Baking Stones are a Great Addition to the Oven

Baking stones are a great addition to the oven. Most people think the baking stone is just for baking pizza and bread but over the years we have known it could solve other kitchen problems. Just put the stone in the oven and let it heat up as the oven preheats. The stone retains the heat in it and distributes it evenly throughout the stone. If you love baking, then the baking stone will probably be one of your favourite tools in the kitchen. Elimination of hotspot is one of the greatest advantages of the baking stone. It has a heat retention capacity even when you open the oven door to check on your pizza.

Although it is generally referred to as a stone, the most common baking stones are actually made out of cordierite. There are a few factors that you need to consider when purchasing a baking stone.

Factors to Consider When Buying a Baking Stone.

Thickness: thick stones have lesser tendency to crack or break. You might be thinking that if the stone is thick, it won’t evenly distribute heat. That’s not the case of the baking stone because it will still heat up regardless of the thickness. Also known as pizza stones comes in a variety of thickness from 0.375inches to 1 inches thick. These thickness are the ones that are generally found in the everyday kitchen.

Size: the ideal size of a baking stone defers but it should be able to fit your oven perfectly only leaving as much as 1” space around it for air flow. If you buy a bigger baking stone that can’t fit, you could request a good tile shop to cut it to size for you. Although you can simply cut it yourself if you have a good tile saw.

Shape: many baking stones are round in shape especially the once used for pizza. But the best remains the rectangle-shaped stones. It is useful because it easily evens out hot spots and retains heat in the oven which it evenly distributes. Also, they cover more space in the oven so your pans won’t be suspended over the stone which can lead to hot spots or cold spots. Many pizza stones have handles that make it difficult to fit in especially if you have a small oven. So I recommend that you stay away from any stone that has a handle if you have a small oven. 

Storage: for everything you buy altogether, you have to look for a way to store them. Storing items properly is very important financially. But a baking stone has no such problems. Because you will be using it every time, there is no reason to take it out and store it elsewhere. Just leave it in the oven.