How to maintain a pizza stone

[MrSpock]

Hubby came home with a pizza stone the other night after I had read about it from a cooking blog. there was absolutely no instructions with it, but the bread recipe I used mentionned the basics: Heat the stone before, careful it's hot. So that worked out very well when we made bread.

So today Hubby decides to make pizza, and this thing being called "pizza stone", he figures he'll give it a try. However, not knowing how to transfer a freshly made (thus very soft and unstable) pizza from one surface to the other, he decides to make the pizza directly on the cold stone and cook it that way.

The pizza looked delicious when it came out of the oven, but unfortunately half of it stayed stuck on the stone when he tried to serve it. This adventure prompted us to actually look for some instructions on how to use a pizza stone, so we now know not to use it cold, and to use corn meal to prevent sticking.

However, one thing is not clear: A few websites spoke of "seasonning" the stone by rubbing it with oil and heating it, while some other sites say to never ever under penalty of law season or use oil on a pizza stone.

Anyone has an opinion on this? To season or not to season?

[judydawn]

The instruction in my box say 'This all-natural stone requires no seasoning or conditioning.  Simply rinse in warm water before the first use and allow to dry thoroughly.  Prepare your pizza or other baked goods on a flat surface such as a pizza peel or cookie sheet.  Lightly sprinkle the stone with cornmeal and slide the pizza or dough onto the stone.  Do not use flour on the stone, as it will burn. Most recipes suggest preheating the stone 15-20 minutes for even cooking and a shorter baking time.  Because the pizza stone retains heat, always wear oven mitts while handling the stone and place it in the serving rack (which came with my stone) to avoid heat damage to countertops or table surfaces.

The pizza stone is freezer, microwave and oven safe.  To prevent cracking the stone, avoid temperature extremes - from freezer directly to oven or from oven to cold water.  Do not place the stone over an open flame.  Before cleaning the stone, allow it to cool.  Then remove baked on foods with a spatula and rinse the stone in warm water.  Do not use soap or detergent, as they may leave a soapy aftertaste.  Let the stone air dry thoroughly before using again.

This information of course, does not help in the transferring process though but thought you would like to have some sort of instructions to go with your stone.

[brazen20au]

definitely no oil, I speak from personal experience!

[MrSpock]

Thank you both

Judy, this sure would have been handy on my box! Thank you for taking the time to type it all.

[judydawn]

My pleasure

[MrSpock]

I think I'll have to throw the thing away now

After the pizza sticking incident, I let it soak and easiy scraped the stuck pizza away, but when I heated it in the oven, it came out all stained, as if there were microscopic bits of pizza stuck on it that burned in the oven.

[Rowyfo]

  Stupid thing. I don't have one, but my friend told me they don't like to be washed.

I had a pizza sticking incident about a week ago, it was very annoying indeed. My baking pan has huge scratches on it now.

[cookie1]

MrSpock, my pizza stone looks like an absolute disaster but it makes no difference to the pizza cooking. I have never wqashed it, I only scrape stuff off it when it's cooled. It actually says that the stone will become stained with use.
To transfer fresh pizza I use 2 wooden paddles. I slide them under the raw pizza and carefully slide it off on the stone. I also use them to take the cooked pizza off.
Good luck.

[Paul]

I agree with Cookie, never wash it, just scrape off any residue when it's cold.  Mine looks like a mess too.  It seasons itself the more you use it.  To get the pizza on, I roll out the dough and put it on an aluminium pizza tray with some polenta sprinkled on the tray.  It slides off easily, but I do give it a little shake before I put it in, to loosen it up.

[MrSpock]

I guess I'll learn, but I've had no choice to wash it in water, as food was stuck so bad there was no way I could scrape it off. I'm washing it in plain water though, just to loosen up the stuck bits.

I did also discover the wonders of a wooden paddle AND corn meal to make the pizza roll. Works like a charm, except the floor is covered with corn meal when I'm done!

[Thermomixer]

Great tip - the cornmeal is good value, but yes, a mess.

[Paul]

I guess I'll learn, but I've had no choice to wash it in water, as food was stuck so bad there was no way I could scrape it off. I'm washing it in plain water though, just to loosen up the stuck bits.

I did also discover the wonders of a wooden paddle AND corn meal to make the pizza roll. Works like a charm, except the floor is covered with corn meal when I'm done!

My dog hoovers up anything that hits the floor

[I Love Bimby!]

Do you have any recommendations for someone about to buy one?

I've been putting it off but would love one.

[Paul]

Do you have any recommendations for someone about to buy one?

I've been putting it off but would love one.

I got one that came with my oven, but you can get one for $20-30 in kitchen shops, and they're fine.  Put it in a cold oven, then get the oven as hot as you can.  Don't overload the pizza with too much and you'll be fine!

[UnConundrum]

I use a pizza stone all the time in my BGE for bread and pizza.  In the picture below, you can see I'm making naan, and the stone doesn't look anything like it did new...



This may depend on the quality of the stone, but to clean it, I just let it bake at high temperatures with nothing on it.  I've heard that with an oven, you should be able to leave it in the oven during a clean cycle.  Everything on it will be reduced to ash.

With regard to using it, a longer pre-heat is better.  You want it to hold the temperature after you put the pizza on.  If you have a convection oven, turn the fan on during the pre-heat period, but remember to turn it off before you add your pizza.