Tray-baked pizza: an easy family recipe for a home oven

For a 30 × 40 cm tray, mix 500 g flour, 350 g water, 12 g salt, 3 g instant yeast and 20 g olive oil. This is a 70% hydration dough. Use an additional thin oil layer in the tray. Actual tray dimensions and preferred thickness determine whether you need more or less dough next time.

Choose a suitable tray

Check the manufacturer's temperature limit and whether the tray tolerates the chosen oven setting. A thick metal tray behaves differently from glass or ceramic, so do not transfer timings without checking.

Measure the inside base. The ingredient list makes roughly 885 g dough, about 0.74 g per cm² for a 30 × 40 cm rectangle. This is a planning guide, not a universal pizza thickness rule.

Mix and fold

1. Combine ingredients until no dry flour remains.
2. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
3. Fold the dough from each side towards the centre using wet hands.
4. Repeat two more fold sets at roughly 20-minute intervals.
5. Let rise covered until expanded and airy, often about 2–3 hours total around 22°C.

Do not keep adding flour to make this dough feel like a firmer round-pizza dough. Rest and folds help create strength while retaining water.

Spread without forcing

Oil the tray, place dough inside and gently ease it towards the corners. If it springs back, cover for 15–20 minutes, then continue. Let the spread dough become noticeably puffier before baking, often another 45–75 minutes depending on temperature.

For a thicker, oil-rich bread with dimples, follow the focaccia recipe instead of simply relabelling pizza dough.

Use staged topping

Preheat the oven to 240°C conventional heat if the tray permits it. Spread a restrained layer of thick tomato sauce. Bake on a lower-middle shelf for roughly 10–14 minutes, until the base begins to set.

Add well-drained mozzarella and prepared toppings, then bake another 5–8 minutes or until the middle and base are cooked. Timings vary with tray, dough and oven. Pre-cook ingredients that cannot safely or adequately cook in this short finish.

Read the topping guide for draining cheese and avoiding watery sauce.

Check the middle and underside

Melted cheese does not prove the dough is done. Lift an edge with a suitable utensil and assess the browned base. Rest briefly before transferring and cutting so steam can escape.

For a soggy centre, reduce topping moisture and reassess proofing, shelf and baking time. For a burnt base, move the tray higher or adjust temperature next time. Consult pizza troubleshooting.

Serve and repeat

Transfer to a suitable board and portion with a rocker cutter rather than scratching the tray. Note tray dimensions, dough weight and oven position.

For another pan method, try cast iron skillet pizza. Explore pizza accessories around the tasks you actually perform; a launching peel is less important for tray pizza than for a directly baked round pizza. The main pizza guide explains the choices.