> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm preheating my stone and cooking for 10 minutes, (the cheese is a
> bubbly golden brown) still the dough will not cook through except for
> around the edges. The rest of the pizza is a gummy dough texture. I
> would cook it longer except for fear of burning the toppings. What the
> heck am I missing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> Thank you,
>
> John

Pizzas are baked hot, often 600deg or so, way hotter than home ovens go.
Secondly, home ovens often have a lot of direct radiation off of the top
elements that burn things even when the oven air temperature is low. This
gives a false indication of the true heat in the oven. The best solution is
to thoroughly pre-heat the oven as hot as it will go, 550 or so. Then after
placing the pizza on the stone, turn the oven OFF and let the retained heat
do the work. Most ovens will hold heat long enough to to bake a pizza and
the toppings and cheese will not burn before the crust is done. Heat without
direct radiation from red hot elements is why brick ovens and indirectly
heated gas or electric ovens work well. Many home ovens are not properly
designed.
Bob