No more pizza stones…
Two weeks ago our pizza stone fell off its shelf and broke into several pieces.
Rather than spend $30 for a new stone, I found a cheaper approach: unglazed quarry tiles, available at my local Home Depot. I only needed 6 6″x6″ tiles for my oven — a grand total of $2.35.
Last night, they worked like a charm. See them in action.
A pizza stone, for those of you unfamiliar with the concept, is a large ceramic square or round which one preheats in an oven to simulate a traditional pizza cooking environment. By providing instant direct heat beneath your pizza, it cooks faster and gets a crispier crust. An absolute must for good homemade pizza. Put your stone/tiles in a 500-degree oven for 30 minutes to an hour before you cook your pizza. Unless you’re making deep-dish, put the raw pizza directly on the tiles.
I use an inverted Terra Cotta planter dish as a pizza stone. I was unable to find trhe unglazed quarry tiles when i went looking for them a while back.
I have a gas oven, so I put my quary tiles right on the floor of the oven, being careful not to block any vents. And that is where they stay, even when I am not making pizza. They don’t effect the oven’s performance and are great for reheating bread or pastries.
I wish to find a light, thin substitute for a pizza stone. I realize that a thin stone is not supposed to retain as much heat as a thick one, but I just purchased a Wisco pizza oven and a thick stone or tile is too heavy for my slide out tray on which I put my pizza.
Unglazed (quarry tiles) is the most important word here. Glaze may contain lead. Lead in your food and food handling implements can cause problems for you. No glaze = no lead = no lead problems.
While getting unglazed tile is a must, it doesn’t necessariyl guarantee lead free tiles. Some ceramic tiles are made from clays that might contain lead and are not food safe. Usually quarry tiles are OK, check the label - it should say lead-free unglazed tiles. If unsure contact the manufacturer of the tile.