Pizza Stones

To make a decent NY style pizza or other styles of pizza, except Sicilian, a pizza stone is very helpful in helping to have a final product that is more like a pizzeria.  There are many kinds of pizza stones.  Some people buy Fibrament stones.  They are okay and fairly cheap. Many people use these stones, but many people find these stones do break after awhile.  Cheaper stones can crack very easily.  Some better Fibrament Stones are like these in this link. http://www.bakingstone.com/order.php  Much cheaper Fibrament pizza stones can be found.

Unglazed quarry tiles are very cheap and if you go this route, make sure to measure your oven to make sure you can fit the tiles in the oven.  I never baked on quarry tiles, so I am not sure how they bake, but others recommend quarry tiles for baking a pizza. A good pizza stone to use for baking pizza is Cordierite. They should a least be 3/4"-1" thick.  I started using a Cordierite baking stone when I starting making pizza at home.  They are very good pizza stones.  These can be purchased at the Web Restaurant Store, other places on the web or maybe nearer where you live.  http://www.webstaurantstore.com/   http://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/pizza%20stones.html

You can make your pizzas on a pizza screen like is pictured here, if you don’t want to first purchase a pizza stone, but if you are serious about making pizza, a pizza stone is better. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/fourth941/products/pizza-screens-regular.html Pizza

Pizza screens can also be used to start your pizza until it is set, and then transferred onto a pizza stone to finish baking.  This is the way I started out when making pizza.  I couldn’t get the pizza in the right shape by hand forming it.  I started by trying to open the dough on a screen and then when the pizza was set in the oven, took it off the screen with a metal pizza peel and placed it on the pizza stone. A pizza screen can also be used if you want a larger pizza than your stone is.  You can start the larger pizza on the screen and then transfer it onto the stone to finish baking.



I also make pizzas on firebricks on my propane gas BBQ grill and have tried soapstone.  Soapstone retains the heat for longer periods, but isn’t superior, in my opinion, unless you can get high temperatures in your home oven.  My home oven can only go to about 500-525.

I have found I like the Cordierite baking stone the best for my home oven use.  I have a 16" stone.
A deep-dish pizza pan doesn't need a pizza stone to bake the pizza.  You can use the deep-dish pan for Deep-Dish Sicilian, Deep-Dish Chicago or other pies.

Before I purchased a baking stone I mostly made Sicilian pizzas.  They are also good.

Norma

Picture of deep-dish pan, firebricks on BBQ grill, deep-dish pan, BBQ grill set-up and Cordierite stone