Choosing a Pizza Stone

If you’re going to make pizza at home, there is nothing like the crust finish that only come from using a pizza stone.  Years ago, I made homemade pizza by rolling out the dough and placing it in a lightly oiled pan.  A pizza stone is well worth buying.  After my first time using one, I never went back.

When a pizza stone is used properly, it mimics a hot pizzeria oven perfectly.  The key is to place it in the oven then preheating to the highest temperate it will go.  My oven goes to 525 F.   Although it’s not even close to the 700 F or so in a pizzeria, it works pretty well.  

When you lay the dough directly onto that hot stone, you’ll see that may start baking before you even get the oven door closed.  That is what’s going to give you the pizzeria-crust results.

When choosing a stone, you want one at least ¼ inch thick.  Any thinner and the dough will cool it down quickly instead of crisping up.

The one that I use is a little over ¼ inch thick and works great.  If you find one that’s thicker, that’s even better to stay hot for that beautiful crust.

Recommended Pizza Stone

I’ve tried a couple over the years and the one that I’ve been using for a while now may be found on Amazon. It’s a great price and comes with use and cleaning instructions; as well as a wooden peel, pizza cutter and parchment paper.

Get Your Pizza Stone

Pizza Dough Recipe

As for great pizza dough recipes, there are a lot out there.  King Arthur flour has an easy one that’s pretty good.  It uses “00” Pizza Flour, which is a bit pricier at the store, but is the “go to” standard for pizza dough.

King Arthur's Pizza Dough Recipe

Good luck!