How to Clean a Pizza Stone

Pizza stones are infamously fragile. What’s the best way to clean one? Here’s how to clean a pizza stone without cracking it.

The key to the very best homemade pizza? A pizza stone. Yes, this flat stone is absolutely essential to making the perfect pie. Cooking the pizza on the preheated blazing hot stone gives the crust just the right texture: crispy on the bottom and chewy in the inside. Pizza stones are infamously fragile and can easily crack when handling them, so you have to know a bit about how to keep them in tip top shape. Here’s all about how to clean a pizza stone…the right way!

Fact: you actually don’t need to clean it regularly.

First things first. As a rule, you don’t need to clean your pizza stone. What? Yes, it’s actually better not to clean a pizza stone. Cooking pizza on it will season it. Over the course of use, you’ll notice black spots and stains. These are totally okay. Expect that a pizza stone will become discolored as you use it: a seasoned pizza stone is a good thing!

The only time you want to consider cleaning a pizza stone? Let’s say you have an accident and end up with large chunks of food on your pizza stone. At this point, you’ll want to clean off the larger pieces of food.

How to clean a pizza stone

With that in mind, here’s how to clean a pizza stone:

1. Assess whether the stone needs to be cleaned. Stains and discoloration will occur over time: a properly seasoned pizza stone has both. If there are large chunks of food you’d like to remove, go to Step 2.
2. Let the stone cool to room temperature. Then carefully remove it from the oven.
3. Use a blunt object to scrape off burned pieces of food. Use a spatula or plastic scraper that will be gentle on the pizza stone.
4. Wipe the stone down with a damp cloth. Do NOT use soap or oil, or submerge it in water. All it needs is a little wipe! The pizza stone is porous, so soap would absorbed into the stone and moisture would cause it to crack.
5. Let the stone dry completely before using it again, then place it in a room temp oven. Do NOT place a cold stone directly in a hot oven or it could crack.

And that’s it! Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

What’s the best pizza stone?

Looking for a pizza stone? Confession: Alex and I have gone through a few pizza stones in our day; we’ve cracked more than a few! We’ve now invested in one that’s a little more heavy duty. It’s more durable than most inexpensive stones, but still moderately priced. Here’s the one we think is the best: Old Stone Oven Round Pizza Stone.

ORDER IT! Round pizza stone $36

Why did my pizza stone crack?

It’s not uncommon that a pizza stone can crack! Since it’s made of ceramic, drastic changes in temperature can cause a fracture. Submerging the stone in water can weaken it if its not allowed to dry properly. Putting oil on a stone can also cause it to crack. How to avoid cracking your pizza stone? Here are a few tips:

• Keep your stone in the oven at all times. This way it will be in the oven for the preheat and cool down, and won’t undergo drastic temperature changes.
• Minimize handling. Moving the stone in and out of the oven can cause cracks. Do this as minimally as possible.
• Avoid submerging the stone in water or oiling it. Refer to “How to clean a pizza stone” above.

Some cheaper pizza stones aren’t designed to withstand very high temperatures. Check the specifications before you buy your stone (this pizza stone can withstand up to 2000 degrees!).

What if you follow all these directions and your stone still cracks? Don’t worry about it — you can actually still use a cracked stone! All you have to do is keep the two halves of the stone next to each other in the oven. Since you don’t need to ever take the stone out of the oven, it works the same whether it’s whole or broken!

Want more pizza recipes?

Now that you’ve learned how to clean a pizza stone, you’re ready to roll! Here are some of our favorite pizza recipes:

• Best Margherita Pizza Recipe
• Pesto Pizza
• Mushroom Pizza with Fresh Herbs
• Mediterranean Pizza
• Best Ever Taco Pizza
• Veggie Supreme Pizza
• Breakfast Pizza
• Perfect Neapolitan Pizza
• Spicy Vegetarian Diavola Pizza
• Loaded Mexican Pizza
• Artichoke & Cherry Tomato Pizza
• Best Anchovy Pizza
• Our Best Vegan Pizza
• Egg Pizza with Pecorino
• Easy Calzone Recipe
• Homemade Easy Pizza Sauce
• How to Make Thin Crust Pizza Dough
• KitchenAid Pizza Dough Recipe
• Best Pizza Stone & Best Pizza Oven
• All Homemade Pizza Recipes!