Let’s be clear about one thing. I thoroughly enjoy pizza. That moment of anticipation as it’s fresh cut, out of the over, and you go for that first bite… and then you have to let it cool for a minute as the tomato sauce has hit lava-like temperatures, and the cheese strings down to your chin creating a red noodle tattoo. Ahh pizza. Sure you can order it in, but there is something special about making it yourself, using any frickin ingredient you can imagine.
When making a pizza, it really is imperative to be using a pizza stone. They absorb moisture, they give you a perfectly crisp crust, and they can be heated to a ridiculous temperature without cracking or warping. But why stop with pizza? You can actually use these culinary bad boys in all sorts of ways.
Pizza stones can be used to cook anything you would put on a baking sheet or pan in the oven. They are exceptional at holding their heat and they draw moisture from what you’re cooking (think pesky ice crystals on that piece of frozen fish). They can be used for pastries, roasted vegetables, quesadillas, convenience foods, even potato chips and french fries!
You’re not even restricted to where you’re using them. Try cooking with them on the BBQ and you can have a BBQ’d pizza, some, fresh bread, whatever. One thing to note when cooking on the BBQ is to leave a 1 inch gap around the stone for more even cooking.
How about a giant cookie? The cookie dough is naturally thick so it won’t run off the stone, you can even decorate it for a dessert pizza.
Make sure you get a quality stone. You can get something from a big box store, but they are usually sub standard and crack. A good place to shop online is californiapizzastones.com. They have a variety of sizes, shapes, thicknesses, care tips and a guarantee against cracking. Round is rad. Square is fair. Industrial (1 inch thick) is bad ass. They even have a double crust pizza pan!
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