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A baking stone is a portable cooking surface used in
A baking stone is a portable cooking surface used in baking
Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...
. It may be made of ceramic, stone or, more recently, salt. 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 sheets, 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 of baking stones and the material's property as a poor heat conductor,food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
is less likely to burn when one uses a baking stone instead of metal or glass
Glass is a non-Crystallinity, crystalline, often transparency and translucency, transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most ...
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 or flour on the baking stone to prevent the crust from sticking or using parchment paper atop the stone. Baking "stones" may be purchased as unglazed ceramic tiles
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
, unglazed fired clay tiles and quarried tiles, from tile shops and hardware stores.
To prevent fracturing 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
Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated t ...
. Because it is porous, a baking stone will absorb any fluid
In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (''flows'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any shea ...
it contacts, including detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are m ...
. 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. The porous nature of the stone absorbsmoisture
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 independe ...
. 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 ...
methods, a pizza stone can also be made out of metal.
Pizza / baking steel
A36 steel 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.See also
* Earth oven – underground ovens * Masonry oven – colloquially known as a brick oven or stone ovenReferences
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