# Baking stone



## Skittle68 (Dec 28, 2011)

I bought an Oneida baking stone to make my home made pizzas on (I make yeast dough, and hand toss it), and it cracked after two uses!! I didn't save the receipt or packaging (dumb! Dumb! Dumb!), so my only option is to buy a new one if I want to have a baking stone. It says in the booklet to preheat to 450, and I let it cool slowly in the oven, so was this just poor quality, or a defect? Has this happened to anyone else? Should I buy another stone, or would one of those metal pizza pans with the holes in it work just as well? I'm a little leery to spend money on another stone after this first experience :/ To tell the truth, I was a little concerned that it's only like a half inch thick. Should have saved the receipt!!


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## chopper (Dec 28, 2011)

Oh my gosh I am sorry that you had that bad experience. I love my pizza stone and have not had problems with it. My sister had one that broke like that, but it was after about six years and a lot of use. I have had mine a good ten years and it is still ok. Mine is from pampered chef if that helps. I think it may have been a defect or something, but wait for other replies.


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## FrankZ (Dec 28, 2011)

Have you contacted Oneida?

It should not crack like that.

BTW we got ours at Costco, don't remember what we paid but it was fairly inexpensive.


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## GLC (Dec 28, 2011)

It's not an uncommon experience. You will find complaints of breakage among the reviews of any brand. However, the stone sold by Oneida has a rather high incidence of cracking. So, likely just poor quality. Kitchen Supply and Old Stone have far better user reports. It does appear to be an area where you get what you pay for, and the brands with good reports tend to run about ten dollars more than the Oneida. Of course, you can also pick up an unglazed stone tile from the hardware store. It won't last better, but it will be cheap.  

But think about this. You preheated as you would normally for baking with the stone in the oven. Fine. But to get real benefit from a stone, you have to let the stone soak in the fully heated oven for a good while. That makes sense. It's a large mass that has to come up to the ambient oven temperature. 

I find that I get good results from a perforated pan. (I picked up a large heavy commercial example at the flea market, and I make extra large pizzas.) And I have the double benefit of crisp crust while being able to dress the pizza on the pan outside the oven. And I don't have a 30+ minute heat soak time for the stone.


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## Skittle68 (Dec 28, 2011)

I haven't contacted Oneida because it says you must have proof of purchase to take advantage of the 10 yr warranty. 

Thanks for the replies- I'm still on the fence though! One of the reasons I went with the stone instead of the pan is that it said it's useful for home made bread, too. Pretty much the only bread I make though, is sandwich bread in a regular loaf pan. Would the stone make much of a difference with something like that?


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## FrankZ (Dec 28, 2011)

It might waste about 5 minutes if you call them, it might be fruitful though.


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## DaveSoMD (Dec 29, 2011)

I have a "pizza stone" that is similar to this one.  I like it because it is thick and heavy and it holds the heat very well. 

Amazon.com: Old Stone Oven 4467 14-Inch by 16-Inch Baking Stone: Kitchen & Dining

The brand I have is Pizza Gourmet.  I tried to Google it but didn't get any hits.  Considering I have had it for over 14 years I'm not surprised. 

I think if you go for a thicker stone and not one of the thin ones you will be much happier.


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## Fabiabi (Dec 29, 2011)

I would contact them and try to get a replacement, they might let you off with having no receipt. The other peeps are right, it should't crack like that.


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## Skittle68 (Dec 29, 2011)

I suppose it's worth the phone call. A phone call is free after all


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## CWS4322 (Dec 30, 2011)

Ceramic is not known for its tensile strength, it has compressive strength. If during the process of making the pizza stone, it cooled unevenly, an internal flaw could be the reason why yours cracked. Another reason could have been if there was any moisture in it when it was heated, ceramic will become brittle and break if heated when moisture is inside. Cordierite would be a better material, although some swear by unglazed terra cotta. I think "thicker" would also be better, the pizza stone I have is quite thin and I worry about using it...I had one years ago, and it seems to me it broke, but I don't remember the circumstances. It could have been because I didn't preheat it long enough.


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## FrankZ (Dec 30, 2011)

Well, I am in the market for a new pizza stone.  Mine is now in two pieces.  I was stupid.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Dec 30, 2011)

I had a pizza stone crack on me. Can't remember what brand. I just kept using it in two pieces until I moved into my house, and I bought a new one. That was 3 years ago. I just noticed the other day, I still have to original box for it. It is a Great Gatherings 15 Inch Pizza Stone, with Rack. I keep it in the oven all the time, unless I need to remove it to get more room in the oven.


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## DaveSoMD (Dec 31, 2011)

FrankZ said:


> Well, I am in the market for a new pizza stone.  Mine is now in two pieces.  I was stupid.



Okay 'fess up.. what did you do???


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## FrankZ (Dec 31, 2011)

I got a new pizza peel for Christmas (thank you Kathleen's parents).  Of course I was excited to give it a go.

So I made up a pizza last night (for Kathleen) and when I tried to put it in the oven the toppings went but the dough didn't.  Apparently I didn't use enough corm meal.

So I have cheese and mushrooms sizzling on the stone and a pizza that needs to get into the oven.  I pulled the stone out of the oven and cleaned it up best I could with a spatula, put it back in and baked her pizza.

Before I put mine in I wanted to see if I could get anything else off the stone and when I went to move it only part of it moved.  

So.. now I am looking at new stones.


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## Andy M. (Dec 31, 2011)

Sorry, Frank.  Not a good day.


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## FrankZ (Dec 31, 2011)

I was less stressed about breaking the stone than I was about the pizza.  It came out with a vague egg shape.


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## CWS4322 (Dec 31, 2011)

FrankZ said:


> I was less stressed about breaking the stone than I was about the pizza.  It came out with a vague egg shape.


 Don't feel too bad--sometimes the chickens lay eggs that have a vague pizza shape...


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## FrankZ (Dec 31, 2011)

I have been looking at some stones and I found one that had the ugliest pizzas on it in the pictures.  Made me laugh how bad the pies looked while trying to sell a stone.


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## DaveSoMD (Dec 31, 2011)

FrankZ said:


> I got a new pizza peel for Christmas (thank you Kathleen's parents).  Of course I was excited to give it a go.
> 
> So I made up a pizza last night (for Kathleen) and when I tried to put it in the oven the toppings went but the dough didn't.  Apparently I didn't use enough corm meal.
> 
> ...





But on the bright side you get to go shopping for a new stone, and maybe some other kitchenalia


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## mcc1961 (Aug 16, 2013)

*Stone*

I have a Pampered Chef stone a friend gave to me and it works great ,also I never put any oil on my stone and when it comes time to clean it I just put it under running water and scrape it with the edge of a spatula.


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## Kylie1969 (Aug 16, 2013)

We have a pizza stone, had it for years and has never cracked


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## Mad Cook (Aug 17, 2013)

Skittle68 said:


> I haven't contacted Oneida because it says you must have proof of purchase to take advantage of the 10 yr warranty.


Can they legally insist on this if the product is faulty?

In the UK, consumer law states that the seller is responsible for replacement of a faulty item or reimbursement of the cost of it (the customer's choice, not the sellers) and the onus is on the seller to prove that the item wasn't bought from him. rather than on the buyer to prove he did buy it from the seller. Consequently no proof of purchase is strictly necessary because the seller's rules can't over-rule the buyer's legal rights. An eminently sensible arrangement

It might be worth "bearding the seller in his den" and taking the stone back. A bit of polite insistence and refusal to go away often works. (Particularly if the shop is very busy at the time )


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## GotGarlic (Aug 17, 2013)

Mad Cook said:


> Can they legally insist on this if the product is faulty?
> 
> In the UK, consumer law states that the seller is responsible for replacement of a faulty item or reimbursement of the cost of it (the customer's choice, not the sellers) and the onus is on the seller to prove that the item wasn't bought from him. rather than on the buyer to prove he did buy it from the seller. Consequently no proof of purchase is strictly necessary because the seller's rules can't over-rule the buyer's legal rights. An eminently sensible arrangement
> 
> It might be worth "bearding the seller in his den" and taking the stone back. A bit of polite insistence and refusal to go away often works. (Particularly if the shop is very busy at the time )



This thread is a year and a half old and was dredged up by a newbie. I'm sure skittle has a new one by now


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## Kitchen Barbarian (Aug 28, 2013)

You think the pizzas in the ads are ugly?  I've seen some scary burnt pizzas on various forums that are supposedly the most wondermous things ever.

*NOT a fan of the burnt bread movement in "artisan" breads and pizza, LOL!

I have an Old Stone Oven stone, 14x16, 1/2 inch thick.  It is 4-going-on-5 years old.  Nary a crack.  I leave it on the bottom rack 24/7.  I have 2 quibbles with it: it is just a little too small, and it is not really as thick as I would like.  I would prefer a 3/4" thick stone, but they cost a lot more.  But honestly it has worked very well even so.


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