Any advice on pizza stones vs. pizza crispers?

[Native]

I have a crisper (pan with holes) now that does a decent job and I need to buy another. If a stone is better, please let me know. I have no experience with them. I'm one of those poor people who live in a culinary wasteland and have to do things like bake my own bread & cook everything from scratch just to get something that's palatable down my throat. Can't stand to eat all that frozen & boxed crap in the stores, much less what they pass off as produce & meat. I have to truck with coolers & bags of ice three counties away, just to get to a Whole Foods. I feel so sorry for myself!

[hippywife]

1. I've had great success

with both a pizza stone and a regular very old pizza pan. Better results I think than the crisper I have so I tend not to use it anymore.

I have a Pampered Chef stone which, based on a lot of what I've read, seems to be the best choice for a stone not because I'm a big PC enthusiast. I've read many reviews and most people seem to agree that they have the least tendency to break. The one I had previously only broke because I dropped something on it while it was sitting on the counter. I'd had it for several years and it was very nicely seasoned.

We don't buy packaged food, either. We live in a rural area outside Tulsa and while it's only about 45 minutes to WF, we don't have nearly the trek that you do. I do mostly all scratch cooking, with very few exceptions, because we don't trust the big ag corporate food manufactures and all the things they think pass for food.

[Tab]

2. Crispers are decent on frozen pizza, imo...

but for homemade, you need a stone. Actually I run two, one above and one below.

I also have to preheat the oven for a while. The oven may come up to temp quickly, but the stone doesn't. I usually give it 45 mins. May not be necessary, but that's what I do. The oven itself is at temp within 10 minutes, but the stone isn't.

Stones are pretty cheap. I have (had, 'cause it broke, need a new one) a stone for the bottom. Above I just used some ceramic tile I had to do the radiating heat downward.

I haven't had a lot of luck with crispers on homemade. As I said, they work fine for frozen, but that's about it, it seems.

Enjoy.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. The stone's good for other kinds of bread too.

The disadvantages to a stone are weight, having room to store it when not in use and as hippywife mentioned, breakage. We have a double oven and the stone lives in one of them so for us it's convenient. The SO makes pizza on it about once a month and the crusts are great. I use it for pita and naan because it helps them puff up quickly and produces a good crust.

[Tab]

4. I just leave it in the oven all the time

(except to clean it, of course). It sits on the bottom and radiates heat for whatever I cook, so it doesn't really hurt anything.

They tend to crack if you take a hot stone and put it in water, or a wet stone in a hot oven. They may crack ultimately anyway, but they're not a huge amount of money, considering how much use you get out of them before they might crack.

[hippywife]

5. Pictures of both

I do preheat my oven without the stone in it for the pizza and then bake for about 20-25 minutes at 425 about 10 minutes after the oven has reached temp. But not all ovens are the same so...

[Native]

6. Thanks everyone! I can't wait to try a stone.

You think I can use it for french bread too, or should I buy a pan for that?

[housewolf]

7. There's nothing better for baking artisan-style crusty bread or pizza than a stone

or bricks

For it to be really effective, you need to pre-heat it in a very hot oven (450 degrees or so) for at least 40 minutes. The stone absorbs and hold the heat, so you have a more consistent oven temperature (in a normal oven, the heat cycles on and off so it fluctuates throughout the backing cycle). When you place the dough on the hot stone, the heat from the stone causes rapid yeast activity, generating impressive oven spring and giving you a wonderful, crusty bread or pizza.

That said, I am biased against pricey pieces of ceramics marketed as "pizza stones" or "bread stones". A) They are kinda pricey and B) I've heard lots of complaints about them cracking and breaking. All you really need is a piece of unglaze quarry tile. You can buy 6" or 12" tiles at home improvement stores for a very low cost and they work just great, and they'll cut them for you if you need. Or a kiln shelf. Or even bricks (althought they tend to be kinda heavy). The key is "unglazed" - you don't want glazed tile of any sort. I've had a set of 6" quarry tiles that have lasted for years, that I paid maybe a quarter a piece for (I think they're about double that now - I use 6 at a time so my cost to replace all of them is about $3). When something spills on them, I run them through the self-clean cycle and they come out spotless. None have cracked or broken.

I encourage you to try it! It will take your pizza and bread baking to a whole new level.

And yes, they do work for French bread as well as other types of loaves, and no, you don't need a special pan for French bread. You might want a pan that's sort of shaped like a W for proofing your French loaves if your loaves have a tendency to spread out rather than up while proofing - it can be helpful but not necessary. I've used them for proofing bagguets and batards (long loaves), then remove them to place on the stones to bake.

[Native]

9. Wow - thanks for all the great information. Much appreciated.

[housewolf]

8. Oops. dupe... please delete

[AwakeAtLast]

10. I love my stone

It has so many other uses besides just pizza and makes everything I cook on it tastes great without burning.

[WhiteTara]

11. I love my stone

I use it for many things other than just pizza. I have both. I rarely use the crisper (thanks for letting me know what it's called!)