# Need recommendations on a good pizza stone



## Dina (Jun 1, 2004)

My kids love that I bake pizza for them now.  I've been baking it without a pizza stone but the crust does not brown like I would want it to.  I know I need to invest in a pizza stone.  Any suggestions on which one I should get?  What brands are good out there?

Thanks in advance.

Dina


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## scott123 (Jun 1, 2004)

I've heard pretty good things about bakingstone.com but $60 for a 15 x 20 x 3/4" stone seems like a lot of money.  A lot of people recommend unglazed quarry tiles.  I think unglazed quarry tiles are a bit of gamble.  Since they aren't made for  cooking, sudden heat changes might cause them to chip or flake.  If you really want to spend some bucks get a slab of soapstone.  That seems to be the rolls royce of baking stones.

I went with fire brick, which is what's found in most wood burning ovens.  Fire brick is hard to track down, big, unweildy and heavy, but it's one of the least expensive baking stone solutions while at the same time giving you some of the best results.  I am a fanatic when it comes to recreating pizzeria pizza though. If you're just looking for something to play around with, bakingstone.com should be your best bet.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Jun 2, 2004)

MJ is the pizza expert here. Her should know the best Im guessing.


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## Dina (Jun 2, 2004)

Thanks Scott123.  I'll check into it, but wasn't looking to spend too much money either.  :? 

I'll ask MJ about it also.

Dina


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## MJ (Jun 2, 2004)

If I want good, brown pizza, I go in my backyard and cook it in my wood fired pizza oven, but I do have A stone in my indoor oven.
 I can't remember where I got my stone, but it cost me about $20.00.
 If I have to replace my stone, I am definitly going with unglazed quarry. You could buy like 9 of them and but them up against each other, and have A huge cooking area in your oven. There only about $2.00 for A 1/2" deep 4'x4' tile. I think I'm gonna buy some anyway. I have heard very good things about unglazed quarry tile pizzas.
 Some people use A screen for New York style pizza. The moisture will still escape the dough, making for A good crust.

 Try adding some sugar when you make your dough to get it brown.
 I think the most important thing is to CRANK up the oven. A stone needs to be preheated for at least 30-60 minutes. The digital controls on my oven only go to 550F, thats what I bake at. 
Here is A site where people are VERY serious about pizza. They have some killer recipes, and they talk about anything that has to do with making A pizza

http://www.pizzamaking.com/yabbse/index.php

Good luck!


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## MJ (Jun 2, 2004)

Here is A picture (link) of those unglazed quarry tiles. They seem to be tried and proven by some of the "home pros". When you click on the link, just scroll down aways to see the photo . They have an interesting discussion also.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/yabbse/index.php?board=6;action=display;threadid=99

Now you can make your own bread to!


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## Dina (Jun 2, 2004)

MJ,

You're the best!  Thank you so much.  I'm getting me some of those unglazed quarry tiles.    

Dina


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## jonm (Aug 3, 2004)

Hey guys, I just bought one of those $7 stones from WalMart.  Its a 16" Round stone about 3/8" thick.  I preheated the stone at 500 for 1 hour.  Then I put my homemade pizza on it and let it cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes  For some reason, the crust did not cook at all!


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## GB (Aug 4, 2004)

I got a pizza stone as a wedding shower gift. I think it came from Williams Sonoma. I really love this stone, but I do not think I would have bought it on my own as unglazed quarry tile does just as good a job at a fraction of the cost. 

scott123 mentioned that sudden heat changes might cause unglazed quarry stones to chip or flake and while this may be true keep in mind that your stones should not be going through and sudden heat changes. Keep your stone in the oven at all times. This way it will not be subjected to and sudden changes in temp. Also keeping your stone in the oven helps regulate the temp in the oven by adding more mass. This will improve the efficiency of your oven.


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## scott123 (Aug 30, 2004)

GB said:
			
		

> scott123 mentioned that sudden heat changes might cause unglazed quarry stones to chip or flake and while this may be true keep in mind that your stones should not be going through and sudden heat changes.



Proofed (80 deg.) wet pizza dough being placed on a preheated 550 deg stone is a pretty sudden/drastic change. Just the act of making pizza exposes your stone to a decent amount of thermal shock.


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## GB (Aug 30, 2004)

scott123 said:
			
		

> keep in mind that your stones should not be going through and sudden heat changes.





			
				scott123 said:
			
		

> Proofed (80 deg.) wet pizza dough being placed on a preheated 550 deg stone is a pretty sudden/drastic change. Just the act of making pizza exposes your stone to a decent amount of thermal shock.



If what you say is true then we should not be using pizza stones to make pizza. You said that you should not put your stone through sudden changes in temp, but then said that making a pizza will do just that.

My pizza dough is never wet to the touch when it goes on my stone. I just it with flour to make sure it can slide off my peel and therefore it is always dry to the touch. I have never had a problem with my stone when making a pizza.


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## scott123 (Aug 31, 2004)

GB, I used the term 'stone' since you were using it. Pizza stones, since they are made to withstand the thermal shock are okay for making pizza.  Unglazed quarry 'tiles' aren't made to handle the shock and there is no way of not submitting the tiles to sudden changes of heat.

The cornmeal/flour upon which the dough slides may be dry but the dough has water in it, and this water will stay at 212 degrees until it turns to steam.  It's not instantaneous. For those few seconds it takes to convert the moisture on the bottom of the crust to steam, the top of the 'tile' is in the 200 degree range. 550-200 is pretty drastic.

P.S. You've taken a quote from yourself and put my name on it.


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## GB (Aug 31, 2004)

scott123 said:
			
		

> P.S. You've taken a quote from yourself and put my name on it.



Oops sorry about that scott123! You are absolutely right. I should learn to open my eyes more


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## choclatechef (Sep 2, 2004)

Oh no...another big splurge.  I bought the Hearthkit oven insert to replace my old pizza stone.  I saw the review in the Cook's Catalog and I just had to have one no matter what the cost.  

I love it.


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## scott123 (Sep 3, 2004)

choclatechef said:
			
		

> Oh no...another big splurge.  I bought the Hearthkit oven insert to replace my old pizza stone.  I saw the review in the Cook's Catalog and I just had to have one no matter what the cost.
> 
> I love it.



Do you love it for bread? For pizza?

How long do your pizzas take to cook? What temp do you preheat it to? Gas or Electric oven?


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## choclatechef (Sep 3, 2004)

Scott.  I have yet to make pizza at home on this stone.  I just baked bread on it so far.   It is great for bread baking and other cooking.  I leave it in the oven all the time.  It keeps the oven temperature from fluctuating, so my baking is more even.  

I do not make any changes in temperature, but I keep an eye on things near the end of the estimated cooking time.


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## Bangbang (Sep 4, 2004)

I just picked up a stone last week for 8 bucks at one of those discount shops.


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## Russell (Sep 4, 2004)

you can use like a 12 inch by 12 inch tile as long as in isn't glazed. At least thats what I use.


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## scott123 (Sep 4, 2004)

choclatechef said:
			
		

> Scott.  I have yet to make pizza at home on this stone.  I just baked bread on it so far.   It is great for bread baking and other cooking.  I leave it in the oven all the time.  It keeps the oven temperature from fluctuating, so my baking is more even.



Once you do make pizza I would love to hear about it.  Specifically how long it takes.


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## cookienut (Sep 5, 2004)

*Pizza Stone*

Dina, I have a rectangular pizza stone that I bought from Sharpknives.com some years ago.  It is a really great pizza stone.  It is better than most of the ones you find in the stores.  It is more like a quarry tile.  I paid $25.00 for mine.  I can't find it on their website because they redid their website. But I found it on another site.  Here is the link:  http://store.yahoo.com/p4online/bakingstones.html  arrow down the page a bit, till you see the 14 x 16 rectangular one.  It is really a great stone and even better, I can put it in my cleaning cycle in my electric oven.  When I first bought it, I asked the owner how was the best way to clean it.  She suggested I use the cleaning cycle in my oven and even told me, if for some reason the stone cracked, she would replace it.  I've had mine for 3 years now and always clean it with no problem in my oven.  Again, like mentioned previously, if you don't want to spend that much money, the quarry tiles are your best bet.  One more thing, if you buy a pizza stone, or quarry tile, make sure you never soak the tile in water, just wipe it with a sponge and scrape it with a scraper if needed.  If it does get a bit wet, make sure it is completely dry before you put it into the oven or cleaning cycle or it will crack.


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## Darkstream (Sep 8, 2004)

What exactly is a pizza stone supposed to do for the pizza that ordinary cooking does not do?

And is it successful in acheiving this end?


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## Cupcake (Sep 8, 2004)

The Pampered Chef has an entire line of reasonabbly priced, excellent quality stone cookware, including a pizza stone.  I am NOT a Pampered Chef rep, but a I think I own practically the entire inventory.  Their stones have done right by me.  Pizza crust especially.  The crust is always crisp on the bottom and bready on the rim.


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## Michael in FtW (Sep 8, 2004)

One of my sons gave me a pizza stone last year for Christmas - had a trivet, the stone, a wooden pizza peel, and a pizza cutter - the regural price on the box was $14.99 - I'm sure they got it on sale. Works just fine.

I've seen the same thing at WalMart for about the same price.


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## scott123 (Sep 11, 2004)

Darkstream said:
			
		

> What exactly is a pizza stone supposed to do for the pizza that ordinary cooking does not do?
> 
> And is it successful in acheiving this end?



Pizza stones reproduce, to an extent, pizzeria type pizza.  A crisp, fluffy crust and bubbling cheese. The secret of pizza stones is that once they are preheated, they contain a great deal of the heat necessary to cook the pizza. With a cookie sheet, the element of your oven is heating the air which in turn is heating the sheet. With a pizza stone there is no middleman.

There is also speculation that the porosity of the stone wicks away moisture for a crisper crust.  I belief this, although not everyone does.


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## Ekim (Nov 30, 2005)

Okay.  I have some oil on my stone from a disaster trying to make pizza out of a weird oily loaf.  It's smoking when I use it now.  How do I get the oil off without using soap?


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## Alix (Nov 30, 2005)

Oil is good on your stone. Smear a thin layer on the stone and then put it in the oven on 500 and turn your hood fan on high. Let it season until the oil stops smoking. 

If you don't want to do that, just let the oil burn off your stone, it won't take long.


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## amber (Nov 30, 2005)

I've had great success with a pizza pan. The crust gets brown, the cheese gets bubbly.


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## JMediger (Nov 30, 2005)

We have three baking stones ... 2 rounds and a rectangle.  I don't own baking sheets any more and use them for EVERYTHING.  We have one just for sweets (cookies etc...), one for salty (ff, mozy sticks, etc...) and one for sauces (wings etc...).  The salty also doubles as our pizza base when we make it.  I think the rounds are from Target and the rectangle is from Pampered Chef - they were all gifts.  I can't say that the more expensive one does better than the others but it seems it has seasoned itself much better.
Just 2 more cents!


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## buckytom (Dec 1, 2005)

Alix said:
			
		

> Oil is good on your stone. Smear a thin layer on the stone and then put it in the oven on 500 and turn your hood fan on high. Let it season until the oil stops smoking.
> 
> If you don't want to do that, just let the oil burn off your stone, it won't take long.


 
i thought that pizza stones were supposed to be porous so that they absorb moisture from the dough to crisp the crust? wouldn't oiling, or seasoning a stone fill the pores, thus making it more non stick than absorbant?

i just bought one, a 16 x 1/2 inch round stone. the directions said to heat it at 450 for at least 15 minutes before dusting with cornmeal, then sliding on the pizza from a peel. it particularly mentioned to only clean it with water, not even soap, to keep it as porous as possible. it will darken with age, but it shouldn't be seasoned.

does that sound about right? help, who knows a lot about pizza stones?


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## Andy M. (Dec 1, 2005)

I've never heard of oiling a stone.  In fact, I clean the stone by leaving it in the oven during the self-cleaning cycle.  It comes out clean as a whistle.


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## Alix (Dec 1, 2005)

My instructions told me to oil the stone to "season" it. I LOVE my stoneware and have had nothing but the best results. I also have little stoneware loaf pans and had the same instruction with them. Hmmm...isn't that odd. I just assumed that all stoneware was alike.


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## Alix (Dec 1, 2005)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> I've never heard of oiling a stone. In fact, I clean the stone by leaving it in the oven during the self-cleaning cycle. It comes out clean as a whistle.




What brand do you have Andy? I didn't know you could leave them in at such high temps. I usually just wipe mine clean with a damp cloth and don't need to do more than that. I admit though, easier ways to clean always appeal to me. I am just afraid it would crack the stone. Is that possible do you suppose?


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## Andy M. (Dec 1, 2005)

I think S.O. got it from Pampered Chef.  

High heat will not damage a pizza stone.  In fact, it can take higher heat than the other parts of the oven.

I also leave the stone face down in the oven at all times and turn it right side up when I'm making pizza.  That keeps the surface from catching any spills from other foods being cooked.


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## Alix (Dec 1, 2005)

Thanks Andy. I always learn so much from you. I like the upside down tip too. I have heard that you should leave your stone in your oven to help even out the heat. Do you find that to be true too?


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## Andy M. (Dec 1, 2005)

I know that the stone should moderate temp fluctuations, but I'm not sure how much of an effect a little stone can have on all that oven material and space.  

I leave it in there all the time because it's the easiest thing to do.


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## buckytom (Dec 1, 2005)

thanks for the tip birthday boy! i was wondering where i was going to store the darn thing. so far, it's been awkwardly placed on top o' the fridge.


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## Andy M. (Dec 1, 2005)

BT:

I keep the stone on the second shelf at the lowest location in the oven.  I seldom need both shelves at the same time and if I do, the stone is awkwardly stored on the top of the fridge.

I've found that putting the stone on the oven floor causes the crust and the corn meal to burn.  Moving it up a couple of inches makes perfect crusts.


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## Robo410 (Dec 1, 2005)

Brazilian Soapstone makes an awesome pizza stone...Brazil on my mind on the web, or Fantes also web based .


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## Gerrycooks (Dec 1, 2005)

We only use our pizza stone to reheat pizza. I got it for a shower gift. 
I have a convection oven and often bake my pizzas on an upside down cookie sheet. This allows the hot air in the oven to circulate around the dough better. Grease the sheet and sprinkle with corn meal if you want. Do not use an airbake sheet because it will not brown the dough. The pizza stone is to small for the size pizza's I bake.


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