If you want to make a New York-style pizza, or simulate pizza from a deck, then you will need a pizza stone. The pizza stone, also known as a baking stone, gives you the perfect surface to cook your NY-style pizza if you don’t have the cash to invest in a wood-fired oven. And you can buy pizza stones at around just $20-$40. You won’t be able to get the delicious smoky flavour, however.
How to Use a Pizza Stone
You should place the pizza stone into the oven while the oven is still cool. Then, preheat the oven to your desired temperature. 500 degrees Fahrenheit is a great temperature for baking pizzas. It is usually good to allow the oven to preheat for an hour. This allows the stone to heat evenly.
Where is the best spot to place your pizza stone? This will depend on your oven. For most models, however, this will be at the very bottom of the oven. Some people may find that placing the pizza stone on the first rack gives the best results. So you will have to test a few pies to find the best results for your oven and pizza recipe.
How to Take Care of Your Stone
Don’t remove the stone right away after cooking. In fact, do not remove the stone from the oven until completely cooled. This is because shocking the stone with extreme temperature changes can cause it to crack.
You can clean your pizza stone with a wire brush and metal scraper. You can also use a metal bristle grill brush for any leftover cheese. If there are loose scraps stuck on your stone, use a metal dough scraper.
Do not use water on the pizza stone. This is because the stone is absorbent. As a result, it will keep small pockets of water on the inside even when the stone appears dry. This water will expand when heated. This, in turn, will crack the stone.
Over time, your pizza stone may develop dark stains. These stains are considered “seasoning”. They are desirable.