Pizza Stone Care?

[TheNoodleIncident]

anyone have tips on cleaning a pizza stone? seems like it has soaked up some oil and maybe other burnt stuff. i know i cant use soap, but what about bar keepers friend? other methods?

my stone is looking kind of nasty at the moment - fortunately, it has not affected performance, and does not smell bad or anything like that....since it's essentially just cosmetic at this point, im not too interested in cleaning by of soaking and resoaking in water for hours (plus, i dont think my sink is big enough)

so if anyone has any quick and simple suggestions, i would love to hear it....if not, i can live with my ugly stone and the memories of past pizzas

 

[GB]

Barkeepers Friend is soap so that is a no go.

If your over is a self cleaning over then leave the stone in the oven and run it through a self cleaning cycle. It will come out looking almost like new. Other than that you can use a flat edged tool to scrape any stuck on pieces off, but that won't help for the oil stains. Those you will just have to live with if you don't have a self cleaning oven.

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

yeah, i thought about burning it up in the oven...ill have to give that a try

my oven does not have a self cleaning cycle - what kinds of temps does it reach? could i just crank mine all the way up (500*, i think) and leave it for a while?

what about putting it under the broiler? for some reason, that doesnt seem like the best idea to me...

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

hmm, just did some searching myself and it looks like the self-cleaning cycle gets up near 900*

i wonder if it would do something if i left the stone at 500* for long enough?

 

[kitchenelf]

Most pizza stones cannot take a really high temperature. Also, your stone will develop a patina, which is perfectly natural. It is what helps give it its non-porous quality that we want in our stones. Find a rubber scraper to scrape anything that is stuck on and simply use water. If it is still greasy you can "wash" with cornstarch. But you don't want to remove all the parts that have become browned.

 

[justplainbill]

Soak surface with a paste made from Arm & Hammer baking soda. Then scrape with a flat nosed wooden spoon. If you don't have a flat nosed wooden spoon, you'll probablyhave one after you're done scraping. Dry stone for 5 - 6 hours at under 200F.

 

[justplainbill]

Most pizza stones cannot take a really high temperature. Also, your stone will develop a patina, which is perfectly natural. It is what helps give it its non-porous quality that we want in our stones. Find a rubber scraper to scrape anything that is stuck on and simply use water. If it is still greasy you can "wash" with cornstarch. But you don't want to remove all the parts that have become browned.

Would'a thought the porous attribute was a plus because it helps prevent soggy bottoms.

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

i dont know if i would call what i see a "patina"....i would prob call it a "splotchy, spotted, random mess of stains ranging from dark to light" haha

 

[GB]

Most pizza stones cannot take a really high temperature. Also, your stone will develop a patina, which is perfectly natural. It is what helps give it its non-porous quality that we want in our stones. Find a rubber scraper to scrape anything that is stuck on and simply use water. If it is still greasy you can "wash" with cornstarch. But you don't want to remove all the parts that have become browned.

I love you dearly KE but I have to disagree with almost everything in your post. Pizza stones can take very high heat usually. Mine has gone through the self cleaning cycle countless times and that is about as hot as you are going to get in a home kitchen. I also disagree about wanting the stone to be non-porous. It is the non-porousness (is that a word?) that allows moisture to be drawn away from whatever you are baking on them giving your food that wonderful crispiness.

 

[kitchenelf]

I think I have different stones GB (and thanks for loving me dearly ). We need to talk...I need more info on your stones. Mine say don't put in an oven over 350 degrees F. I did that one time and I had this beautiful grape tart all over the bottom of my oven. I had a piece of aluminum foil under the stone to catch any drips and I think the heat from the aluminum foil cracked the stone.

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

sorry elf, im with GB

i keep my pizza stone in the oven at all times - normally, i bake at 350 - 375....with pizza, i bake as high as 475

since ovens heat in cycles, we can probably assume that actual temp gets as high as 500-525* when making pizza....so far, there has been no damage to my stone, so we must have different types of stones

 

[justplainbill]

We have a HearthKit that we purchased on sale from KingArthur some 4 or 5 years ago. Wouldn't be without it (unless we had an oven that had one already built in).

 

[GB]

Are you sure yours was stone and not paper KE

I got my stone years ago. I do not remember where I got it from, but it is at least 7 years old and has lived in my oven full time since I got it. I never take it out other than to brush burnt on crud off it from time to time. It gets heated up to 500 degrees weekly and goes through the self cleaning cycle anytime I run it.

Pampered chef stones are on the expensive side, but everyone I know who has had one raves about them. You can also go the inexpensive route and get unglazed quarry stone from your local hardware store for a few bucks and those will work perfectly.

 

[appleyard14]

patina it.
get your stone hot as hell, rub it down with a dry kitchen rag and coarse salt work on small spots at a time and dont burn yourself.

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

whats the point of a patina? it's not like a carbon knife where you need to worry about reactivity, and you aren't trying so "season" it and create a non-stick surface

or were you recommending that as a way to clean it?

 

[appleyard14]

just recomending as a way to clean not season

 

[licia]

Several years ago I was at my son's house and about to do some cooking when I saw the pizza stone in the oven and it looked awful. I'd never used one so being the mom-in-law I thought it should have been cleaned. I resisted! Then they gave me one and mine looks at least as bad as hers. I only clean mine with a spatula or a scrubbing sponge - no soap and let it dry. It looks ugly - but it cooks great. I doubt if baking soda or salt would take the stains off mine, but I can live with them.

 

[chilichip]

I have stones from pamper chef and My DH left it in the oven and turn on the self clean, POP we got a nice mess to clean, I think hand cleaning is the way to go and you don't want complete clean , adds more a nicer crust.

 

[zerobane]

My Pampered chef exploded around 550 degrees...

Have a no name generic i got for xmas years ago that has no issues at higher temps though.

I guess the main points are:
-Verify your pizza stone is ceramic stone; some cheap imitations use other materials...
-never put anything on your stone besides pizza or water, the pores will suck up anything it touches, my first pizza stone made a excellent dawn degetergent flavored crust.
-Extreme temperature changes is typically what cracks a stone; never put a a cold stone in a hot oven, never de-glaze a hot stone with cold water.
-sticking problems; add more cornmeal
-enjoy the patina of the pizza's of the past

 

[GB]

My Pampered chef exploded around 550 degrees...

Have a no name generic i got for xmas years ago that has no issues at higher temps though.

I guess the main points are:
-Verify your pizza stone is ceramic stone; some cheap imitations use other materials...
-never put anything on your stone besides pizza or water, the pores will suck up anything it touches, my first pizza stone made a excellent dawn degetergent flavored crust.
-Extreme temperature changes is typically what cracks a stone; never put a a cold stone in a hot oven, never de-glaze a hot stone with cold water.
-sticking problems; add more cornmeal
-enjoy the patina of the pizza's of the past

Excellent advice here!