If you’ve been just throwing your pizzas straight onto the oven rack, shame on you. No offense, but you’re just doing yourself a major disservice and your pizza isn’t going to taste anything like what you’d expect to get out of a restaurant; and isn’t the whole point of cooking at home supposed to be to make food that’s as good as eating out?
One of the best all-time pizza stones is Emile Henry’s circular granite stone. It definitely makes for better pizza than you would get by just putting your pizza on a regular metal pan. From its smooth non-stick surface to the way it evenly cooks the entire pizza, and the fact that it cools down quickly, this pizza stone is a game-changer.
Whether you’re a pizza fanatic (like myself) or you just throw the occasional frozen pizza in the oven to accompany your football games, a pizza stone should be a staple in every kitchen. They’re designed to help create a crispy, evenly-cooked pizza by accurately dispersing the heat on the bottom of the pizza. They also provide a non-stick surface for the pizza to cook on and prevent cheese from dripping down on the coils and being a potential fire hazard.
I Appreciate The Thoughtful Design
If you go down to your local big-box store, you’ll probably find some type of pizza stone. Along with pizza peels (special spatulas for pizza), they’ve become fairly popular kitchen utensils. However, I’d rather have one Emile Henry stone than ten cheap pizza stones. The difference is just too great to ignore and Emile Henry puts a lot of thought and care into their legendary pizza stones. Here are some of the reasons I really enjoy mine.
It Has Handles
Pizza is one of the things that holds my family together, and I grew up using a pizza stone regularly in my family’s house. The one time that I forgot to use a stone and threw the pizza right into the oven was the last time. My pops took away my oven privileges for a whole month after I almost caused a fire from the cheese dripping!
One thing that none of my family’s pizza stones had, though, were handles. I can’t count how many times I almost dropped the stone or burned myself due to the complete lack of grip on most pizza stones.
The Emile Henry pizza stone has two curved, easy-to-hold handles on either side that make taking it in and out of the oven incredibly easy. Definitely a plus in my eyes.
Easy-To-Clean Glazed Surface
Unlike some of the cheaper stones I’ve used, the Emile Henry has a wonderfully glazed surface. Not only does this aid in the stone’s non-stick properties but it also makes it incredibly easy to clean. I’ve been able to clean any stain or crusted-on bread/cheese from my stone by using a warm, soapy washcloth. Avoid using wire brushes as these can break down the protective coating.
It Doubles As A Food Warmer
Although the manufacturer doesn’t exactly state this as a “primary use,” I’ve found that this pizza stone also serves as a great food-warming plate. For example, if I cook a pizza on it and leave it on the stone, then it’ll keep the pizza warm for an extra 15 minutes longer than it otherwise would have.
I’ve even used it several times to heat up other meals I’ve cooked! If I know it’s going to be a while before everybody sits down at the table, I just heat up the stone and place whatever casserole dishes I have on top of the warmed stove to keep them fresh and hot.
I’ve Used This Pizza Stone On My Charcoal Grill Before
My granite pizza stone fits into my small charcoal grill perfectly. Once, when my power went out and disabled my oven for two days, I was able to cook several pizzas on my charcoal grill by placing the stone on the metal rack over the coals. I’ve even made Indian naan bread on my stone before! Pretty nifty little solution, if I don’t say so myself.
How Does It Compare To A Pizza Steel?
You may have read some of my other articles discussing pizza steels. These “steels” serve the same function, but they’re regarded as more efficient. While I love my Dough-Joe steel, I don’t always feel like using the 24-pound chunk of metal (especially if my arms are tired). Additionally, the steel tends to result in a very crunch crust. So, if I have friends over who don’t like crispy pizza as much as I do, I always break out the pizza stones instead.