How to use a pizza stone
Perfect pizza depends on extreme heat. And thanks to their heat absorbing and retention properties, pizza stones deliver an even, intense heat to produce a blistered, crispy crust.
Because of this, you’ll need to preheat the pizza stone before you use it. Timings on this vary, depending on the thickness of your stone and how hot your oven gets. Make sure you heat your stone gradually as putting it straight into a hot oven could cause it to crack.
To prevent your pizza sticking, dust the stone and the surface you’re working on liberally with semolina or flour. Slide your pizza onto the stone and bake in the oven until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
What to look for in a pizza stone
At first glance, you might be wondering whether there’s much difference in pizza stones, but there are some things to consider to help you narrow down your search.
Size: Is it going to fit in your oven or BBQ? And do you have a large enough place to store it when it’s not in use? Have a think as well about what you’ll be using it for. If you like to cook pizzas on demand, then a smaller size would probably suffice, but if you usually make large sharing pizzas, you’ll need a bigger stone.
Thickness: The thicker the stone, the better and longer the heat retention. But, on the flip side, the longer it takes to heat up. Thicker ones tend to be more expensive too.
Style: Pizza stones can be taken straight to the table, to keep your pizza warm while it’s being eaten. So if you plan to use it for entertaining, you might want to go for a stone that looks nice, rather than a bog standard one. Some also come with serving racks, earning you a few extra style points.
Budget: Ceramic stones tend to be cheaper and generally the more you spend, the bigger and thicker your stone will be.
Cooking method: Not all stones can handle the high heat of BBQs and pizza ovens. If you’re just planning on making pizzas in your oven you’ll be fine with any stone, but if you want to use it with the BBQ or pizza oven, then you’ll need to make sure it has a high enough heat resistance.
Accessories: If you’re getting serious about pizza making, you might also want to invest in some accessories such as a pizza peel or paddle. Some stones come with a paddle and other accessories included, which can save you money over buying them separately.
Use: Aside from pizza, you can also use pizza stones to cook breads, cakes and biscuits. However, they’re not suitable for things like meat and vegetables, as the oils and fats in these foods soak into the stone and make it more susceptible to cracking. If you want something that can handle those foods as well as pizza, go for a cast iron or steel baking sheet instead.
What is the best material to use for a pizza stone?
Pizza stones can be made from ceramic, cordierite or a composite material, although we’ve not featured any composites in our line-up. Baking sheets on the other hand can also come in iron and steel. So, which one is right for you?
Ceramic
More fragile than cordierite - a ceramic stone can crack if not appropriately preheated. However, they conduct heat evenly and retain their heat extremely well. They also tend to be more cost-effective than other stones. They do stain easily.
Cordierite
Hard-wearing and thermal shock resistant, so less likely to break than ceramic. Cordierite generally requires more heating than ceramic, but it can handle extremely high temperatures. Like ceramic, they will absorb stains.
Cast iron
Incredibly durable, they can withstand extreme temperatures and can be used with a grill, hob, oven, BBQ and pizza oven. They can get too hot to cook larger loaves, but are extremely flexible for cooking other foods, such as eggs, meat and fish. As long as you keep on top of seasoning, they’re a breeze to clean.
Steel
Like cast iron, baking steels can be used for all kinds of baking. They’re a fast heat conductor and because of this, don’t need to be preheated for as long. Because they’re metal, they’re extremely durable and can stand being thrown about. However, they don’t reserve heat as effectively as stones, so will cool down quicker.
How to clean a pizza stone
A well-used pizza stone will look exactly that, so don’t worry if you can’t get them spotlessly clean.
After use, scrape your stone free of any residue with a scraper or soft scourer. You can rinse it under warm water if required, but don’t soak it. Soaking in water can weaken the stone and make cracks more likely. Dry before storing - your oven is a good place to keep them.
For ceramic and cordierite stones particularly, it’s important not to use soap on them. That’s because the stone will absorb the detergent and release soapy fumes when you next use it.
If you have any particularly troublesome stains, you can blitz them using your oven’s self-cleaning function.
Make sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions, as the exact cleaning guidelines can vary from stone to stone.