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A pizza stone is a flat, circular cooking surface that’s ideal for cooking pizzas at home in a way that mimics the heat of a brick oven used in pizzerias. Pizza stones are usually made of a porous material, like cast iron, ceramic, or cordierite. Some higher-end versions are made of baking steel. Since they’re porous, knowing how to clean a pizza stone is key to making it last.
Pizza stones are excellent for baking pizzas at home, as they absorb heat easily. They also disperse that heat for long periods of time which results in even cooking. If you’re looking to achieve the perfect pizzeria-style crust, a pizza stone can amplify and disperse the heat of your oven. That kind of heat is what gives your pizza crust a crisp outer texture while still being chewy in the middle.
Learning how to clean a pizza stone is relatively easy. As long as you put in a little bit of care after each use, a well-made pizza stone can last years.
In order to make the most of your pizza stone, it’s important to know what type you have and how to clean that material properly. Be aware, anything you use to clean your pizza stone will be absorbed into the porous surface and can impact the flavor of your pizza.
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What You’ll Need to Clean a Pizza Stone
- Plastic spatula or plastic scraper
- Soft Cloth
- Water
- Pizza stone brush or cleaning brush
- Baking soda (only if you need to spot treat stains)
How to Clean a Pizza Stone
Take a spatula or scraper to remove any baked-on cheese or sauce.
- Lightly rinse your pizza stone with warm water, but do not submerge.
- For any stubborn stains, you can try spot treating with a baking soda paste and a brush.
- Rinse again as needed.
- Let the pizza stone sit out to air dry so it can dry slowly. Do not use the stone again until completely dry.
Do not use soap.
A word of caution: though it’s tempting to clean your pizza stone with soap, this isn’t recommended due to the porous nature of the material. A pizza stone will absorb particles of what’s put on it, so unless you want a soap flavor to your next pie, avoid soap for this job.
Knowing how to clean a pizza stone is easy; you’ll simply need a lightly abrasive cleaning tool, like a stone brush or scraper, and a cloth.
Related: 26 Kitchen Hacks That Will Make You a Better Cook
Clean the pizza stone while cool.
Sudden temperature changes can damage your pizza stone. If exposed to cooler water for cleaning before it has come back to room temperature, your stone could crack or warp.
So be sure to allow your pizza stone to completely cool before attempting to clean it.
Don’t soak the stone.
Often when we’re faced with a grimy dishwashing task, we’ll soak that sucker to help remove gunk. Fight this temptation with a pizza stone. Yes, we know you want to soften that baked on cheese, but don’t soak it. Again, a pizza stone is very porous and may not fully dry if it’s completely submerged.
In order to ensure even baking and a crispy crust for its next use, you’ll want to scrape off any stuck-on leftovers. Just lightly dampen and clean. Soaking to remove baked-on food can damage your pizza stone (seriously, we can’t say this enough).
To keep the integrity of your pizza stone, spot treat stains with a paste of baking soda and water, but only lightly dampen to clean.
Do you need to season a pizza stone?
Unless you’re cooking with a cast iron pizza stone, you do not need to season it with oil after cleaning.
However, If your pizza stone is made of cast iron, completely clean the stone and apply a thin layer of oil before putting it away. Other pizza stone materials like ceramic or baking steel do not need to be reseasoned before storing.
Removing stains from a pizza stone is a simple task.
Some staining on your pizza stone will happen over time, even with the best of care and spot treating. Your pizza stone is naturally porous, so over time it will have areas of discoloration. As long as you maintain your stone after each use, it will be safe to use. Stick with that baking soda paste to spot treat, and again, never fully submerge the stone in water.
