Pizza Stone Cracked After Cooling on Countertop...

[lilbuddypizza]

May I ask where you bought a stone as big as your oven rack? That sounds great...and by the way, I went to Home Depot and asked for unglazed quarry tile and they looked at me like I was crazy...I tucked my tail walked out, went to Lowes and got the same reaction....................HELP

I live in Chicago and you'd think it would be easier to get U. Q. T.
Most places knew what I was talking about, but had to order it special, and if they would, they weren't happy when I told them I only needed a few.
The one I have now was from a pizza place that I go to. I was discussing the pain of having a round 12" stone, and the owner told me that he had two stones that came in damaged. Although the company replaced them, they didn't want the damaged tiles back, so he gave one to me. It has a corner missing (about 2x2x3 inches). It fits exactly onto my rack in my oven, and now I can make huge pizzas. I would imagine it would cost anywhere from $50-90, but I am not sure. Try a pizza equip. supplier.

[buzz]

You might want to give baking on the bare rack a shot--I have used this technique for excellent results!

[iceman3876]

You might want to give baking on the bare rack a shot--I have used this technique for excellent results!

Buzz

Doesnt the pie droop and make a bonefide mess? Sounds like an idea..I've just never thought about it...But I will try it....

[buzz]

No it doesn't, which surprised me quite a bit! But to clarify, I have been par-baking the thin crust, and it works like a charm!

Give it a try and see what happens.

[iceman3876]

No it doesn't, which surprised me quite a bit! But to clarify, I have been par-baking the thin crust, and it works like a charm!

Give it a try and see what happens.

I'm going give it a try...I just hope my wife doesnt scream when I put that thing in the oven...she may need minoxidil after this episode

[Pete-zza]

buzz,

Are you referring to your use of the Hamilton Beach countertop convection oven?

I haven't done much experimenting using just the racks in my home oven, but when I was playing around recently with making take-n-bake pies, which were placed on parchment paper, one of the pies did droop at one edge and fall between the openings in the rack. The next time, I used a drier dough and a larger piece of parchment paper and I had no problem with it. Both pies were 16 inches. A smaller pie might be safer, with or without parchment paper, and especially if the crust is pre-baked since the crust will not be burdened with toppings at the outset.

Peter

[buzz]

It works on the countertop and in the gas oven (I make a 10-12-inch pizza)--I suppose if you have really large gaps in your racks, you would have a problem! I think the trick, though, is to par-bake--as you said, with all the toppins on it, it would weight the raw dough down and make it sag.

[tommy]

Iceman3876,

I also have 6" x 6" unglazed quarry tiles that I bought from Home Depot. I believe they are also the Mayflower model. In my case, the UPC on the tile's edge is 724764845010. Photos (front and back) are presented below.

Peter

i finally found them at Home Depot with the help of this post and the UPC number.  thanks pete-zza! they were 1.49 each, but the whole box of about 24 came to 10 bucks.

don't be like me and get all excited and almost buy the ones with the bullnose.  their UPC ends in 5040.

[Davydd]

The unglazed terra cotta tiles are hit or miss at Home Depots. They are used mostly in commercial kitchens and not homes so come in sporadically. Lowes has the 8" x 8" tiles which make more sense to me since four will give you a 16" x 16" surface to bake on. My oven is not deep enough to put three 6" x 6" tiles in so I would be limited to a 12" deep surface.  If you can't find the tiles in either place consider going to a commercial tile distributor. They should have them.

Never, never clean a stone with water. Stones are porous and water will seep in and increase the chances of cracking. Leave the stone in the oven at all times to reduce thermal shock. You may have to brush the surface to remove flour. If you have spills let them burn and then scrape them off with a putty knife. If you don't like a black spotted dirty stone leave it in the oven and turn on self-cleaning. My stone cleans right up that way.