How Long To Cook Pizza At 450

  • By: Mike
  • Date: July 26, 2022
  • Time to read: 4 min.

Have you ever wondered how long you should cook a pizza if your oven is set to 450 degrees F?

Getting the cooking time right is critical to enjoying a perfectly crispy pizza that tastes great and has a wonderful texture.

If you’re cooking at 450 degrees F, your pizza is going to be done in just 7 to 10 minutes.

This will be enough to produce a golden top and crunchy base, and it’s usually the highest temperature that people cook pizza at.

450 degrees F is ideal for pizza if you want it quickly and you like it well done.

So, let’s find out more about cooking pizza at this temperature and what you should be aware of first.

How Long Should You Cook A Pizza At 450 Degrees F?

If you’re going to cook your pizza at 450 degrees F, it won’t need more than 10 minutes in the oven.

You should be checking it at the 7 or 8-minute mark to see whether it is done or not yet.

450 degrees F is a great temperature if you want your pizza to be ready quickly. It will ensure that:

  • All your toppings are cooked and sizzling
  • The cheese has fully melted
  • The base is crispy, and not soggy or chewy
  • You get a rich, golden brown color across the whole pizza
  • The crusts are crunchy
  • The center is firm

Pizzas are delicious when they are cooked well and can be disgusting when they aren’t.

This is why cooking temperature and time are such important things to monitor.

You need to make sure you are cooking your pizza hot enough to get the base fully cooked, especially if you have a lot of toppings.

Nobody likes a pizza that is soggy in the center, and uncooked or cold pizza is a definite no.

If you want your pizza to cook quickly, therefore, you should cook it at 450 degrees F – but make sure you are watching it and it doesn’t burn.

woman baking pizza

How Do You Cook A Pizza At 450 Degrees F?

If you want to cook a pizza at 450 degrees F, follow the guide below.

  1. You should start by preheating the oven. Wait until the oven has reached the full temperature, and check it is hot before you put the pizza in.
  2. Place the pizza on a pizza pan, and put it in the center of the oven. Close the oven door.
  3. Set your timer for 8 minutes, and then leave the door closed until the timer goes off.
  4. When the timer goes off, check on the pizza. The toppings should now be crispy and the cheese should have melted.
    If you want a more golden top, shut the oven door for another 2 minutes. More than this will usually burn the pizza, so be careful.
  5. Take the pizza out of the oven, set it on the side, and allow some of the steam to vent off it before you cut it. This helps to ensure that the middle of the pizza doesn’t go soggy.
  6. When the steam has vented, cut the pizza and serve it. It should now be crispy and delicious.

If you find that the 8 minutes is a little too long, your oven might be particularly fierce.

Try either putting the pizza lower down in the oven, or checking on it after 6 or 7 minutes.

You do need to make sure the base is fully cooked, however, so don’t take it out too early.

Do I Need To Preheat The Oven?

Yes, you should preheat the oven to 450 degrees F before you put the pizza in it.

Some people even preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, but then turn it down to 450 before putting the pizza in.

This can provide a burst of heat that will start the crisping process, without the risk of burning the pizza.

Some people feel that preheating the oven is a waste of time and energy.

It takes about 15 minutes for the oven to reach 450 degrees (depending on your oven), which is more time than you will actually spend cooking the pizza!

That might make it feel like a waste, but it does make a big difference to your pizza’s texture.

Putting a pizza into a cold oven often results in soggy pizza, no matter how long you cook it.

It needs to go into a hot oven straight away if it’s going to get that delicious crispiness without the risk of it burning.

baking homemade pizza at 450

Should I Cook Homemade Pizza At 450 Degrees F?

Homemade pizzas generally need to be cooked at high temperatures, so 450 degrees F should be perfect.

You can cook them following the instructions above.

You can cook homemade pizzas at lower temperatures too, but you will probably find that you get a soggy base and a limp crust if you do.

Just leaving the pizza in for longer isn’t a good solution to this, because the toppings will get overcooked and may burn.

Instead, focus on getting the temperature right so that you can achieve a crispy base and delicious toppings. 

Do The Toppings Change The Cooking Instructions?

In general, you don’t need to change the cooking method based on the toppings on the pizza.

This is because pizza toppings tend to be sliced very thinly, so they should all cook at approximately the same rate.

If you are making your own pizza, make sure you are slicing your toppings thinly enough.

They should be as even as you can get them so that they cook well.

Don’t add thick slabs of mushrooms, pineapple, or peppers to the top of the pizza, or they won’t cook properly, even at 450 degrees.

The base will burn before the toppings are done.

how long to bake pizza 450

Conclusion

You should cook a pizza for about 8 to 10 minutes at 450 degrees.

Adjust the timing so the pizza comes out to your liking, with golden, bubbly cheese, lightly seared toppings, and a crispy base.

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