# My pizza stone broke **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207 "2011-10-10T18:24:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/1 "2011-10-10T18:24:28Z")
Last night, I fired up the grill and put the pizza stone on it in preparation for some delicious grill-cooked pizza. A few minutes later, I opened up the grill and found the stone cracked right in half down the middle. That was suprising and disapointing. I put it on before the grill heated up, so the stone would heat up with it and I’ve only had that stone for a few years as well. I assume that I didn’t do anything wrong. Right? Right? Anyway, so I guess I’m in the market for a new pizza stone now. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/2 "2011-10-10T18:39:06Z")
I’ve had 3 pizza stones through the years. The first lasted about 5 years, the second about 4 years. I am about a year into my third. Each cracked - one down the middle, one into 3 pieces. I look at it as the natural death throes of a pizza stone. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/3 "2011-10-10T18:41:16Z")
You should check out Lodge’s cast-iron pizza pans. I have one of these and, in my opinion, they work just as well, if not better, than pizza stones. You don’t have to worry about those suckers cracking. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/4 "2011-10-10T18:57:24Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I’ve had 3 pizza stones through the years. The first lasted about 5 years, the second about 4 years. I am about a year into my third. > > Each cracked - one down the middle, one into 3 pieces. I look at it as the natural death throes of a pizza stone. We’ve had for probably 4-5 and we only use it once every few months or so, but it sure did work great in the oven or on a grill. I just had one of those “What the f\*\*\* did I do to this thing?” moments, so I guess I’m glad yours broke, too. > [@pulykamell](#): > > You should check out Lodge’s cast-iron pizza pans. I have one of these and, in my opinion, they work just as well, if not better, than pizza stones. You don’t have to worry about those suckers cracking. I may have to look at those. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/5 "2011-10-10T19:12:28Z")
I had two pizza stones. Yup, both of them broke after a few years, too. Nonstick vented pizza pan, these days. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/6 "2011-10-10T19:25:30Z")
You may have heated it too fast, depending on how many BTUs your grill can throw and high you had it turned up. Even our elderly grill we just replaced would hit 350 in under 10 minutes, whereas our oven takes 10-15 to get there. Our new grill takes about 5 minutes. Heating a pizza stone in something like that wouldn’t be terribly different than just sticking it in a hot oven. Don’t bother buying another pizza stone, just get some unglazed terra cotta floor tile instead. Where you have to use four of them to fill the oven there’s a built-in expansion joint so they pretty much never crack unless you drop them. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/7 "2011-10-10T20:06:40Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > You may have heated it too fast, depending on how many BTUs your grill can throw and high you had it turned up. Even our elderly grill we just replaced would hit 350 in under 10 minutes, whereas our oven takes 10-15 to get there. Our new grill takes about 5 minutes. Heating a pizza stone in something like that wouldn’t be terribly different than just sticking it in a hot oven. > > Don’t bother buying another pizza stone, just get some unglazed terra cotta floor tile instead. Where you have to use four of them to fill the oven there’s a built-in expansion joint so they pretty much never crack unless you drop them. The cheap saltillo tile is definitely the way to go here. They can be had for about $2 or $3 for 12 inch square tiles at the home improvement store or get a box of ten for $15 and have a few extra if one breaks. I find the two of the tiles fits in the oven well. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/8 "2011-10-10T20:15:05Z")
I am intrigued. I have never had a grilled pizza. I am going to investigate. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/9 "2011-10-10T20:53:54Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I am intrigued. I have never had a grilled pizza. I am going to investigate. We always put the dough right on the grill, actually, no stone. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/10 "2011-10-10T21:23:05Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > We always put the dough right on the grill, actually, no stone. It’s not really “grilled” pizza if it’s made on the stone, IMO. I make pizza on a grill on a stone, but that’s because I can get much higher heat on a grill than in my oven. I don’t really notice much grilled flavor from this approach. Making it directly on the grill is what makes “grilled pizza” grilled to me. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/11 "2011-10-10T22:07:08Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > We always put the dough right on the grill, actually, no stone. Doesn’t the dough fall through? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/12 "2011-10-10T22:09:10Z")
It seems to firm up on the bottom pretty instantaneously at those temps. We oil it so it doens’t stick, and it works really well. I would have guessed that it would fall through but it doesn’t, for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/13 "2011-10-10T22:10:10Z")
But if you want a good approximation of a brick oven pizza, a stone is the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/14 "2011-10-10T22:13:19Z")
It never occurred to me to cook my pizza on the stone on the grill, but you’re right, it gets a lot hotter, and faster. I might have to give that a try. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/15 "2011-10-10T22:25:35Z")
There’s a “pizza, round or square” poll around here somewhere. You could truthfully answer “semi-circle”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/16 "2011-10-10T22:54:15Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Doesn’t the dough fall through? [Here’s a demonstration.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ3iv9il1Io) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/17 "2011-10-10T23:04:57Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > But if you want a good approximation of a brick oven pizza, a stone is the way to go. As I said above, I actually think the cast iron may be better. [Here’s a picture](http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs164.snc4/37560_473662753776_503153776_4616289_2238601_n.jpg) of one of my pizzas made on the cast iron pizza pan. [And here is the underside](http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs164.snc4/37560_473662763776_503153776_4616291_2439502_n.jpg). The crust is a bit thicker than I would have liked it, and I’ve gotten better and more supple results using 00 flour (that picture was with either AP or bread flour) but using the cast iron (heated up over a range burner, then put under a broiler), is the only way I’ve gotten that wonderful flecking and slight char on the underside. Even preheating my pizza stone in the oven at 500F for an hour, I haven’t been able to achieve that char. It seems you really need temps of at least 700-800F to get that effect. I do that by heating the cast iron over a burner at a medium to medium-high flame for about 10 minutes, cooking the pizza for two minutes on the range, then transferring it immediately into a hot preheated oven, or under a broiler to finish the top. It’s a two-step process because I don’t have an oven that could surround the pizza with an even 800F heat (like a brick oven.) The key to a brick oven pizza is getting really high heat all around the pizza at the same time, so it’s done in 60-90 seconds or so. For me, the above method is the closest I’ve been able to approximate it at home, although it’s still not the same. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/18 "2011-10-10T23:10:53Z")
Ooo yum, I may have to look into the cast iron pan. ---
**Author:** ![chaosshifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@chaosshifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaosshifter)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/19 "2011-10-11T13:28:19Z")
hmmm all this talk makes me interested in trying this. Is there a link to a spot on the forum on how to make the pizza and cook it in this style or can someone just message me a recipe? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207/20 "2011-10-11T14:24:41Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Doesn’t the dough fall through? No, gravity isn’t going to exert anything like the kind of pressure it takes to stretch out a pizza dough. Especially not in the small spaces on a grill and for the very limited time before the dough sets. You have to keep in mind, the dough for a pizza crust is relatively dry and really, _really_ elastic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-pizza-stone-broke/599207.md?page=2)