A pizza stone can help create brick oven style pizzas at home. Here are a few tips to maximize your pizza stone's performance and keep it maintained.

Types of Pizza Stones

The most common materials from which pizza stones are made consist of clay, cordierite, ceramic, and cast-iron, but each material has it's pros and cons.

Clay:

Pros: Clay pizza stones absorb moisture which helps give your pizza a crisp crust and clay pizza stones are also fairly inexpensive.

Cons: Clay pizza stones take a long time to heat up and are hard to clean because you shouldn't use soap to clean them. Clay pizza stones also tend to be a little more fragile which means they can crack or break more easily.

Cordierite:

Pros: Cordierite is a type of rock which is very durable and resistant to thermal shock and it also retains heat well and bakes evenly.

Cons: Cordierite pizza stones take a while to heat up and are often very heavy.

Ceramic:

Pros: Ceramic pizza stones are often lightweight, can be cleaned with soap and water, and don't crack as easily.

Cons: Ceramic pizza stones don't retain heat well and can be more expensive.

Cast-iron:

Pros: Cast-iron pizza stones retain heat well and are also very durable.

Cons: Cast-iron pizza stones shouldn't be washed with soap and water which makes them harder to clean, they also tend to be a little on the heavy side.

Preheating Your Pizza Stone

Pizza stones need to be preheated to perform their best.

First of all it's important to put your pizza stone in the oven before the oven is hot to prevent thermal shock to the stone, which may cause the stone to crack or break.

Place the pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven then preheat your oven to around 500°F. Preheating times may vary depending on the material of your pizza stone, but as a general rule you'll want to preheat your pizza stone in the oven for at least 30 minutes.

Baking Your Pizza on Your Pizza Stone

Use the right cheese:

Avoid using low-fat or low-moisture cheeses, these cheeses tend to burn easily especially in the high temperatures needed when using a pizza stone. You may also want to cut your cheese into small chunks rather than shreds to help keep the cheese from burning.

Use room temperature dough:

Make sure your pizza dough is room temperature before placing it on the hot pizza stone, placing cold pizza dough on a hot stone can once again cause thermal shock which can damage your pizza stone.

Use a pizza peel:

A pizza peel is a large flat spatula-shaped tool used for transferring your pizza to and from your pizza stone.

Sprinkle a good amount of cornmeal on your pizza peel, this not only helps the pizza slide from the pizza peel to the pizza stone and back again, but also gives your crust that deliciously distinct flavor.

Stretch your pizza dough out on a separate work surface then transfer it to the pizza peel. At this point you need to work quickly, the longer you dough sits on the peel the better chance it has of sticking, Add on your sauce and toppings then transfer the pizza to the stone by making quick short jerking motions until the pizza slides off.

Keep an eye on your pizza:

You'll want to bake your pizza anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes depending on the temperature of your oven, the type of pizza stone your using, and your pizza toppings. You want the crust to be cooked through and crisp and the cheese just beginning to brown. Just keep an eye on your pizza.

Cleaning Your Pizza Stone

Some pizza stones are easier to clean than others. While ceramic pizza stones can be cleaned with soap and water, you'll want to use very little water and avoid soap all together on pizza stones made of clay, cast-iron, or cordierite. For these types of pizza stones try using a damp cloth to wipe the pizza stone and a thin spatula to scrape off any stuck on bits.