How to Clean Your Ooni Pizza Stone (A Step-by-Step Guide)

By Robert Parsons April 24th, 2023

I’ve been making pizza at home for a while, but one of the best investments I ever made was for my Ooni Pizza Stone.

It’s such a simple tool, but it makes a massive difference in my pizzas. However, if you want your Ooni Pizza Stone to give your pizza that perfect charred crust every time you make one at home, it’s important to clean and maintain it properly.

That said, cleaning a pizza stone is quite complicated, and I have a few broken pizza stones at home to prove it.

To make sure you don’t make the same mistakes, I’ve created this comprehensive guide to cleaning an Ooni pizza stone. So, read on to learn more.

How to Clean Your Ooni Pizza Stone

Cleaning your Ooni Pizza Stone isn’t that difficult. But if you do it wrong, you risk completely destroying your baking stone. So, before you take your stone out of the oven and remove the food that’s stuck, make sure you follow these steps.

Do Not Wash Your Stone

When I got my first Ooni Pizza Stone, I made the mistake of washing it when it was dirty. This was a huge mistake as water is terrible for cordierite stones. These stones shouldn’t get wet because they absorb water. When this happens, the stones won’t work as well. And sometimes, the damage can be permanent.

So, before you start cleaning your stone, make sure to keep it away from water.

Let It Cool

You’re going to have to let the stone cool completely before taking it out of the oven. Not only is a hot pizza stone hard to handle, but they are also much more fragile. So, if you don’t allow the stone to cool properly, you risk breaking or damaging it.

If you’ve just baked pizza, you’re going to have to let the stone cool for a few hours in the oven. Ideally, you should let it cool overnight so that you’re sure that it’s safe for handling. Once the stone has completely cooled, you can take it out of the oven and start cleaning it.

Scrub the Food Stuck on the Stone

If you bought an Ooni Pizza Stone, I highly suggest getting an Ooni cleaning brush to match. Since you can’t get these stones wet, you will need the right tools to scrub leftover food and debris. That said, if you don’t have an Ooni brush, you can use any stiff brush, just make sure not to scrub too hard to avoid scratching the stone.

When scrubbing the stone, try to get all the large chunks of food off. These large chunks are unsanitary and prevent the dough from making full contact with the stone’s surface. Additionally, you can use a brush to wipe away all the flour that may have stuck to the stone.

Place It Back in the Oven and Turn on the Heat

After removing all the large chunks and leftovers from the stone, all you have to do is place it back in the oven. Don’t worry if there’s a little bit of leftover flour stuck on the stone. Before baking another pizza on the stone, we recommend turning on the oven and letting the stone bake on its own for a while.

This allows the oven to brun off any flour that may have gotten stuck on the stone’s surface. This also removes some of the stubborn grease you couldn’t brush off.

If you’re like me and make pizza multiple times a week, you don’t have to reheat the stone immediately. In fact, it might be best to save the last step for the next time you make a pie.

However, if you only use the stone once in a while, it’s best to get the last step done as soon as possible. And once you’re finished cleaning it, make sure that you keep the stone in the oven. That way, it remains dry and safe.

Best Tools for Cleaning an Ooni Pizza Stone

I’ve tried quite a few tools for cleaning Ooni pizza stones. I used a regular stiff brush for my first stone, and that worked just fine. I had to make sure not to add too much weight when scrubbing though, as these brushes can scratch the surface of the stone.

However, after struggling with regular brushes, I decided to invest in an Ooni pizza stone. This was a great investment as it made cleaning the stone much easier. Since this tool has a scraper and stiff brush, you can easily remove any food or debris stuck on the stone.

So, if you have an Ooni Pizza Stone, don’t hesitate to add an Ooni Pizza Oven brush to your cart as well.

How Often to Clean an Ooni Pizza Stone

It’s best to clean your Ooni Pizza stone after every use. This is because food and debris will always stick to the stone when you bake pizza. You want to get rid of all these leftovers right away to keep the stone as sanitary as possible. So, after baking your pizza, let the stone cool and clean it right away.

FAQs

Why Do I Need a Pizza Stone?

A pizza stone does wonders to your home cooking. When you have a good pizza stone, getting that perfect texture and char on your pizza is easy. In my experience, pizza stones are the secret to getting as close as possible to restaurant-quality pizza.

What Happens If I Don’t Clean My Pizza Stone?

If you don’t clean your pizza stone, leftover food will slowly build up on the surface. This can be very unsanitary and prevents your dough from coming into direct contact with the hot stone, which prevents you from getting the perfect pizza.

What Are the Common Causes of a Cracked Pizza Stone?

The most common cause of a cracked pizza stone is a sudden temperature change or thermal shock. When the pizza stone cools too quickly, it may cause the entire thing to crack. So, avoid rapidly cooling your pizza stone to ensure it lasts a long time.

Conclusion

Ooni Pizza Stones have helped me make top-tier pizzas in my own kitchen. However, to ensure that the stones last a long time and always deliver the desired results, I have to clean it after every use. I highly suggest you do the same with your stone and follow my tips mentioned above.