top of the cheese and the topping hence has a red top.

The sauce is put on top of the cheese to ensure the cheese does not burn since it cooks for quite long.

The locals call Detroit-style pizza ‘The square pizza’ since you cook it in a rectangular pan and cut it into squares instead of slices. It has a thick, porous crust. You cook it in a heavy pan; therefore, you will need to preheat the pan to 550 degrees F.

After that, you will cook it for 15 minutes. If you use lower heat, expect to cook it for longer.

New Haven-style pizza

In New Haven, pizza is known as Apizza by New Havenites. This pizza is churred and has little to no cheese. It takes the longest to cook compared to other pizza styles. To perfectly cook this pizza, you will need an oven to reach up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. It cooks well at temperatures between 700 to 800.

This pizza takes 13 minutes to cook. However, it will take longer in a home oven with 550 degrees Fahrenheit. You have to let it stay longer in the oven to make the crust brown and porous.

Greek-style pizza

Greek pizza has a puffy soft crust, and you cook it on a pizza dish that you have oiled well. For this pizza to cook well, you need temperatures of up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes at least 25 minutes to cook the Greek-style pizza.

St.Louis style pizza

This controversial pizza has a thin crust that is cracky like Taco. It is the pizza with the thinnest crust. You do not use yeast on it. This pizza is cooked on a pizza pan at the restaurant, but you will use a pizza stone at home because you need the most temperatures you can get.

This pizza takes up to 12 minutes to cook.

Omaha-style pizza

This is referred to by some as the La Casa pizza. Some call it the Meat carpet. This is because they are generous with the meat. Omaha-style pizza has an unusual crust that is somewhat biscuit-like at the edges.

Put your pizza stone in an oven and preheat it to 500 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven. Cook this mystical pizza for 25 minutes, ensure your crust is golden brown and your toppings are cooked.

Ohio-Valley style pizza

This is another controversial pizza. This is a pizza where the restaurant serves you both hot and cold. You bake this pizza in a pizza pan, but you can make it on a pizza stone in the house.

After baking the crust, you will add the cold provolone cheese or mozzarella, the toppings, and the sauce.

The total cook time for this pizza is close to 20 minutes.

Colorado-style pizza

This pizza has a thick crust but takes a considerably shorter time to cook than other thick crusts. It takes at least 10 minutes in a 500 degrees Fahrenheit oven for it to cook well.

The oven type

It is essential to know that the type of oven you use will also affect the amount of time you take to cook your pizza. If you cooked in a brick oven, your pizza would take a short time to cook.

If you cook your pizza in a conveyor oven, it will take less than 10 minutes to cook. A conventional oven takes the longest to cook a pizza.

How long does it take to cook pizza in the oven?

A commercial pizza oven can achieve temperatures of over 500 degrees Fahrenheit. These ovens retain more heat since they have more insulation and cook the pizza evenly.

In a home pizza oven, you can hardly reach such temperatures. Thus you have to use a pizza stone to retain the heat. For most of the pizzas, you will have to bake them twice. First, bake the dough for around 10 minutes. Ensure the crust does not brown.

After that, you will add your toppings, sauce, and cheese. Then return it back into the oven for another 10 minutes. This time you will let the crust brown and the cheese melt.

However, this baking process will be dependent on the temperatures of your oven. If the temperatures are high, the pizza will cook in a short time. The vice versa is also true.

How long does it take to cook homemade pizza at 350 degrees Fahrenheit?

Ovens can be different, but you can still make your amazing pizza at 350 degrees Fahrenheit despite these differences.  The temperature of 350 degrees is relatively low for cooking pizza, and two common mistakes can happen.

The most vital part of your pizza is the crust. You do not want a soggy and doughy crust. To avoid this, you can cook your pizza twice.

You will find scenarios where the toppings burn while the crust is still not well cooked. Cooking twice will also help avoid this problem.

How do you cook pizza in a 350 degrees oven?

You should always preheat your oven first; if you have a pizza stone, the better. When the oven reaches 350 degrees, put in your dough and let it cook for 10 minutes or until the crust is firm.

If you have a pizza stone, put it on top of the pizza stone, it should take just 7 minutes. If you do not have one ensure you put your pizza in the middle so that the crust can cook evenly.

Take your pizza out, and then continue to the next step.

When you take out your pizza, ensure that the oven maintains 350 degrees. Take the crust and add all the toppings, cheese, and sauce in your order of preference. Most people put cheese at the top.

Return your pizza back into the oven and let it cook well. Ensure the pizza crust turns bronze in color. This will take another 10 minutes.

Ensure that all your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help avoid tampering with the yeast on the dough. You do not want to kill the yeast with hot ingredients or render it inactive using frozen ingredients.

How long does it take to cook homemade pizza at 400 degrees Fahrenheit?

Baking pizza in a 400 degrees oven is ideal. Temperatures below 400 would work well for bread but not for pizza. Unlike in 350 degrees, you do not need to cook your pizza twice at 400 degrees.

Heat up your oven to 400 degrees. Ensure you have a pizza stone.

Spread your pizza dough but not too thin. Add the toppings on top, together with the sauce and cheese of your choice. You can put as many toppings as you want as long as they are precooked.

After the oven reaches 400 degrees, put your pizza on the pizza stone and let it cook. This should take about 25 minutes to cook well. Keep checking the crust time and again to ensure that it does not burn.

If you do not have a pizza stone, you can use your baking sheet to ensure the pizza is in the middle of the oven.

How long does it take to cook homemade pizza at 500 degrees Fahrenheit?

This is the ideal temperature for baking a pizza at home. However, if you have an oven that can go past that, do not be afraid. It is safe. By all means, go past the 500 degrees mark.

Temperatures of 500 degrees yield a golden-brown crust that is crispy and delicious within a short time. If you are using a fan oven, it is advisable to switch on the fan. This facilitates airflow and ideal temperatures in the oven. If your home oven is a gas mark oven, adjust the mark to 9.

As usual, ensure you preheat your oven and pizza stone until the temperature reaches 500 degrees. This should take 30 minutes.

Flatten your dough to make the crust and put all the ingredients you want on top of the dough.

Why is 500 degrees ideal

High temperatures are ideal for making pizza because of many reasons. They include:

• Crispy crust and toppings. High temperatures help the dough get rid of its moisture quite fast, leaving a crisp texture behind.
• High temperatures improve the dough flavor. The taste of your dough becomes better when cooked in high temperatures as it gives the dough enough time to reach fermentation before the yeast dies.
• Melts the cheese evenly and perfectly without it burning.
• It ensures the crust proofs well. This brings about the soft, airy, spongy texture. The yeast in the dough makes the dough proof well, even as it cooks before the yeast dies. This is what our dream pizza looks and feels like.
• Perfectly cooks the sauce. When you make tomato sauce, you give it a lot of time through simmering to cook well. The more you cook the sauce, the more the burst of the intense flavors we love. Cooking your pizza in high temperatures gives your sauce time to cook even further.
• Perfectly cooks the other toppings. There is nothing as horrible as a perfect crust with semi-cooked toppings. Being a toppings lover, pizza for me is the toppings. These high temperatures ensure your toppings cook well. Better, it makes ingredients like the pepperoni crispier.

If you want a pizza similar to the ones you buy at pizzerias and your favorite restaurant, you have to use high temperatures.

Conclusion

We all want to save time while cooking. Several factors affect how long the pizza will tackle to cook. However, the main reason is the temperature of the oven.

Interestingly, the higher the temperatures, the shorter the time, and the higher your pizza quality. For this reason, you should always note your oven temperatures to ensure you cook your pizza the right way.

You should also pay attention to other factors like the type of toppings you use on your pizza, the size of your crust, the style of pizza you intend to cook. You should also consider the type of oven you use to cook your pizza. Some ovens can achieve higher temperatures than others.

All factors considered, it can take you between 7 minutes to 45 minutes to bake a pizza at home. This is quite a short time for such a delicious dish, don’t you think?