I am becoming more of a fan of baking with parchment paper every time I use it. So, I wondered if I could use parchment paper for cooking one of my favorite meals, pizza.
I had many questions about using parchment paper for baking a pizza and if it turned out the way I liked it. I am rather lazy, and I appreciate how parchment paper catches spills and makes an easier cleanup.
It turns out that, yes, we can bake on parchment paper with a few preparatory steps. Please read further and discover how you can bake a pizza on parchment paper.
Can a Pizza be Baked on Parchment Paper?
A quick answer is yes, and it will turn out great. We can place the pizza on parchment paper, a pizza stone, a tray, or even directly on the oven rack. Here are some suggested steps for baking a pizza with parchment paper to achieve the best results.
What is Parchment Paper?
I am learning to use parchment paper much more often than in the past. I have wondered what parchment paper is and how I can bake it at high oven temperatures without burning. Maybe you have wondered too.
Parchment paper, packaged as a paper roll, is treated with a thin coat of Teflon. The Teflon coating creates a very slick paper surface that allows the paper to withstand oven temperatures up to around 420°, perfect for baking most meals.
How to Use Parchment Paper for Baking Pizza
There are several ways we can use parchment paper for baking a pizza.
Directly on the oven rack
Since I don’t have a pizza stone for baking pizzas, I have found the easiest way is to bake directly on the oven rack. I recommend creating a light dusting of flour on the parchment paper for the pizza.
After prepping the paper with flour, make the pizza directly on the parchment paper. First, tear the parchment paper a little larger than the size of a pizza. Then, we can directly make the dough, pizza sauce, and toppings on parchment paper.
The parchment paper will remain slick for sliding the pizza off for serving if desired, or it can be served straight from the parchment paper. Making the pizza and then popping it straight into the oven is relatively easy. It even helps with the cleanup often associated with making a pizza.
These steps are a guide to baking a pizza directly on the oven rack:
- First, Preheat the oven for ten minutes at the highest temperature or not higher than 420°- 430°.
- Create your pizza on parchment paper, making sure not to have a lot of excessive writing.
- Shape your dough on the dusted parchment paper to your desired size.
- Add toppings and sauce.
- Place the completed pizza on the top oven rack.
- Cook for four minutes, then turn the pizza around to cook the other side.
- The dough should be set at this point and not fall through the rack.
- We suggest waiting at least 8 minutes before removing the parchment paper to be safe.
- Ta-da! Your parchment paper pizza is ready in 15 minutes for your enjoyment.
Baking with a pizza stone
What is a pizza stone?
A pizza stone is typically a round or square stone slab made from various materials, including ceramic, cast iron, or even synthetic Cordierite. The pizza stone heats up quickly and attains higher heating temperatures to mimic pizza ovens. The result with a pizza stone is to produce a crisp, even baked, and golden crust pizza.
How to Use Parchment Paper with a Pizza Stone
These steps are a guide for baking with a pizza stone with parchment paper:
- Preheat the pizza stone in the oven to a maximum of around 450°.
- Dust the parchment paper with flour, cornmeal, or preferred dry baking ingredients.
- Form the dough to the preferred size on dusted parchment paper.
- Add the sauce and toppings of choice.
- Slide the finished pizza directly onto the heated pizza stone in the oven.
A nice side benefit of using parchment paper is catching loose ingredients that may tend to spill on the floor or oven. Did I mention I was lazy?
Can I Bake a Deep-dish Pizza with Parchment Paper?
Baking a deep dish or Chicago-style pizza requires deep dishpans. With the additional pizza pan space, these types of pizza are also the most likely to have pizza stick to the pan.
However, there is a real challenge to keeping the pizza from sticking to the pan due to the longer cooking time, dusting with flour, or baking in a slow cooker. The trick is to keep the pizza from sticking to the cooking surface, and parchment paper again comes to my rescue!
Lay down a layer of parchment paper on the deep dish tray to make separating the pizza from the pan much more manageable. Parchment paper can also be convenient for making the pizza, then sliding into the deep dish pan or even a slow cooker for easy cleaning.
Baking deep dish pizzas with parchment paper makes the entire process much more accessible from start to clean up.
What are the Benefits of Baking Deep dish Pizzas with Parchment Paper?
There are many benefits to cooking a deep-dish pizza with parchment paper, including:
- Cooking with parchment paper has the added benefit of being a healthier alternative since there is less grease.
- It creates less mess by catching excess flour and other stray ingredients that may fall off the pizza.
- I use the parchment paper to transport the freshly made pizza to keep my hands cleaner.
- Parchment paper catches and reduces the drip off to maintain a cleaner oven.
- A more even cooking surface with parchment paper produces a more evenly baked pizza.
- Using parchment paper to transfer the pizza to a cooking method reduces the odds of spilling ingredients while being transferred.
What are the Cons of Parchment Paper on a Pizza Stone?
Although parchment paper can be great for cooking, it can also create some challenges. Some of the problems with using parchment paper for cooking on a pizza stone or pizza steel are:
- Ovens have to be at their highest temperature of around 500° for pizza stone to be at its best, and parchment paper should not be at temperatures exceeding 430°.
- The pizza stone needs to be heated to the highest oven temperature to produce the best, crispy pizza. Since parchment paper can’t withstand such high temperatures, it can compromise the effectiveness of the pizza stone.
- Moisture can seep between the parchment paper and pizza stone, or pizza steel pan, producing a less than a desirable crispy pizza.
- Safety since the parchment paper should not be over 430°, there possibly could be a fire hazard due to the pizza stone requiring maximum heat over 430°.
Is it Okay to Use Parchment Paper on a Grill to Cook Pizza?
The good news is yes, but there need to be some precautions are taken grilling with parchment paper, including:
- Make sure that the heat is even across the grill grate.
- Do not use any wax-coated parchment paper.
- Use multiple sheets on the grill.
- Do not leave the pizza with parchment paper unattended on the grill.