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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 is cooking it on a pizza stone. Yes, this flat stone is essential to the perfect pie! Cooking pizza on a blazing hot stone gives the crust just the right texture—crispy on the bottom and chewy in the inside.
We’re two cookbook authors with a passion for homemade pizza, and we’ve been using pizza stones for years. However, pizza stones are infamously fragile and can easily crack when handling them, so it’s important to know the best way to handle them. Here’s all about how to clean a pizza stone—the right way!
Regular cleaning isn’t necessary
As a rule, you don’t need to clean your pizza stone. It’s actually better not to clean it! Cooking pizza on the stone will season it. Over the course of use, you’ll notice black spots and stains, which are absolutely okay. Expect that a pizza stone will become discolored as you use it: a seasoned stone is a good thing!
When should you consider cleaning a pizza stone? If you end end up with big chunks of food on your pizza stone, 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:
- 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.
- Let the stone cool to room temperature. After cooling, carefully remove it from the oven.
- 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.
- Wipe the stone down with a damp cloth. Do not use soap or oil, or submerge it in water. The pizza stone is porous, so soap would absorbed into the stone and moisture could cause it to crack.
- Let the stone dry completely before using it again, then place it in a room temp oven. Never place a cold stone directly in a hot oven or it can crack.
And that’s it! Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
What’s the best pizza stone?
Confession: Alex and I have gone through a few pizza stones in our day, and we’ve cracked more than a few! We’ve now invested in a stone 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: Round Pizza Stone.
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. See the “How to clean” section 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°F).
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 take the stone out of the oven, it works the same whether it’s whole or broken!
More pizza recipes
Here are a few of our favorite pizza recipes:
- Make our Margherita Pizza or Neapolitan Pizza Recipe
- Go for our top Pizza Dough and Pizza Sauce
- Try these 35 Great Pizza Recipes or 25 Popular Pizza Toppings
- Make our Burrata Pizza, Mushroom Pizza, Cheese Pizza, Avocado Pizza, Taco Pizza, or Pizza Bianca
My pizza stone have a lot of dArk burn spots after my first try , i removed all remaining food but still black spots as it is :( i made it with baking soda but nothing change so is there a way to clean it ? Does thhis black area will impact tgr cooking next time ? What do u recommend ?
Hi! As long as it’s scrubbed off well, the blackening won’t hurt anything and is part of the normal aging of the stone.