Make the best pizza ever on a cooking stone and here are 5 tips you should follow

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Pizza is good, but making your own pizza at home is even better. And when you're making pizza at home, there are a few ways to do it that will truly take your pizza pie to the next level. One of those ways is to use a pizza stone. Pizza stones turn your regular old oven into one that gives you the same effect of cooking pizza in a masonry oven.
The porous nature of a pizza stone absorbs moisture so that crust gets crispy every time; and it also perfectly distributes heat. But there's more to using a pizza stone than just throwing your pizza on top before putting it in the oven. And when used incorrectly it can crack, shatter, and you might be picking bits of pizza off it after it's completely stuck to the stone. Follow these tips and avoid all that so that you can put all your focus into enjoying that homemade pizza.
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1. Place the pizza stone into a cold oven
It can be tempting to just place your dough onto the pizza stone and then pile it high with toppings as you wait for the oven to preheat. But don't do it. When placing a cold pizza stone into a hot oven, it can experience thermal shock which can cause it to break or shatter, ruining your dinner and making a mess of your oven. Instead, place the pizza stone into a cold oven alone, and then let its temperature increase gradually as it heats along with the oven.
2. Oil it
Once the pizza stone is hot, brush some oil onto it. This can be done by pulling the whole rack out of the oven just enough so you can reach the entire stone without fear of burning your arm. You can't do this step before you place the pizza stone into the oven, as the oil will just cook, and possibly burn, into the stone. The oil will help prevent the pizza from sticking to the stone and as a bonus, the oil will help season the stone - especially when you do it time and time again as you make more pizzas!
3. Use a pizza paddle
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In addition to oiling your stone, using a pizza paddle is another tool that will help you easily get your pizza off the stone. You can use the pizza paddle to place your pizza onto the stone and more importantly, to take it off. Pulling the rack and stone out of the oven for the length of time it can take to get tricky raw dough onto it can also cause the stone to experience thermal shock, again cracking or shattering it. Using a wooden pizza paddle, just like they do at your local pizza joint, can greatly help with this and keep your pizza stone in tip-top shape.
4. Leave the stone in the oven
Again, you don't want to pull the pizza stone out too quickly as it can cause it to shatter. It needs to cool down gradually, just as it heated up gradually. After you've removed your pizza from the oven with the pizza paddle, leave the pizza stone in the oven, close the door, and turn the pizza off. Once the oven is completely cool, the pizza stone will be too. Then you can remove it and clean it.
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5. Know how to clean it
The best way to clean your pizza stone is to treat it like you would cast iron. Pizza stones are very porous which means that if you use any kind of soap on them, the stone will absorb it and possibly taint any food you cook on it in the future. Instead, scrape off stuck bits with a spatula and then just use a sponge and water to wash it. Don't let the pizza stone sit in the water for too long though. Again, if it absorbs too much water, it may crack the next time it's placed in the oven.
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