Ask Paul: Is it Time to Replace My Pizza Screens?

Hi Paul – I’m looking to improve the quality of my pizza crusts. We’re currently using pizza screens, but are considering upgrading to a solid or perforated pan. What’s the difference? – Tim, California

First, thanks for the question! Second, you’re not alone in asking about the ideal surface to bake pizzas in traditional convection style ovens. It’s one of the most frequent inquiries we get.

To answer your question, let’s first start by looking at why your pizza pans even need holes. If you’re looking for a crispy crust, you need air exposure to the bottom of the crust. A greater or lesser amount of perforation can be used to fine tune performance in convection ovens so you have the perfect crust attributes for your products.

Paul Tiffany, our resident food and pan expert tackles your baking and pizza pan questions. Have a question for Paul, email us at sales@lloydpans.com

Now, let’s look at the pizza screens you’re currently using. Pizza screens used to be the industry standard. They are cheap and do a good job of allowing air exposure to the crust.

On the downside, pizza screens require constant seasoning. This isn’t free in either time invested or supplies required. Pizza screens also have a short lifespan of six to 18 months. So most likely, you’re saving money initially by using pizza screens, but over time, you’re losing money to seasoning and pan breakdown.

To combat constant seasoning needs and pan breakdown, perforated pans and disks with innovative coating systems were developed. Unlike screens, these perforated pans and disks delivered many exceptional benefits, including:

• More durable construction, increasing the life span of the pan
• Ability to use custom perforations and patterns to attain specific crust attributes

The more durable pans and disks have become standard in the industry, and we’re proud to have led the charge. And, we’re continuing to improve the quality, durability and performance of perforated pizza disks through the use of innovative coating systems that eliminate seasoning.

Yes! You read that correct. We have developed a pre-seasoned pan that performs like new bake-after-bake. Restaurants that have purchased our pans also are benefiting from an extensive lifespan. We have some customers that purchased the perforated disks 15 years ago and are still using them today!

The key is the coating and construction. We build them durable to last, and we hard-coat them with our proprietary, anodized coating. This makes our perforated pizza disks heat faster, bake faster and cool down faster.

Since we developed these pans, we’ve seen many large pizza chains adopt our pan technology and improve the quality of their crust while saving significant money over the extended lifespan of the pan.

If you’re still using pizza screens or are unhappy with your pan’s performance, we’d love to show you how our Quik-Disks can help you bake better pizzas!