Installing a brick or stone oven at home may be an ideal way to cook pizza and bread but it often requires extra space and expense and is not a practical approach. Home-based chefs can come close to achieving the crisp exterior crust and moist center of pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven by using a ceramic or earthenware pizza stone placed in a standard oven. This inexpensive addition to the kitchen brings consistent results and is a foolproof method for improving the flavor and texture of pizza, Stromboli, bread, cookies and other baked goods.

Benefits of Using Pizza Stones

Buying a pizza stone is a good investment that provides significant benefits to the cook:

- Pizza stones offer even heat distribution so that the entire pie is cooked quickly and efficiently throughout.
- Food handling both before and after cooking is easier. Ready-to-bake pizza pies can be placed directly on the stone before baking and will slide off the stone easily.
- Pizza stones produce superior results that include a crispy and flavorful crust.
- Stones also provide radiant heat that keeps the pizza warm until it is ready to be sliced.
- The stones are easy to clean, just wipe the surface after use. It also helps keep the oven clean and free from drippings.

Common Pizza Stone Materials and Care

Pizza stones replicate the effects of cooking pizza in a stone or brick oven. Standard materials include clay or terra cotta, brick or cordierite, ceramic and stone. High-endurance materials are also available for grilling at extremely high temperatures. Typically available in either round or rectangular shapes, they should be chosen based on personal preference. All of the products are highly effective; however, the rectangular pizza stones may have more room to accommodate breads, cookies and other baked items.

Care Tips: Most pizza stones are not designed to be cleaned in a dishwasher and generally only require cleaning with warm water and a soft brush. Sprinkling a small amount of cornmeal, semolina flour or bread crumbs on the surface before baking helps prevent sticking. The stones are very porous and absorb moisture; soap may be difficult to remove and shouldn’t be used. Care should be taken to avoid dramatic temperature changes such as putting a frozen pizza on a stone heated at 500 degrees. The stone may crack under severe temperature change conditions.

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