Have you ever wondered why your fresh homemade pizzas or bread does not have that unique pizzeria or bakery flavor? Answer, pizza stones, if you want to enjoy brick oven quality pizzas or baked goods without owning one, then a pizza stone is a cost effective option for pizza lovers and those who prefer at home baking.
The Secret to an Oven Fresh Home Made Pizza
One of the secrets in preparing delicious fresh homemade pizzas is a nice crisp crust. The metal baking pan or metal rack which is often used is not porous and cannot absorb moisture, because of this you are more likely to end up with a softer, maybe even soggy crust, so a pizza stone to the rescue.
What are Pizza Stones?
Pizza stones look like a griddle usually round but sometimes rectangular in shape and they come in different sizes, generally made with natural materials, with the most common being clay, marble, tile and firebrick. They are sold primarily as “unglazed” which stands to reason if they’re purpose is to absorb moisture while providing even heat.
The stone is placed on the middle rack, or on the bottom of the oven, preheated for 30 minutes or in some cases an hour before baking. High quality pizza stones are very dense and heavy and take some time to heat up. Fresh or frozen pizzas respond well to dense stones.
Three Hot Tips for Using Your Pizza Stone
If you use a natural gas oven, allow for at least one inch on each side of the stone, for air circulation, similar to what you would do when you are at home baking your homemade breads.
In addition, if you love at home baking and want your homemade fresh bread or pizzas evenly cooked and crispy, then go for a thicker stone, about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. The thicker the stone allows for more heat absorption, this also offers better distribution of heat to your pizzas for the optimum in uniform baking.
To consistently get the best performance from your pizza stone when you are at home baking, it needs to be cleaned. But because it is a porous material, it needs special care just as you would care for a marble or granite countertop or any other surface made from natural stone.
Always Put Pizza Stones In a Cold Oven.
A cold stone, regardless of type, placed in a hot oven, is likely to break because it cannot withstand the sudden temperature change. That is why it’s advisable that you put the pizza stone inside a cold oven before turning it on. This is important because it allows the stone to heat with the oven, thereby preventing thermal shock and possibly breakage.
Seasoning Your Stone
At home baking aficionados know this firsthand, seasoning your stone is very important. This prevents fresh dough-based goods from sticking on the surface of an unglazed natural stone; just rub a small amount of olive oil on the surface regularly.
So if at home baking and fresh homemade pizzas is your passion look into purchasing a pizza stone, one I like to use is at Amazon and you can find it here oven fresh homemade pizza stones.