A pizza stone is a usually thick, large piece of stoneware that is often used for bread and pizza baking. When specially designed for cooking pizzas, it is often referred to as a pizza stone. The pizza stones are simple to use and make baking quite enjoyable. They are an invaluable piece of equipment for cooking bread, pizza and even cookies. Using a pizza stone has a number of benefits. These benefits include the following:
Crispy Crust
The biggest benefit and best reason for using a pizza stone is the crispy crust it gives your pizza. They usually make for an evenly cooked pizza and a crispy crust. It even makes the moisture gets drawn out of the dough rather than steaming it. A properly seasoned stone will give your pizza a bit of the charred flavor as well.
A Fantastic Presentation
Pizza stones will without a doubt help you give an impressive presentation. This is especially true if you tend to have guests in the kitchen while cooking. Your spectators will be impressed by the opportunity of getting to watch the process of preparing and baking the pizza on a stone.
Thinner Healthier Pizza
A pizza stone will not only give you a crispy crust but also a thinner and healthier pizza. One which you can slide onto the stone without any incident. These thinner pizzas emphasize quality over quantity. With a thinner crust and lesser toppings, a homemade pizza baked on this stone will give you just the perfect taste.
This stone can also be used for cooking foods other than pizza. Foods such as bread, cookies and even vegetables can all be cooked using a baking stone. Baking bread on a stone will help give your bread a crispy crust and large volume. The same applies to cookies and vegetables. When making your cookies, one is advised to buy and use a specialty cookie sheet for baking stones that come with lips so that the cookie dough doesn’t drip off the stone.
They are Affordable
It’s important to point out that overall pizza stones are not very expensive pieces of equipment for the home kitchen. Depending on the size, model, and shape, most of them range from as low as under around 20 dollars up. You can choose to buy online or shop for one at your nearest retail center. However, before buying one, it is important to know the best brands available in the market. You don’t want to buy a stone that is going to get ruined as soon as your first baking experience with it is over.
A significant concern to make before including a pizza stone to your next shopping list is your oven’s size- the inner baking chamber. Buying a pizza stone that is bigger than your home oven would mean having to discard or put it in the store as it will not serve its purpose. Also, if the stone is very big, it translates to smaller-sized sections and high costs of operating your oven. Once you know the inner dimensions of your oven’s cooking area, you can buy the right-sized pizza stone.