Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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We love the versatility of this cast iron pan. You can bake pizzas, roast vegetables, sear meat, and more. Plus it's built to last a lifetime. Read More
By throwing in a pizza peel and wire carrying rack with purchase, Leifheit makes its excellent pizza stone an even better purchase. Read More
It's fantastic for pizzas, meats, and other foods that require high heat. It's not ideal for cookies and other items that need less intense heat. Read More
Grooves notched into the underside of this cordierite stone help it achieve consistent baking. It's heavy and clunky to move, though. Read More
This lightweight pizza stone for the oven or the grill is good for occasional use due to its mediocre heat distribution. Read More
Have you ever wondered how much of your yearly budget you dedicate towards corner slices, craggy Sicilian squares, and Neapolitan-style pies?
What if you could take the delivery guy off of speed dial by cooking pizza at home? The key is arming yourself with a pizza stone, a simple slab of ceramic (or cast iron, or steel), that magically absorbs every last degree of heat your home oven can muster, using it to blitz a circle of cheesy dough into a crackle-crusted, cornicione-spotted, restaurant-worthy pie.
These simple-to-use oven tools not only make good homemade pizza, but can be used for home-baked bread, too!
Like most cast iron products, the Lodge can transition seamlessly from oven to stovetop to grill to even a campfire.
Just as making great pizza takes practice, so too does learning to effectively and safely operate pizza stones. Leifheit takes away all the guesswork with an included pizza peel, which is an essential co-purchase if you’re considering getting a stone.
Steel transfers and retains heat well
Flame-proof; safe for broilers and grills
Heavy
Not ideal for lower temperature baking
Ample 14-by-16-inch surface area
Designed for consistent heat distribution
Heavy
No handles or rim
Safe for oven and grill
Lightweight
No handles or rims
Extremely effective at heat conduction
Retains heat well
Massively heavy at 23 pounds
Difficult to clean
While we tried to mimic the pizza parlor experience at home, conventional ovens don’t crank out the kind of heat that professional gas, charcoal, or brick ovens do. But stones are crafted to absorb and withstand the highest temps your oven can reach—generally 500-degrees—and transfer it directly to the pizza that’s placed on top, resulting in expertly-crisped crusts and evenly cooked ingredients in record times.
Stone or clay, largely, which are light in weight, attractive, and transfer heat evenly. But they can be hard to clean and are subject to cracking and breaking. There’s also cast iron, which is quick to heat and easy to clean. Then there’s steel, which is the best conductor of all and won’t crack or break. The issue is that it tends to be incredibly heavy, and difficult to maneuver when hot. Finding a stone that's already pre-seasoned will save you some steps getting started.
Stones are meant to season over time with continued use, which is why you shouldn’t need to do more than wipe yours with a damp cloth upon removing it from its packaging. Start your stone in a cold oven, as sudden temperature changes can cause the materials to crack or warp and let it heat to your desired temperature. It’s actually recommended to let it sit in the oven for 30 minutes to an hour even after reaching that temperature before coming into contact with the dough.
Pizza stones should never be cleaned with soap because they’re unglazed and porous. Once you let the stone cool completely (since temperature shifts can cause cracking), wipe as much residue off as you can with a damp cloth, using a stiff brush if needed to scrape away any cooked-on food. The same process applies for steel and cast ironstones, although you’ll want to make extra sure you dry them immediately, as remaining moisture can cause rust.
Sarah Zorn
Contributor
Sarah Zorn is a food writer, cookbook author, and product tester for Reviewed, Wirecutter and the Food Network. She regularly contributes to outlets such as Saveur, Esquire, and Civil Eats, and has very much passed her food obsessions down, as her beloved rescue hound, Rowdy, regularly deglazes his kibble bowl.
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