A baking stone is a portable cooking surface used in baking. It may be made of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

or, more recently,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

. Food is put on the stone, which is then placed in an oven, though sometimes the stone is heated first. Baking stones are used much like

cookie sheet A cookie is a Baked goods, baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of Cooking oil, oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oa ...

s, but may absorb additional moisture for crispier food. A pizza stone is a baking stone designed for cooking pizza.

Overview

Due to the

thermal mass In building design, thermal mass is a property of the mass of a building that enables it to store heat and provide inertia against temperature fluctuations. It is sometimes known as the thermal flywheel effect. The thermal mass of heavy structura ...

of baking stones and the material's property as a poor heat conductor, food is less likely to burn when one uses a baking stone instead of

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

bakeware. Baking stones are a variation on hot stone cooking, which is one of the oldest cooking techniques known. Some cooks recommend sprinkling

corn meal Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...

or flour on the baking stone to prevent the crust from sticking or using

parchment paper Parchment paper, or vegetable parchment, is a cellulose-based composite that has been processed to give it additional properties like non-stickiness, grease resistance, and resistance to humidity. It is commonly used in baking as a disposable ...

atop the stone. Baking "stones" may be purchased as unglazed ceramic tiles, unglazed fired clay tiles and quarried tiles, from tile shops and

hardware stores Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, ...

. To prevent

fracturing Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

of the stone by

thermal shock Thermal shock is a type of rapidly transient mechanical load. By definition, it is a mechanical load caused by a rapid change of temperature of a certain point. It can be also extended to the case of a thermal gradient, which makes different pa ...

, some bakers place the baking stone in a cold oven and heat it over at least 45 minutes, then allow it to cool slowly inside the oven after switching it off. Because of the possibility of rapid temperature change, baking stones should not be left in an oven while it is in self cleaning mode. Baking stones can be cleaned with a dry brush or scouring pad followed by plain hot water. Because it is porous, a baking stone will absorb any fluid it contacts, including detergent. Use of any detergents may taint the stone, imparting the flavor of detergent to foods later cooked on the stone.

Pizza stone

When designed for cooking pizzas, a baking stone is often referred to as a pizza stone. Using a pizza stone more or less mimics the effects of cooking a pizza in a

masonry oven A masonry oven, colloquially known as a brick oven or stone oven, is an oven consisting of a baking chamber made of fireproof brick, concrete, stone, clay (clay oven), or cob (cob oven). Though traditionally wood-fired, coal-fired ovens were ...

. The

porous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

nature of the stone absorbs

moisture Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some commercial products. Moisture also refers to the amount of water vapo ...

, resulting in a crispier crust. Small pizza stones can be purchased to fit any conventional cooking oven or an enclosed barbecue-style grill. High-end ovens sometimes offer optional pizza stones that are specifically designed for each oven model and may include a specialized

heating element A heating element converts electrical energy into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element. Unlike the Peltier effect, this process is indepen ...

. In addition to

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

methods, a pizza stone can also be made out of metal.

Pizza / baking steel

A36 steel A36 steel is a common structural steel alloy utilized in the United States.''Steel Construction Manual'', 8th Edition, second revised edition, American Institute of Steel Construction, 1986, Ch. 1 pp. 1–5. The A36 (UNS K02600) standard was establ ...

plate usually long x wide x thick, It conducts heat better than stone, is safe to use under any broiler and on the grill, but gives off too much heat for bread, cookies, and croissants. It is carbon steel, so also heavier, needs to be pre-seasoned before use.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Food preparation utensils Cookware and bakeware Pizza Stone (material) de:Pizzastein

Overview

Pizza stone

Pizza / baking steel

See also

References