How to Clean a Pizza Stone: A pizza stone is a portable, circular cooking slab, mainly made of ceramic or stone. This specialized cooking tool has a porous surface to eliminate moisture from the mixture and allows you to get more crispy crust in your pizza. It also heats evenly throughout the pizza dough and delivers perfect baking temperature.
If you’re a pizza lover, you may already invest in a pizza stone for grill. You don’t usually need to clean it, but if you find yourself in a situation where you have to clean it, make sure that you follow the right method.
Soaking the stone in water or using dish soap can completely ruin your pizza stone. Instead, you can use some simple techniques that won’t damage the stone.
We’re going to share with you a couple of methods below. You only make sure that your pizza stone is completely cool before cleaning. A sudden change in temperature could crack the stone forever.
How to Clean a Pizza Stone
Every time you’re going to clean your pizza stone, you have to make sure that the stone is completely cool. If you wash it in cold water while it’s still hot, it could break or crack. However, we’ve provided you with a couple of methods of cleaning a pizza stone below.
Method 1 – Washing Your Stone By Hand
You’ll need:
- Stone brush or plastic spatula
- A damp cloth
- Water
Brush Stuck-on Food with a Blunt Tool
You can use a plastic spatula or stone brush to remove any food residue from the pizza stone. If you use a metal spatula, it could put scratches on the surface of your stone.
Don’t Use Soap on Your Pizza Stone
You may think that cleaning your stone with soap is natural, but this can damage your stone forever. As pizza stones are usually porous, if you use soap and it gets inside of its pores, your food will taste like soap.
Wipe Your Pizza Stone with a Damp Cloth
Use warm water to damp a rag and wipe the pizza stone with it. Wipe any leftover food that you’ve already scraped from the stone.
Soak Your Pizza Stone in Water
Stuck-on food may need to be soaked so that it can be soft, and you can easily remove it. To do this, soak the stone overnight and keep scraping until any food residue is got rid of.
Allow Your Stone to Dry Completely
Remember that your pizza stone will absorb a lot of water. So, allow it to dry completely, at least for a week. Although it looks dry, it has quite a bit of water in it. Otherwise, it could crack when you put it in the oven at a high temperature.
Don’t Put Any Oil on the Stone
When you’re cooking something on your pizza stone for the oven, any oil or fat can cause it to smoke. If you want to create a nonstick surface on your stone, use cornmeal on its surface.
Method 2: Cleaning Your Stone with Baking Soda
You’ll need:
- Plastic spatula
- A soft, damp cloth
- Baking soda
- Water
- Stone brush or toothbrush
Mix Equal Portion of Baking Soda with Warm Water
Baking soda is one of the safest cleaners of your pizza stone. Start the process by mixing 1 tbsp of baking soda with an equal amount of water to make a paste. Use the solution to the burned areas or on the leftover food after scraping them with a plastic spatula.
Scrape Burned Areas with a Plastic Spatula
Use a plastic spatula to remove stuck-on food or any melty cheese. You should gently scrape them because you could crack your stone over time. Avoid using a knife or a metal spatula not to put any scratch on the surface.
Scrub the Mixture on the Surface with a Brush
Now, you need to apply a small amount of paste to the burned areas and use a toothbrush or a stone brush to scrub them in a circular motion. Clean the spots until the problem areas are completely removed.
Wipe the Stone with a Damp Cloth
Once you’ve scrubbed your stone, wipe it with a soft, damp cloth so that there are no food particles on it. If you’re not satisfied after rechecking the problem areas, repeat the process from the beginning.
Let the Stone Thoroughly Dry
As your pizza stone absorbs more moisture, only wiping it with a dry cloth is not enough. Let the stone dry completely for at least 2 hours before further use. Keep in mind that any remaining moisture can damage it for good.
Conclusion
If you still notice a chunky bit of food in your pizza stone, place it in the oven at a temperature of 500-degree Fahrenheit. After that, allow the stone to cook for about 50 to 60 minutes. Hopefully, you can cook off the leftover food and clean it thoroughly.