I have used this stone 3 times and everytime the bottom of the pizza crust burns in just a few minutes before pizza is done. Any suggestions?
330825
First try taking the pizza out of the oven a few minutes early and see if it's done. If so, just use that time in the future, but you probably should check the accuracy of the temp of your oven to avoid similar problems with other cooking and baking. Use a decent quality oven thermometer and, per "Cooking for Geeks," put a spoonful of table sugar (sucrose) in a oven safe glass bowl into the oven, place it on a sheet of foil or a cookie sheet. Turn the oven on set to 350. Table sugar melts at 367 degrees F so if your oven hotter than the temp you set, the sugar may melt before it thinks it's at 350 and turns off. If so check the oven thermometer and subtract that number from 350. Subtract that same number from the temp you set when making pizza - or anything else, and you'll probably get better results. If the sugar doesn't melt after several minutes at 350 turn the oven up to 375 and the sugar should melt completely within 15 minutes or so, and you'd need to set your oven higher than the temp you actually want, but from what you describe I think that's unlikely. Ovens do "overshoot" the set temp by a few degrees (if it's a good quality oven), stop heating and cool to below that temp, then turn on again, but if your oven is starting to burn your pizza before it's properly cooked through it's probably too hot by more than a few degrees.
330826
If it's fresh dough and not reheated spread flour on some tin foil place your pizza dough on that make your pizza and place on stone. Cool for about 10 min then you should be able to slide the foil out from in between the stone and pizza. Comes out perfect every time
330827
You might try cornmeal on the stone, then your pizza. I do mostly sourdough bread but that seems to help.
330828
If you didn't try placing the stone on an upper shelf already, I'd try that first. If that's not helping, find out if your oven is accurately measuring temperature with an inexpensive oven thermometer. After that, I guess the next thing I'd do is just not heat the stone for as long and perhaps lower the oven temp. I used the uppermost placement of my shelf and it worked very well with both topping and crust getting done at the same time.
1909383
We do cut pizza right on the pan and haven't damaged it yet but now I can see how it might cause damage over time. Your question helped us! Thank you!
2057867
I have never pre-heated my stone as I roll out dough and assemble pizza on the stone. So far no problems with cracking.
1792750
It's probably not baked yet. Did you pre-heat the oven before you put in the pizza? A little bit of corn meal will help, however when properly heated and baked the pizza crust toasts on the stone surface and will not stick.
2079920
cooks, toasts, broils, etc. very evenly. I suggest a crisper pan or mesh for pizza. It gets very hot, I burned a couple of things at first, pay especial attention to direction to turn on/off button past 10 before setting desired time.
783855
We have not had that issue....I always warm the oven on the #1 setting. After the light goes off and the unit warms for roughly 10 minutes, I then turn the knob to #2 just before cooking a pizza. We had some issues the first time we used it and the pizza wasn't perfect but once we figured out our system, it has been perfect ever since. We just started pre-making pizzas when we are having people over and only cooking them half way earlier in the day and then finishing the cooking when we are ready to serve. They turn out great and you don't have the mess of preparation while you have guests. (Unless its a pizza party and some of the fun is having everyone prepare their own) We have not had that issue....I always warm the oven on the #1 setting. After the light goes off and the unit warms for roughly 10 minutes, I then turn the knob to #2 just before cooking a pizza. We had some issues the first time we used it and the pizza wasn't perfect but once we figured out our system, it has been perfect ever since. We just started pre-making pizzas when we are having people over and only cooking them half way earlier in the day and then finishing the cooking when we are ready to serve. They turn out great and you don't have the mess of preparation while you have guests.... » Read More We have not had that issue....I always warm the oven on the #1 setting. After the light goes off and the unit warms for roughly 10 minutes, I then turn the knob to #2 just before cooking a pizza. We had some issues the first time we used it and the pizza wasn't perfect but once we figured out our system, it has been perfect ever since. We just started pre-making pizzas when we are having people over and only cooking them half way earlier in the day and then finishing the cooking when we are ready to serve. They turn out great and you don't have the mess of preparation while you have guests. (Unless its a pizza party and some of the fun is having everyone prepare their own) « Show Less
738575
Did you preheat the stones? For pizza we put them in the oven for half an hour on the highest temp the oven will go to before baking. For bread I don't think you'd want to go that high, but you do want the stones fully heated. You can also use parchment paper (shape your bread loaf on the parchment and bake the loaf on the paper on top of the stones). If that doesn't help, maybe you need a different bread recipe.
1716781
It depends on the heat output of your burners. It takes about 10 minutes on a very strong burner (what I use) but probably longer on a less powerful one. Basically the stone has to heat up in order for the pizza to cook properly.
78009
Hi Margaret: I have not experienced or at least, noticed what you are seeing. It sounds as if you are getting some stone-on-stone abrasion with the granite. My set is currently at home in New Zealand and I am at my other home in France where I have a high-fired ceramic set, however, as soon as I return to New Zealand I will check mine and get back to you. I rinse mine under warm water, dry it and then rub a little olive oil into it rather than putting it into the dishwasher. Also, I use mine mostly for things like ginger, garlic and spices, adding a little olive oil for lubrication.
976938
Be careful not to make the crust too large. I make one that just fit the stone, not realizing that it would expand a bit when cooking. I would stick with 10" or less.
59961
My experience with pizza at home is that you want the stone as hot as possible so i've always heated them up about 30 minutes, on the grill and in the oven before I got this. The grill does seem to heat the box up to super hot temps quickly so I bet you can experiment and get away with shorter...
787939
dont try cooking pizza...too much direct heat from the top and not enough to do the crust properly...
488252
Our oven takes five minutes to preheat and I usually leave the stone in there while it's doing so. After the oven is preheated (5mins) I usually let the stone cook for 10-15 more mins (15-20mins total time) before I put something on it. Then after the item (pizza mostly) is scheduled to be pulled out, I instead Leave it in there for another 10 minutes or so (I use my best judgement for when it should come out instead of what the instructions say to do) Thus a 20 min pizza can take 50-60 mins to cook, but its worth the wait.
1792749
It's possible that your dough is too wet. It should be well floured before putting it on the hot stone. You can also sprinkle some flour on the stone as well. The flour will burn but it might help with easy removal. I had this problem the first time I used the pizza maker but after adjusting my dough, I have not had any difficulty removing the pizza. Good luck!
654612
According to Calf Pizza Stones, http://www.californiapizzastones.com/pizza/files/Conditioning-A-Pizza-Stone.php, "We do not recommend using any oil of any type. Simply wash your stone, NO SOAP. Pat dry and put in your oven. Turn your oven to 450 and bake your stone for 30 minutes let cool. Now our ready to bake!!!"
664845
The one i bought says to preheat at 450 for 15 minutes and slide the pizza on it. My pizza did not want to slide, so next time i will freeze my dough on another pan, put it on the hot stone and then the toppings. I really am pleased with this one. The last one broke due to my putting it on a burner that still had some heat!! My fault. Hope this helps.
1461058
I wash the stone in soapy water. I believe the "Pizza Stone" is actually ceramic. The food does not pick up the smell of the "Pizza Stone."