Basics of a Pizza Stone

As mentioned in my other post on pizza, using a pizza stone is a great way to increase your satisfaction with a homemade pizza. A pizza stone allows the crust to cook more evenly and to crisp the bottom of the pie. Here are some important tips to get the most out of your pizza stone:

• ALWAYS put your pizza stone in the oven while it is pre-heating. It allows the stone to get hot to maximize the pizza cooking and if a cold stone is put in a hot oven, it could shatter. 
• If you haven't used your pizza stone a lot, make sure to flour the surface! Once you have made a few pizzas, this won't be necessary because the stone soaks up any oil that comes off your pizza. But believe me, it's a buzz kill when you have a beautiful pizza ready to eat and you have to cannibalize it to get it off the pizza stone and it winds up being a pizza-flavored mess!
• Only wash your stone with WARM WATER. As mentioned above, the stone soaks things up including soap. Washing with just water doesn't always get it "clean" but once again, as mentioned above, the efficacy of your pizza stone actually increases as it soaks up all the pizza goodness. (So also goes without saying, no dishwasher as well)

This inexpensive Oneida pizza stone at Bed Bath & Beyond has been great for us. At $14.99, it's a bargain. 

Good luck with your future pizza endeavors!