Home Pizza Glossary: 23 Terms Explained
The words that show up in home pizza specs, reviews and how-to guides, explained without jargon. Open any term for the full explanation and what to look for when buying.
- 00 flour
- A finely milled Italian wheat flour, traditionally used for Neapolitan pizza because it performs well at very high oven temperatures.
- Read more about 00 flourRelated: Best 00 Pizza Flour for Homemade Neapolitan Crust
- Autolyse
- A short rest of just flour and water before mixing in salt and yeast, letting the flour hydrate and gluten begin forming on its own.
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- Baker's percentage
- A way of writing a dough recipe where every ingredient is listed as a percentage of the flour weight, which makes recipes easy to scale.
- Read more about baker's percentageRelated: Best Kitchen Scales for Baking and Pizza Dough
- Cold fermentation
- Proofing pizza dough slowly in the refrigerator for 24 to 72 hours to build flavor and make the dough easier to stretch.
- Read more about cold fermentationRelated: Best Dough Storage Containers for Fermentation
- Cornicione
- The raised, airy outer rim of a pizza crust, prized for its puffed texture and charring in Neapolitan and wood-fired styles.
- Read more about cornicione
- Detroit-style pizza
- A rectangular, thick-crust pizza baked in an oiled steel pan, known for a crisp, fried-like bottom and cheese pushed to the edges.
- Read more about detroit-style pizza
- Dough ball
- A single portion of pizza dough, divided from a larger batch and shaped into a round to proof on its own before stretching.
- Read more about dough ballRelated: Best Dough Proofing Boxes for Pizza at Home
- Dough docker
- A small roller covered in spikes that pokes rows of holes into rolled dough so it bakes flatter instead of puffing unevenly.
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- Hydration
- The percentage of water compared to flour weight in a dough, a key number that controls how soft, sticky, and open the finished crust turns out.
- Read more about hydration
- Infrared thermometer
- A point-and-shoot thermometer that instantly reads surface temperature, used to check how hot a pizza stone or oven floor actually is.
- Read more about infrared thermometerRelated: Best Infrared Thermometers for Pizza Ovens
- Launching peel
- A wide, thin paddle used to slide a topped, unbaked pizza off the counter and onto a hot stone, steel, or oven floor.
- Read more about launching peelRelated: Best Pizza Peels for Launching and Turning Pies
- Leoparding
- The small, dark charred spots that appear scattered across a pizza crust when it bakes quickly at very high heat.
- Read more about leoparding
- Low-moisture mozzarella
- A firmer, drier mozzarella than fresh mozzarella, widely used on home pizza because it melts evenly without releasing much water.
- Read more about low-moisture mozzarella
- Neapolitan pizza
- A soft, puffy pizza style cooked in roughly 60 to 90 seconds at extremely high temperatures, with a thin center and a tall charred rim.
- Read more about neapolitan pizza
- New York style
- A larger, thinner pizza baked longer at lower temperatures than Neapolitan, sturdy enough to fold and hold plenty of toppings.
- Read more about new york style
- Oven spring
- The rapid rise a pizza or bread dough gets in the first moments of baking as trapped gas expands quickly in the heat.
- Read more about oven spring
- Pizza steel
- A thick slab of steel placed in a home oven that conducts heat quickly, giving a base closer to a professional deck oven.
- Read more about pizza steelRelated: Best Pizza Steels for Crispier Home Oven Crust
- Pizza stone
- A ceramic or cordierite slab that absorbs and radiates steady heat, giving pizza a dry, crisp base in a home oven.
- Read more about pizza stoneRelated: Best Pizza Stones for Home Ovens and Grills
- Proofing basket
- A basket that holds a shaped dough ball during its final rise, supporting the sides so the dough keeps its round shape.
- Read more about proofing basket
- San Marzano tomatoes
- A variety of plum tomato commonly sold canned and used as the simple, mostly uncooked base for a classic pizza sauce.
- Read more about san marzano tomatoes
- Semolina dusting
- Coarse semolina flour sprinkled on a peel so shaped dough slides off cleanly instead of sticking during the launch.
- Read more about semolina dustingRelated: Best Semolina Flour for Pizza Peels and Crispier Crusts
- Turning peel
- A small, round metal peel used to rotate or reposition a pizza while it bakes inside a very hot oven.
- Read more about turning peelRelated: Best Turning Peels for Even Home Pizza Bakes
- Windowpane test
- A quick check where a piece of dough is stretched thin enough to see light through it, showing the gluten is developed enough.
- Read more about windowpane test