Pizza Stone

[emil]

I saw a website with a stone that was the size of a Weber kettle grate. About 22 inches. It was squared off on one side so you could open your grate up and put more fuel underneath. It even came with a chunk of would for smoke flavor. Can't seem to find it now.

Any other ideas for a GOOD pizza stone.

Also at what temp do you(can you) cook at? Some say such high temps.

Thanks

 

[mballi3011]

I have seen my share of pizza stones owning a few myself. I haven't seen any stone like the one you described. Have you tryied the weber company to see if they make a stone simlar to what your looking for.

 

[mossymo]

My wife is into cooking stones so this perked my interest, here is what I found on eBay - http://cgi.ebay.com/Pizza-Que-Fire-G...d=p3286.c0.m14 The thermometer mounted into it is pretty cool.

My wife has owned several stones and is stuck on Pampered Chef brand stones.

emil
I think this may be what you were posting about - http://www.acitydiscount.com/Old-Sto...ls-Accessories

 

[zopi]

I don't use a pizza stone...I make pizza on preheated cookie sheets..I toss the dough,
and make very thin crust, sauce it and bake mostly done at 400 or so, pull it out and top it, put it back in until the toppings are done...

I'd like to build a Neapolitan dome oven...can cook pies in about three or four minutes at 6-700 degrees...wood fired...

 

[tasunkawitko]

pizza pan/cookie sheet or pizza stone, it's all good in my book. i do prefer the crust that comes from a pizza stone.

we have an oneida pizza stone, but you can pic them up at most wal-marts for about 8 bucks. i intended to get some that were 18" square last time we were in great falls, but they had none at the time. home depot or lowe's can sell you un-glazed ceramic tiles for a ridiculously low price, and it's all the same stuff. any of these will work very well -

whatever you use, be sure to wash with water only (NO SOAP - EVER!) before you use it and let it dry completely, then season th first few times with a thin application of olive oil. never use soap to clean a pizza stone; your food will taste...well, soapy.

 

[jeffesonm]

You can also get unglazed quarry tiles from your local Home Depot or wherever... they are really cheap, like $.75/ea. Make sure they are unglazed. They should look this:

They work just as good as a baking stone and if one breaks, you can replace it on the cheap. Definitely preheat the oven for a while for best results.

 

[zapper]

don't hold me to it, but maybe sounds something like Big Green Egg would have

 

[deltadude]

The best stone you can buy is Cordierite Kiln Shelves, they come in various dimensions. You can buy them at pottery hobby stores, where they sell kilns and other accessories.

The one in the picture below cost $18 with tax, is 5/8 thick 15"x16", it can handle heat up to 2200 F.

As for care, do not wash, or season, if it needs cleaning use a damp clean
cloth and NO soap, if stuff is burned on, scrap or brush off, just like your bbq grill. If scraping doesn't work get your sander out and sand it down to the stone. When I bought this stone from a local store, the person helping me told me (after I told him what I was going to use it for) that many pizza restaurants buy these for replacement stones in their pizza ovens.



Your plan is to use in the weber, unfortunately the hinged grate idea isn't practical. You need lots of briquettes to get these babies up to heat, around 600 to 800 deg. You need to remove the stone and the grill to make this work properly.

I outlined and crossref a previous post about the procedures here.
One possible way around removing the grate, is to make a large funnel, that would fit perfect into the half round grate hinged opening. You would then need to have a heavy bend rod, to stick under the grate to spread the briquettes evenly. However read in my post where I found the best layout for the briquettes was ring on the outer edge.

 

[formerlyfatguy]

I've had several baking stones that I used with my ceramic cooker and most of them cracked. I used them as a barrier in the cooker.
I then bought a couple of Fibrament baking stones.
I use one in my now mostly unused ceramic and the other one is used in my house oven.
They are kind of pricey, but imho worth it.

 

[twinfallsid]

I use an 18" unglazed floor tile from Home Depot, it was about $4.00.

.

.

 

[rjnale]

I second (and third!) the unglazed quarry tile ideas. You can have tiles cut to fit if needed. I've been baking pizza in my oven, on my Weber gas grill and on a charcoal grill using these tiles for years! After shelling out big bucks for numerous "genuine" pizza stones and having them crack or break I switched to tiles. At $.79 a piece if they break it's a cheap fix! I think someone mentioned a long pre heat which is very true, but essential for success of a great crust. Also I have found it worth while to experiment with different dough formulas. They all have different results, like chewy w/ crispy exterior, thin airy and crispy.... Good luck!

 

[deltadude]

I haven't tried tile stones, but I do frequent other cooking forums and a common complaint is they will crack. But that is ok at the price to replace them.
Cordierite Kiln Shelves is designed to for the temperatures and much greater than necessary to cook pizza. In addition it properties are such that it holds heat longer than almost any other solution making it ideal for this application.
The only precaution necessary is to keep the stone from direct flames. When I dump my starter can of briquettes there is flames usually but they quickly disappear once the briquettes are spread out, but I have still had flames and put the cooking grate with the stone on, and so far no problems. But be cautious about flames. Pizza stones made of Cordierite and cordierite kiln shelves are essentially the same, so there are no unknown health hazards.

I have had my Cordierite 5/8 thick Kiln Shelf stone for over a year now, and have made over 50 pizzas of which about 25 were on the Weber kettle, and the rest in the oven. I always try to cook at over 500 deg.

Whatever you decide to use good luck.

 

[deltadude]

I haven't tried tile stones, but I do frequent other cooking forums and a common complaint is they will crack. But that is ok at the price to replace them.
Cordierite Kiln Shelves is designed to for the temperatures and much greater than necessary to cook pizza. In addition it properties are such that it holds heat longer than almost any other solution making it ideal for this application.
The only precaution necessary is to keep the stone from direct flames. When I dump my starter can of briquettes there is flames usually but they quickly disappear once the briquettes are spread out, but I have still had flames and put the cooking grate with the stone on, and so far no problems. But be cautious about flames. Pizza stones made of Cordierite and cordierite kiln shelves are essentially the same, so there are no unknown health hazards.

I have had my Cordierite 5/8 thick Kiln Shelf stone for over a year now, and have made over 50 pizzas of which about 25 were on the Weber kettle, and the rest in the oven. I always try to cook at over 500 deg.

Whatever you decide to use good luck.

 

[gofish]

Here is a shot of a Pampered Chef stone. I have it set on top of a diverter to keep it from direct flame conctact as stated above. The pizza is a pre made el cheapo kit and taste 10x better when cooked over hot coals. I like the idea about the kiln shelf ... I will be keeping an eye out for one.

Now if I could just make a good homemade dough! at least practicing is fun.