24.3.

2014

How to Use a Pizza Stone: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

How to Use a Pizza Stone

Using Your Pizza Stone Cleaning Your Pizza Stone Getting a Makeshift Pizza Stone

A pizza stone cooks great pizza, and a whole lot more! Not only is it a great cooking surface, it can help your whole oven cook more evenly. Here's a quick and easy guide on how to get the most from this wonderful cooking tool.

Part 1 of 3: Using Your Pizza Stone

Place your pizza stone in conventional oven. For cooking pizza and cookies, the top rack in the center is the ideal location. For cooking bread, biscuits, and other

items, the middle rack in the center is the better choice.

Start with a cold oven. Never put a cold pizza stone in a hot oven, as it can shatter due to thermal shock.[1] In fact, make sure never to expose the pizza stone to rapid temperature shifts. Placing a frozen pizza on a pizza stone is almost as likely to result in a shattered stone as placing a cold stone in a hot oven. You're better off cooking your frozen pizza straight on the rack.

3 4

Pre-heat oven (if necessary) with pizza stone in it.

Place food item on pizza stone with a pizza paddle. Do not grease or oil. For breads and pizza crust, you may want to add a little cornmeal to aid removal. It can take a little finessing to get used to, but a pizza paddle is a useful instrument, especially for transferring uncooked pizza dough onto the stone. There are three different kinds of peels short-handled wooden peels, long-handled wooden peels, and metal peels. For the average person cooking at home, the shorthandled wooden peel will probably work best. If you don't want to use cornmeal under your dough, you can also use flour. Rice flour is a great way to ensure the dough doesn't stick to your paddle.[2]

Leave pizza stone in oven at least until it is entirely cool. You do not have to remove it at all, as it can add to a "brick oven effect" that actually helps your oven

retain and spread heat more evenly. You can put cooking dishes, pots, pans, cookie trays, and so on right on the stone.

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Pizza-Stone

1/4

24.3.2014

How to Use a Pizza Stone: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Part 2 of 3: Cleaning Your Pizza Stone

1 2

Use an implement like a metal spatula to take off any food that is stuck to the stone's surface. Of course, only do this once you're sure the pizza stone is cool

enough to handle.

Never use dish soap on pizza stone. Your pizza stone can be cleaned and rinsed entirely with water. With a clean sponge, wipe away any remaining food or grime

using only water. Do not try to remove oils that build up it is fully unnecessary. Leaving the oils on the stone actually helps season the stone, turning it into a slicker, more easy-touse item.

3 4 5

Don't let your pizza stone soak in water for too long. A simple once-over is probably more than enough. If you pizza stone happens to absorb too much moisture

when it's soaking in the sink, it can crack the next time you heat it in the oven.[3]

Don't worry about your pizza stone getting stained. Stains on your pizza stone are normal and almost unavoidable. Moreover, they're like a badge of honor, or

experience points something that you point to as a vindication of your cooking skills.

Place your stone back in the oven when cleaned, or store it in a safe place with very little traffic. You can house your pizza stone in the oven even as you bake

other items. Just bake them on top of the stone itself. For heavier items, like a roast, move the pizza stone to the bottom rack before cooking.

Part 3 of 3: Getting a Makeshift Pizza Stone

1 2

Measure the inside of your oven carefully. You should know how much space you have to work with before you select your stone. You'll be kicking yourself if you buy a

stone and then realize that your oven isn't large enough for it.

Look for unglazed quarry stone for your makeshift pizza stone.[4] Commercial pizza stones can be quite pricey. If you're a bottom line sort of person and only

worried about the taste of your pizza, not the look of your stone, you can purchase a quarry stone for around $5 to $10. You can start your search at any home improvement store like Home Depot or Lowe's. Look for clay or shale tiles, specifically, when you search for your stone. Terra cotta tile works great, as does most any stone that is labeled "all natural clay and shale."

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Pizza-Stone

2/4

24.3.2014

How to Use a Pizza Stone: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

3 4

When looking for quarry stone, make sure to get unglazed quarry stone. Glazed quarry stones contain lead, which is poisonous and generally to be avoided in

all cooking items.[5]

Decide whether you want to purchase one large stone or several smaller stones. Although one larger stone may be more aesthetically pleasing, several

smaller stones may be more versatile in the end. You can position several smaller stones on various racks on your oven; they'll absorb heat, meaning that you can turn off your oven and let the heat emanate from the stones without burning extra energy. With several smaller stones, the heat gets more evenly dispersed.

Use your makeshift pizza stone as you would any commercial pizza stone. Enjoy pizza, French bread, cookies , bagels, and much more.

Add your own method

Name your method Add your steps using an ordered list. For example: 1. Step one 2. Step two 3. Step three

Save

Tips
If you choose to store your pizza stone outside of the stove, be aware it is fragile. Store flat in an area it is unlikely to fall.

Warnings
Do not use a knife or pizza cutter on the stone. Always transfer item to cooling surface before cutting. The cutting implement will be damaged by being used on the pizza stone, although it won't hurt the pizza stone.

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Pizza-Stone

3/4

24.3.2014

How to Use a Pizza Stone: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

Sources and Citations 1. http://www.recipepizza.com/pizza_stone.htm 2. http://www.fornobravo.com/brick_oven_cooking/brick_oven_techniques/ using_pizza_peels.html

3. http://www.thekitchn.com/baking-tools-wear-and-care-of-52351 4. http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/diy-pizza-stone.htm 5. http://www.recipepizza.com/pizza_stone.htm

Article Info

Categories: Featured Articles | Care and Use of Cooking Equipment Recent edits by: Abrogation316, Javacakes09, Benas In other languages: Espaol: Cmo usar una piedra para hornear pizza, Portugus: Como Usar uma Pedra para Pizza, Deutsch: Wie man einen Pizzastein verwendet, Italiano: Come Usare una Pietra Refrattaria, Franais: Comment utiliser une pierre pizza, : , Nederlands: Een pizzasteen gebruiken
Featured Article

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 175,374 times.

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Pizza-Stone

4/4