Pizza Stone

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

In the market for a pizza stone, any suggestions? Nothing too price (sub $50 if possible).

Looking at a few on amazon,
Amazon.com" onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-14-Inch-16-Inch/dp/B0000E1FDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1244873894&sr=8-2” onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-4-Piece-Pizza-Stone-Set/dp/B0001SJGAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1244873894&sr=8-1” onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2

I picked one up for like $8 or so at Tuesday Morning. Unless you’re looking for super thick a terra cotta floor tile or any cheap pizza stone is pretty interchangeable as far as I can tell, and $25+ seems very pricey for what is essentially a piece of fired clay!

3

Charlie, no, no, and NO!
Get the Williams Sonoma . I love it. Its bigger than you may ever need, thick so it needs a long warm-up time but my pizzas are much better for it. I actually tried the others and all are deep in the dump.
A lifetime warrantee don’t hurt either…

Would I lie to you? [berserker.gif]

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku1242981/index.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Josh, but what a beautiful piece of fired clay it is…

4

[quote=“mike pobega”]Charlie, no, no, and NO!
Get the Williams Sonoma . I love it. Its bigger than you may ever need, thick so it needs a long warm-up time but my pizzas are much better for it. I actually tried the others and all are deep in the dump.
A lifetime warrantee don’t hurt either…

Would I lie to you? [berserker.gif]

Mike, I would much rather believe your suggestions on Cabernet and Pizza Stones than on Politics. [highfive.gif]

5

I bought one at Ross a while ago for about $7.
I also have a floor tile that I turn upside down. Unless you make pizza as often as Mr. Pobega, I’m not sure why would would need more than that.

6

This is also the one we have, and it has not seen use yet…

7

I’ve been using this one for over 5 years. Both of the previous two “stones” didn’t cut the mustard and eventually broke. This one gets very hot and stays hot.

Lodge cast iron.

8

Now that is a good idea. We’ve broken or exploded our last 3 pizza stones.

9

I use a Big Green Egg stone in my BGE. It is not really pretty now but I have had it up to 800-900 degrees, cooked lots of pizzas on it and it is still around in one piece. You can get them at local BGE dealer (be careful, you might end up joining the cult!)

10

Listen to Pobega. Seriously. Those thin round ones may seem like a great compromise for someone who doesn’t cook pizza often, but they are complete pieces of crap. They can’t handle minor thermal shock or moisture at all, and they crack quickly, long before they season at all. I’ve never had one last more than a few months. The thicker ones-- I got mine at Sur La Table but it’s the same as the one from W-S-- are under $40 and last many years. My current one cracked after six years of use, but only because of operator error. And even after several heatings to 550° and then back to room temp, that hairline fracture hasn’t ripped it apart. My previous one was 8 yrs old and in perfect shape when I moved to Portland from Los Angeles and inadvertantly left it behind in the oven!

11

Some floor tiles are not safe for cooking. I would investigate your options more Linda. Unglazed is what you would want.

The lifetime WS warrantee is key.

12

go to your local stone place that sells granite for counters and ask if they have scraps. You can probably find what you need and get them to cut it to size. Pretty cheap, holds heat, and it won’t break like a pizza stone

13

Welcome David T

14

hum I’ve been hearing a lot about going to buy a granite stone. There was a LA times article about “making your own pizza” oven which was just a bunch of bricks and rock. I wish I read this thread… 1 hour ago cause I just spent my giftcard (that worked at W&S and best buy) on a new GPS.

Mike, does the Pizza stone you linked me to work on the grill too?
I plan on doing artisan bread, cookies, maybe even some lean meat on it as well. Trying to figure out the uses since I only make pizza once every 2-3 weeks

15

Mike,

Nothing wrong with paying for aesthetics or for a thick stone that you can’t fine elsewhere. $20+ for a thin one that is readily found at discount places for <$10 doesn’t make sense to me though.

16

True Josh, but beyond aesthetics, the practicality of never paying for another stone is of more value to me. I had three thinner jobbies, all gone. The last one cracked in 3 pieces just from leaving the stove open too long after shut off.
For the same reason I purchased my Nespresso machine from W&S as well. Even after the 1 year warantee period ends, W&S will replace under thier generous lifetime warrantee period. Sometimes paying just a bit more is a good investment.

17

5 years later I still have one of my two el cheapie pizza stones… maybe I’m luckier than most? :slight_smile:

18

I had a great, cheap pizza stone from Chef Masters or something? that disappeared in my Boston-NYC move, but I only paid about $15 and it was solid. I now have a BGE stone which seems to hold up well to high heat but chipped on me fairly quickly. Mike’s stone is very pretty, but my stone is so black I could never imagine making scones on it now!

19

Thanks Mike!

Mostly a lurker!!

20

Mine is black/brown/grey and not very pretty any more.