Pizza stones are perfect for making pizzas and rustic bread since they closely resemble the traditional way of baking in a stone fire or fire brick pizza oven. The hot stone crisps the dough’s bottom without overcooking the toppings or the dough’s top side. However, if the stone isn’t clean or the dough is extremely sticky, the baked food may stick.
Previously, I wrote about pizza sticking to pizza pans. However, in this article, we will be discussing everything you need to know about pizza sticking to the pizza stone.
Reasons Why Pizza Sticks?
Several factors might cause pizzas to stick to the Stone Baking stone. The major ones are mentioned below:
- The dough is too moist. We recommend using a proper pizza dough recipe, in which, the dough is neither too thin nor too thick.
- There’s a hole in your dough. The toppings will fall into the oven if your dough has a hole in it, causing the pizza to stick. Check this when your pizza is still warm on the stone.
- You’re attempting to lift the pizza too quickly. The bottom of the pizza will remain wet and stick to the pan/stone if you spin it too soon. Allow a few more seconds for the bottom of your pizza to crisp up.
If pizza is stuck, sometimes an air blow (a gentle one) below the surface of the pizza can also help in removing it from the stone/peel.
Steps to Help Save Pizza From Sticking
Below are the steps you can take to not let your pizza get stuck on a pizza stone.
Step 1: Clean the Stone to Prevent Pizza Sticking to The Pizza Stone
Maintain the cleanliness of the stone. Blackened pizza or bread crust stuck to the stone can cause the next pizza you’re about to bake, to bake right on top of the charred portions, thus “sticking” to the stone. The easiest method to avoid objects sticking to your stones is to keep them clean by washing them after each usage. But remember! Do not use soap to clean your pizza stone!
Step 2: Dust Some Flour
Dust your dough with a lot of flour. The flour can be any however, cornmeal flour is mostly recommended. Dust the outside of your pizza crust, bread loaf, or another dough-based item that you are baking directly on the stone with enough flour or cornmeal before placing it on the stone. The dry flour will work as a barrier between both the pizza bottom and the stone, not allowing them both to stick with each other. You must work quickly once your dough touches down on the peel. You just have a few minutes before the flour in your dough absorbs it and sticks to the metal peel.
Step 3: Preheat
Preheat the oven and bake according to the standard methods. Before baking, always warm the stone for at least 20-30 minutes. Pizzas should be baked at a temperature of 475 to 500 ℉. Use the temperature specified in your recipe for the dough.
Step 4: Transfer Pizza to The Pizza Stone Accordingly
To transfer the pizza to the hot stone, use a pizza peel, which is a long wooden paddle used to place the pizza in the oven and remove it. If you don’t have one, use either a cutting board or spatulas to slide the pizza from the counter onto the stone.
Step 5: Slide Something underneath Pizza
To loosen the pizza, bread, or baked item, slide something sharp such as dental floss under it. If the pizza or other item becomes stuck to the stone, loosen it by sliding dental floss under it all the way around. Any burned parts that are holding it down will be broken by the floss.
And that’s it, these are some of the steps you can apply to not allow your pizza from sticking onto the stone.
Note:
Take action right away! You don’t want your oven to lose too much heat by keeping the door open. However, you don’t want a metal peel to sit in a hot oven for too long. The heat from the oven can transfer to the aluminum peel, causing the pizza to begin cooking before it ever reaches the stone! This is another reason for stuck pizzas.
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