Big bubbles in the crust — the fix
First, the good news: most big bubbles are a brag, not a bug. Charred, hollow bubbles at the rim mean the fermentation went beautifully. The fix is only needed when a balloon hoists your toppings mid-bake or one monster pocket swallows a slice.
A lively dough doing its thing
How to tell — Bubbles at the rim and scattered small ones across the base, nicely charred — and the crumb underneath is light and open.
Fix it now — Nothing — take the compliment. If one balloons over the toppings mid-bake, reach in and pop it with a fork; it deflates without drama.
Next time — Keep the schedule that made it: long, patient fermentation is exactly where this texture comes from. the cold ferment guide goes deeper.
Thick pockets from an uneven stretch
How to tell — One or two huge bubbles in the middle zone, right where the dough stayed thicker — trapped gas with nowhere to go but up.
Fix it now — Pop them as they rise, or dock the thick area with a fork before topping next time.
Next time — Stretch to an even thinness from the center out, saving the gas for the rim where it belongs. the pizza size guide goes deeper.
Bare patches under-dressed
How to tell — The balloons rise exactly where there's no sauce or cheese — naked dough lifts, weighted dough can't.
Fix it now — Pop and press down mid-bake, then spread the toppings a touch closer to the rim on the next one.
Next time — Sauce to within a thumb's width of the rim; the covered zones stay flat and the rim still gets its puff.
Start from a good recipe
Most dough problems are planned away, not fixed at the bench. Set your real schedule in the calculator and it weighs the dough and writes the timing for you.
The clock is a suggestion. The dough is the boss. In bocca al lupo!
Impasto is a free pizza dough calculator for Neapolitan, New York, Roman, Sicilian, Detroit, thin crust and focaccia doughs — flour, water, salt and yeast weighed in baker's percentages, with the fermentation schedule written for you.