phil.w – Member
Oddly, the pizza stone I have has instructions to say NOT to pre-heat it.
More than odd, it’s just plain wrong.

The whole point of a stone is to cook directly from the bottom and more importantly to maintain an even oven temp.

I know! I know! I have treble-checked it too. It definitely says not to heat it. And it isn’t a cheap one either apparently (it was a present so I don’t know how much).

I am doing pizza tonight so I am trying it pre-heated…

It definitely says not to heat it.

Time to name and shame. 🙂

I will when I get home – can’t remember the name of it right now

I think ours was from a “Pampered Chef” party. As mentioned, if you ignore the instructions and heat in a nuclear reactor, it’s okay. The instructions definitely state not to pre-heat.

This is the bloody thing.

EDIT: Info taken from their US site:
About Stoneware:
No preheating — just place food on Stoneware and cook. (Dense frozen foods like meat should be thawed first.)
Absorbs and retains heat for even baking and golden crusts.
Draws moisture away from food so it cooks light and crispy.
Virtually nonporous, so it doesn’t retain oils, odors or flavors.
Microwave-, freezer-, conventional and convection oven-safe.
Nonstick “seasoning” builds up with every use: the darker it looks, the better it cooks!

Yeah – that’s the big boy I have too.

So you have no problems with pre-heating?

We don’t use it any more. It was a big, heavy lump of a thing that used to get in the way – we have limited cupboard space.

I use something similar to the one joolsberger linked earlier. I think we got them from lakeland plastics. Better and cheaper (so we can have a couple on the go at once).

My garden pizza oven will be completed in early spring 😀

I bet you weirdos get dressed up in all the gear to make your pizza too!

Yeah. I also have a Honda C90 and go for a ride around the block with the pizza strapped to the back before delivering it to my wife.

😆

Pizza stone? Too much hassle. Pizza dough into a frying pan and cook the top with a blowtorch (a proper DIY one, not a chefs one). Flip base and cook the other side with blowtorch. Put on a bakin try, top with whatever you line and bake in an over for about 10 mins.

You know it’s stacked high enough with topping when the ‘hub’ of your Park PZT-2 gets cheese on it 😀

I like to be italian and retro so I dress like:

Pizza stone? Too much hassle. Pizza dough into a frying pan and cook the top with a blowtorch (a proper DIY one, not a chefs one). Flip base and cook the other side with blowtorch. Put on a bakin try, top with whatever you line and bake in an over for about 10 mins.

Like that’s *LESS* hassle?

Well from everything posted here, yes it sounds very much like it. Plus, using a blowtorch; what’s not to like?

Don’t understand the implication that it’s any hassle at all really.

Before you start rolling out your dough, put the stone in the oven and switch it on to max temp. When the oven light goes out you’re good to go.

What exactly is the problem here?

What exactly is the problem here?

The problem is that the manufacturers instructions tell you expressly not to do that.

As such, when following the manufacturers instructions, the resulting pizza is rubbish.

If you don’t follow the manufacturers instructions, the stone will explode and we all know what that means…. it could be a child’s face.

Here is a picture of a baby robin:

…oh and 😀

I’m sure the instructions that came with mine said not to whack it straight in a preheated oven when it’s cold (which is understandable), not that you shouldn’t preheat the stone in the oven…

I am digging out the blowtorch ! 😀

wait a sec… people actually remove the stone from the oven ? Mine lives in there; in find it helps with whatever I’m cooking…

I can confirm the blowtorch method works ! stone stayed in box.

with my usual 50:50 cornflour:plainflour water and splash of olive oil.

Today’s topping not so successful day old chilli ( probably needed cheese on top, but I forgot)

Pizza stones don’t work well as a domestic oven can’t get anywhere near the kind of heat required to cook proper pizza. Short of building a wood fired oven in your garden (like what I have!) then the following procedure is the best way to get proper pizza.

Make dough with ’00’ flour, you want it quite soft, raise it in oven at 40degree or bread proving setting.

Get a thick metal baking tray and place on a medium to high heat hob, preheat grill to a high heat, I use about 260degrees but it depends how far away your shelf is from the grill.

Roll dough out as thin as practicable and place on baking tray (polenta, semolina or flour scattered under it stops it sticking) add toppings as base cooks from the heat of the hob, once the base is cooked transfer to grill and cook till the toppings cook from above in the high heat of the grill. Gives absolutely fantastic pizza, miles better than any I ever managed with a pizza stone, thin and crispy.

I only discovered this method after I’d laid the base for my pizza oven, If I’d known about it earlier I wouldn’t have bothered with the oven!