Pizza Stone -Cleaning

Just got a pizza stone and have been playing around makin' pizzas and things, Kitchen logistics prevent the use of a peel and in my eagerness to make a pizzarightnow! I improvised a few options before remembering that parchment paper exists...so it's gotten a bit grungy with very baked on cheese (also forgot to take it out of the oven for a few days so it's really baked on) . Question is what's best way to clean it? Will it absorb soap, do I just heat it again and chip away at the bits? or How about the color it is now kind of tan with splotches...does that count as seasoning?

(It's Oneida brand and came with limited instructions)

Aliwaks
  • Posted by: Aliwaks
  • April 4, 2013
  • 5254 views
  • 10 Comments

10 Comments

Aliwaks
Aliwaks April 4, 2013
Thank you all! My oven doesn't have a self cleaning cycle, but since I don't have room for it anywhere else I'll just keep it there! Great 2 problems solved!!!
 
cookbookchick
cookbookchick April 4, 2013
:-)
 
cookbookchick
cookbookchick April 4, 2013
Like Sam, I leave mine in the oven when I'm running the cleaning cycle -- maybe once a year. Just lean it at an angle against one oven wall after you take the racks out, taking care not to let it touch the heating element. It'll look like new! Then you can start again to add back the charm as you use it.
 
Sam1148
Sam1148 April 4, 2013
Leave it in the oven while you do a self-cleaning cycle. The big crusty bits will bake off into powder. Don't use water or cleaners or scrub pads---as cookbookchick says it's part of the charm of a well used stone.
 
Sam1148
Sam1148 April 4, 2013
Leave it in the oven while you do a self-cleaning cycle. The big crusty bits will bake off into powder. Don't use water or cleaners or scrub pads---as cookbookchick says it's part of the charm of a well used stone.
 
cookbookchick
cookbookchick April 4, 2013
*part
 
cookbookchick
cookbookchick April 4, 2013
I always leave mine in the oven. Supposedly it helps even out the heat when you're using the oven. But it is also way more convenient than storing it somewhere else. A well-used pizza stone will look discolored and blotchy -- prt of its charm!
 
irinaleibo
irinaleibo April 4, 2013
I use a BBQ wire grill brush and the scraper on the end. Takes most of the burnt cheese off.
Never ever use soap!
Cheers
irina
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames April 4, 2013
I'd even use my thin bladed metal bench scraper. You could also rub it down with some lightly dampened coarse salt. But don't worry too much about the grunge you can't get off. It will bake in and or come off by itself in time. (My stone is scary looking in that way. Just scary. But we love it anyway.) ;o)
 

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darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon April 4, 2013
Don't clean it with water, water will soak into the stone and cause it to snap when it's reheated. We never ever ever wash our stone, just brush it off with a dry cloth, or chip burnt cheese off with a plastic bench scraper.

We don't use parchment paper, either - I like using semolina and a pizza peel for our 'za. A parchment paper might keep cleanup easier though. ;)
 
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