For those of us who love to cook, there’s no better feeling than preparing a delicious meal and having it come out of the oven with a perfectly browned crust on pizza stones. The problem is, most Americans have never experienced the joy of a perfectly baked pizza. Whether you’ve never tried pizza or you’ve been trying to make it for years without success, there’s one simple trick that can make it happen. All it takes is a pizza stone.
What is a Pizza Stone?
Pizza stones are necessary for making wood-fired oven pizza but finding the best one can be tough. If you want the stone to be durable, heat it up evenly. Moreover, perhaps most importantly, not comprise your oven’s heat capacity. You also have to decide whether to use a stone that supports a pizza’s bottom or sides or one that holds the dough in place. A pizza stone also presents a cookware problem. For example, most pizza pans have circular bottoms, so a round stone may not fit.
If you’ve ever tried to cook a pizza on your regular cooking stone, you know that food sticks. Sometimes it sticks to such a degree that it’s hard to remove, and you end up with a half-cooked pizza. What’s a pizza aficionado to do? Find a pizza stone.
The Importance of a Pizza Stone
Choosing a pizza stone is an important first step in creating a great pizza, but it’s not the only one. The type of stone you choose is just as important. When you’re looking for a stone, you want to make sure it’s well-made. Additionally, it won’t break from the weight of the pizza you’re going to place on it. Luckily, there are a lot of great stones on the market that will last you for years. You can find one that works for you at your local brick-and-mortar retailer or online.
While cooking with pizza stones and baking with pizza pans are two different things. Although, they are also very similar. At least, for the most part. Both are flat-bottomed pans that heat and cook food on the bottom. That is the reason you need different ones for each function. You also need to check the size and thickness of the material in each one to ensure they are the right fit. Once you’ve got the right pizza stones for you, you need to consider how long you should keep it in the oven, and what temperature you should set it at. Most importantly how often you should clean and oil it?
Find the Right Pizza Stone
Picking the right pizza stone can be tricky. You want a stone that will make your crust brown and crisp, but you also want a stone that will heat up evenly and won’t crack under the heat. That’s why it’s important to start with the right type of stone. Look for a stone that emits a lot of heat but will also not burn the bottom of the pizza.