Do Pizza Stones Really Work?
Did you recently purchase your first pizza stone only to find it cracked within the first week of using it? This can be very discouraging, leading to the question of whether these tools really work.
As a user of a pizza stone myself, I am here to tell you they DO work. However, you need to know how to use one properly to achieve the desired results.
In this short post, I’ll go over the top 3 reasons yours may have cracked.
1. Placing It Into a Hot Oven
The most common mistake new users commit is putting their stone into a hot oven. When you do this, it will experience “thermal shock”. This means it couldn’t handle the sudden temperature change, causing it to crack. Surprisingly enough, these tools are very fragile when used incorrectly.
Solution? Let your pizza stone heat up alongside your oven.
2. Trapped Moisture
I always recommend reading care instructions before using your pizza stone. Here, you’ll learn how to use one and how to clean it afterwards. Moisture trapped within a stone is never a good thing. This will cause it to weaken and eventually break.
Solution? Don’t ever wash your pizza stone. Instead, scrape away pieces of food using a spatula and wipe with a damp cloth. You can learn how to clean a pizza stone here.
3. Removing from the Oven Too Soon
Remember I mentioned thermal shock? This also applies when removing your stone from a hot oven. When your pizza is ready, you can remove it from the oven right way. However, this doesn’t apply to your stone. These tools are more fragile than they look and are simply not ready for sudden temperature changes.
Solution? Wait until your stone is completely cool before removing it from the oven. Just like it preheated with your oven, it needs to cool down with it too.
Conclusion
Don’t give up on pizza stones just yet. If yours cracked, it might be due to one of the reasons mentioned above. You owe it to yourself to purchase a new one and follow usage and care instructions. I guarantee once you do, you’ll never have to buy another one again.
