Using a pizza stone correctly isn’t rocket science, but there are a few tips and tricks to get the best performance out of your stone.
How to Cook with a Pizza Stone
Pizza stones come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are relatively cheap to buy – at least, compared to constructing a brick oven in your backyard! I like square or rectangle stones because they fit well in my oven and offer a bit of room on either side of my pizza. (I used to have a round pizza stone, but I would occasionally spill pizza toppings into my oven because there wasn’t a lot of extra room around the edges.) There are a few best practices when cooking with your pizza stone.
How to Clean and Care for a Pizza Stone
I do not believe in super-cleaning a pizza stone, and here’s why: Pizza stones are porous, which means they will soak up water. If you submerge your pizza stone in water to try to get it sparkling clean you will essentially create a rock sponge and it will take forever to dry out. There are only two ways I recommend cleaning a pizza stone. Never spray a hot pizza stone with water! The temperature difference will almost certainly cause the stone to crack. Let the stone cool gently to room temperature before trying to clean it.
