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I am making homemade pizza using a store bought pizza base. I know this is a fairly basic problem, but I am new here.

Anyway, I own a Samsung microwave oven which also has a convection mode. Do I simply microwave it, or use the convection mode?

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    I kinda doubt this will work. You need to bake a pizza in a HOT oven, not a microwave. Not even sure you can put a pizza base in the microwave, it will likely do nothing, but check your users manual to be sure. Mar 19, 2020 at 14:34
  • @SteveChambers the manual is one of the most confusing pieces of text I have ever read. But I am pretty sure we can use a microwave. Also, isn’t a convection oven also used?
    – Aditya
    Mar 19, 2020 at 14:42
  • Which model of Samsung - in my quick search there popped up to be at least a dozen just in North America alone.
    – J Crosby
    Mar 19, 2020 at 15:12
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    In which case, the existing advice applies - you don't want to do that. Pre-baked would have been realatively easy, just mic it til the cheese melts. Scone you could have maybe got away with, raw bread… no, sorry.
    – Tetsujin
    Mar 19, 2020 at 16:24
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    If it really is also a conventional convection oven, then 20 mins was far too long for pizza. You really do need to read the manual.
    – Tetsujin
    Mar 19, 2020 at 16:49

2 Answers 2

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Convection simply moves air around to heat evenly. I don't suggest cooking pizza in a microwave oven at all. If you don't want to use a conventional oven I would suggest trying to cook the pizza on a cast iron skillet instead. The secret to pizza is to cook as hot and quickly as possible, both top and bottom. This is more difficult to achieve in a pan, but if you're using store-bought pizza I would try cooking at a lower temperature with a lid on the pan to create a mini oven. If you have a blowtorch you can cook at a high temp and torch the top. Remember that cast iron heats really unevenly, so in either case leave the pan on the stove for a while to heat to temp evenly before you start the cook.

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  • I currently don’t have access to a conventional oven. Otherwise it shouldn’t have been a problem. I want to figure out how to use a microwave. A few articles said that convection somewhat mimics the normal large ovens
    – Aditya
    Mar 19, 2020 at 16:27
  • Note: you can almost make toast in a good microwave/convection oven - the good ones are hot & fast. …but without knowing the details of the device in question, it's all a bit too much guesswork.
    – Tetsujin
    Mar 19, 2020 at 17:59
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If all you have is a convection microwave to cook with and the choice is microwave or convection mode then do convection mode as it's closer to baking. Microwaving a pizza will most likely turn it into overcooked rubber, convection gives you a chance. It's a good idea to cut the pizza into manageable chunks that the oven mode can handle, don't cram it in.

I've been in a situation where a microwave was all I have for cooking, I found that I was better off making foods that were microwave friendly rather than trying to cook things that weren't. Try your pizza in convection, if you get an acceptable result it opens up other options to you.

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  • I tried using convection first, and the cheese dried up and turned brown. Did it on 200 C and for 20 minutes. I then used microwave on 900W and 10 minutes, and it was a little better. The main problem is that cheese refuses to melt.
    – Aditya
    Mar 20, 2020 at 11:21
  • 10 minutes at 900W and it didn't melt?! I suspect it may not be real cheese @Aditya.
    – GdD
    Mar 20, 2020 at 12:31
  • …or paneer, haloumi etc
    – Tetsujin
    Mar 20, 2020 at 12:31
  • @GdD no, meant it didn’t melt on convection. I microwaved it and it did melt.
    – Aditya
    Mar 20, 2020 at 13:02

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