While most people don’t mind a little bit of grease on their pizza, sometimes the situation can get out of hand and you end up with a pizza that is way too greasy to be eaten. In this article, we are going to take a look at the 7 most common reasons why this is happening, and what you can do to stop it from happening ever again.
The most common cause for a greasy pizza is using too many fatty toppings like pepperoni or cheddar. But other causes can be improper baking, wrong hydration level, and using too much oil.
Now, let’s take a closer look at each problem, and see what you can do to prevent it.
1. Greasy and Watery Toppings
Without any doubt the most common thing that makes pizzas greasy are toppings. And while greasy toppings play a huge role, toppings that are full of water are just as responsible.
Toppings that are full of grease, like pepperoni, for example, are indeed the source of the grease. But on their own, those toppings can’t spread the grease all over the pizza. They are only able to make a small part of the pizza greasy.
In order for them to spread the grease all over the pizza, they need help, and this is where watery toppings come in.
Mushrooms, for example, are 90% made out of water. So while mushrooms alone can’t make a pizza greasy, mushrooms and pepperoni, can and will make a pizza greasy.
While one solution would be not to use toppings like pepperoni and mushrooms, but, realistically speaking, this is not an option. Most pizza toppings will either have a lot of water or a lot of fat, and you can’t stop using toppings entirely.
One good solution to this problem is to place the greasy toppings on some paper towels, which will absorb some of the fat. The towels won’t take away any bit of taste, but they will remove the excess fat that was making your pizza greasy.
In the case of toppings that are full of water, there is not much that you can do, placing them on paper towels won’t be too efficient in most cases. The only thing that you can do is to make sure that you are cooking your pizza at the correct temperature, and that you place it correctly in the oven, but we’ll discuss more about how to cook the pizza correctly after we cover a few more things.
2. Fat Cheese
While cheese doesn’t have as much fat as other toppings, it has a considerably easier time spreading that grease all over the pizza.
Unlike other greasy toppings, cheese is also full of water, and this makes it a lot easier for the grease to spread.
There are 3 things that you can do to solve this problem:
- Use cheese with less fat
- Buy cheese that is already grated, this cheese usually has less water in it than whole blocks of cheese, so the fat won’t spread as easily
- Leave the cheese for a few minutes on some paper towels, the towels will absorb some of the fat and water
3. Hydration Level
Wet dough is one of the biggest reasons why pizzas are greasy. If the dough has too much water in it, it will make it easier for the grease to spread all over, and give the pizza an overall greasier feel.
On average a good pizza dough will have a hydration level of 60%, which means that for every 100 grams of flour you are using 60 grams of water.
While it is possible to have a pizza dough with a higher hydration level, if your pizza comes out greasy you should stick to a hydration level of 60.
4. Putting Too Much Sauce on the Dough
Most people don’t realize this but pizza sauce can easily make your pizza greasy, even if the sauce itself is not greasy.
If you put a lot of sauce on the pizza dough, you are providing the perfect medium for the grease to spread all over the pizza.
5. Excessive Oil
One other possible reason why your pizza is greasy can be the excessive use of oil. Whether we are talking about the oil used when making the dough, or oil used to keep the dough from sticking to the bowl or work surface.
The oil used to make the dough is not really necessary, while it adds a little bit of taste, in most cases, you can’t really feel it. The real benefit of adding oil when making the dough is that it makes it easier to stretch.
Overall you shouldn’t add more than one tablespoon of olive oil when making pizza. This amount should provide you with all the benefits, without making your pizza greasy.
As for the oil used when stretching the pizza, or the one used to keep the dough from sticking to the bowl. It’s definitely not needed, but it can be very useful. So if you can manage without using oil you should do so, but if you can’t you should try to use as little as possible.
When greasing the bowl with oil you should use your hand to spread the oil all over the bowl, and then remove all of the excesses that remain.
When stretching the pizza you should only apply oil on your hands, not on the work surface. Or alternatively, you could try to sprinkle some flour on the work surface.
6. Waiting Too Long Before Cooking the Pizza
This is a very common problem, especially for people who make multiple pizzas at the same time. And for people who don’t preheat their ovens before making the pizza.
If you put all the toppings on the pizza, and then you don’t quickly put it in the oven, the grease from the toppings will be absorbed by the dough, which will then become soggy, and after you cook it you will be left with a greedy pizza.
If you are making more than one pizza my recommendation is to prepare one pizza, put it in the oven, and only start preparing the next one when the one in the oven is almost ready. Leaving an uncooked pizza out for 5 minutes won’t make it greasy, but leaving it for 10 minutes or more will.
7. Incorrect Baking
The way heat works in a gas home oven is really interesting. The hottest part is at the top, but if you place a metal tray or a pizza stone in the oven, it will heat up more the closer it is to the bottom, where the source of the heat is.
The middle of the oven is usually considered the best spot for a pizza since it offers a good balance. But the middle is not the most suitable place for all pizzas.
If your pizza comes out of the oven too greasy you should try placing it on the lowest possible level. This way the dough will heat up more, reducing the greasiness, and the toppings won’t be exposed to as much heat, so they won’t release as much grease and water (but they will still cook).
Another important aspect is that of temperature. In general, you want to cook your pizza at the highest temperature possible. This will basically cook the fat, making the pizza less greasy.
Professional pizza ovens reach temperatures around 800°F (427°C), while most home ovens can reach a temperature between 450 and 500°F (250 to 260°C). If your oven can’t reach at least 450°F (250°C) then it might not be suitable for cooking pizza.
So, try placing your pizza at the bottom of the oven, with the heat turned up as much as you can. This will definitely make your pizza less greasy.
Final Thoughts
If you follow everything that I’ve said in this guide you will have a considerably less greasy pizza than before, but what I can’t guarantee you is that your pizza won’t have any grease at all on it.
Some ingredients like pepperoni and cheddar are full of fat, and If you cover the entirety of the pizza with them, there is nothing that you can do to stop your pizza from becoming greasy.
But if you are using only some greasy ingredients, then this guide will work wonders for you.
Here is a quick recap of the guide:
- Don’t use too many greasy and wet toppings, and when you do make sure to place them on some paper towels for a few minutes so that some of the excessive fat is absorbed by the towels.
- Avoid using fat cheese, cheeses that are already grated usually have less water in them so they won’t spread the fat as much
- Aim for a hydration level of 60%, the more water is in the dough, the greasier the pizza will be
- Don’t use too much sauce, sauce makes it easier for the grease to spread all over the pizza
- Try to use as little oil as possible, don’t use more than one tablespoon of oil for the dough, and try using flour instead of oil if the pizza is too sticky when stretching it.
- Don’t let your uncooked pizza sit too much, if you do so, the dough will absorb the fat from the toppings, making the pizza greasier
- Place the pizza at the bottom of the oven, and use the highest temperature that you can, this will reduce the greasiness of the pizza.