Patience is essential. However, when your oven dings announcing a baked pizza, you can’t think of anything else than to cut and serve the freshly baked pizza on a pizza stone.
But pause; can you use a pizza cutter on a pizza stone?
Pizza cutters can work on any surface, even stone, but you should not use a pizza cutter on a stone after baking. You may cut straight on the hot stone, or the heat can damage the cutter’s blade. Besides, the stone can lose its longevity. So, transfer pizzas to a cool surface before cutting.
Remember, if you rush, you will be sorry for your stone or cutter later.
Learn more about the precautions of using a cutter on a stone, the ways of using a pizza stone, caring tips, and much more.
Can You Use A Pizza Cutter On A Pizza Stone?
The pizza stone is excellent for baking, but should we use the pizza cutter on it? Well, the answer is: not recommended.
The pizza cutter can work easily on the pizza stone or any other surface. But that doesn’t mean you should use it.
While the pizza stone might be strong enough to handle the heat and the sharpness of the cutter, it can damage from cutting. Too much hot or cold can ruin the stone’s surface.
Besides, using your pizza cutter over the hot pizza stone may damage the blade.
So what can you do?
Simply transfer the pizza to a cool place, or let the pizza cool down before cutting. The heat from the food can also melt the cutter’s blades.
Before cutting on the stone, you can use parchment paper, a cookie sheet, a baking sheet, or any other plate for pizzas. The stone would, nevertheless, offer a smooth surface for easily making pizza slices.
Using a Pizza Stone
But why do you need to use a pizza stone for baking pizzas particularly?
The grill or conventional oven we use to bake pizzas aren’t well-equipped to offer a properly baked pizza. The heat is insufficient for the soft and crispy texture. Or the pizza can come out undercooked or overcooked. The pizza takes longer to cook and can also sometimes come out soggy.
Hence, a pizza stone can solve these problems, giving a perfect pizza.
It has a high-temperature capacity to cook pizzas thoroughly, resulting in a perfectly baked pizza. The material is a composite ceramic for tolerating high heat. Like cast iron, they will retain heat for longer to keep the pizza warm after baking. The flavors are also intact.
Now you might be wondering – should you cut pizza on a pizza stone?
The thing is, it depends. You can either cut on the stone or transfer the pizza to a different surface. But for cutting on stones, ensure that the surface is properly greased and cool, at least to room temperature.
How To Transfer a Pizza Onto A Pizza Stone?
If you want to use a pizza stone, use it the right way.
Take a metal spatula to place the prepared pizza crust on the stone. You can also use a pizza peel or a rimless baking sheet to smoothly and carefully transfer pizzas.
But ensure to preheat the stone to the right temperature before placing the pizza.
1. Pizza Stone and Pizza Peel
In most cases, a pizza peel and a pizza stone work in pairs. So, if you have both for baking pizzas, you will have a better outcome.
The pizza peel is used to place the pizza into the hot oven without burning it. It also ensures that the pizza is properly cooked.
A pizza stone gets too hot from the oven to handle with our hands, even with oven mitts. So, using the pizza peel comes to the rescue.
Use a little cornmeal or flour before keeping the prepared crust on the peel. Now toss it a little to transfer the pizza onto the pizza stone inside the oven.
2. Can a Pizza Stone Bake Frozen Pizzas?
Pizza stones can also bake frozen pizzas. But it works better for large and thick crusts as they thaw better.
Preheat your pizza stone to place the thawed pizza with some toppings. Your pizza will be cooked within 15 to 20 minutes, starting from preheating.
Don’t use oil or water on the stone to remove stains and moisture. In addition, observe the pizza while it bakes.
What to Do if the Pizza Sticks to the Pizza Stone?
Sometimes, when cutting pizzas on the stone, you might find them stuck on the surface. It usually happens if the stone isn’t preheated well or there isn’t enough grease. But don’t try to add oil to remove the pizza.
When the pizza is stuck, let it cool first. First, shake it carefully so it can shimmy down from the stone. Otherwise, use a little cornmeal or semolina flour to make the crust unstick. Then you can use a pizza peel or a spatula to remove the pizza slowly.
Advantages of Using a Pizza Stone
The pizza stone differs from other pans due to its various benefits.
- It can easily absorb heat and moisture for a uniform heat distribution for the pizza.
- As moisture is removed, the pizza doesn’t burn or remain undercooked, rather helps the crust to dry.
- It works perfectly for any pizza size and other baked foods like cookies, muffins, etc.
- The pizza also has a nice texture with a soft interior and slightly crispy, golden-brown edges.
- It can offer the same baking experience as traditional fired-wood ovens.
How to Clean a Pizza Stone?
After use, you need to clean your pizza stone thoroughly.
- Before thoroughly cleaning a pizza stone, remove the debris using a metal spatula or a brush.
- Now, add warm water to the stone and keep it for some time to float stains and food particles.
- Use a washcloth to remove these particles and rinse the stone well.
- Let it air dry well for at least 24 hours before using it again. You can also dry it using the grill or oven.
- Now, store it inside the oven for better heat retention.
While cleaning, don’t force on removing oils much. The oil actually makes the surface smoother and shinier over time.
In addition, never use any dishwasher or soap for cleaning pizza stones. Furthermore, be careful not to let the stone absorb too much water during cleaning. Water can crack the surface.
Tips to Maintain a Pizza Stone
Besides cleaning, you must also handle and store your pizza stone well to use it for a long time.
- Firstly, don’t overdo your caring for the pizza stones.
- Store them on the lowest rack of the oven.
- Never try to wash with cleaners or oil the pizza stone.
- Use a consistent temperature for preheating or even baking pizzas.
- Try to cook with the stone in the middle rack.
- Never place a cold pizza on top of the stone.
- Let the heat from the stone warm the oven’s inside.
Why Should You Use a Pizza Cutter? The Features
Ignoring the sharpness of a kitchen knife, why do you stick to using a pizza cutter? The reasons are countless. Since this is circular or curved with a handle, it can perfectly slice pizzas and other baked goods without dispersing the toppings.
1. Smooth Cutting
The cutter is easy to hold and quickly cuts pizzas into soft or crisp slices. The toppings, even if loaded, will remain intact on the crust. So, everyone gets a fair share of toppings.
2. Durable Materials
These cutters have high-carbon stainless steel for the blade. So the blades are adequately sharp and sturdy.
One cutter can last for a long time. After use, you can easily clean the cutter and remove harmful germs. The handle can also be made of steel or sometimes wood.
3. Comfortable and Good Grip
The handle is firmly attached to the blade regardless of the material, so it’s easy to hold. It fits perfectly to any user’s hands for cutting without any issue. You won’t have problems losing balance.
4. Different Designs
You can choose from a range of designs to suit your needs. This even includes the sharpness of the blade. But the basic design is the same, a cutter with a handle. The shape is either circular or curved. The wheeled ones are commonly used due to their convenience.
5. Safe to Use
Lastly, a sharp object like this is safe to use. The handles have a designed casing, so you don’t have any accidents while cutting. The cutter will smoothly and effectively run through the pizza without much effort.
Can You Use Pizza Cutting Board?
Perhaps the best surface to cut pizza is a cutting board. It has no issue with the pizza temperature.
Besides, due to cutting, there won’t be any scratches or stains on the surface. The cutting is also smooth and easy.
Try to choose a wooden cutting board made of walnut.
FAQ’s:
- Do pizza cutters work?
Pizza cutters only need a slight push to cut through a thick or thin crust easily. It will allow you to serve pizzas faster. But instead of a wheel, better to use a rocking pizza cutter. It is more stable and strong. The wheeled one can wobble or break while cutting.
- Can you use a pizza cutter on a pizza pan?
A pizza pan has fewer problems than a pizza cutter regarding temperature. You can easily slice hot pizzas through the pan. However, the problem is with scratches as the surface isn’t very strong. So, use a baking sheet or parchment paper on top to cut.
- Should we use parchment paper on a pizza stone?
Even though people use parchment paper for baking, this isn’t good for pizza stones. The high heat from the stone is too much for parchment paper. It becomes more susceptible to burning from the heat when you go for a crispy pizza.
Final Words
Can you use a pizza cutter on pizza stone? Well, I’m not saying you can’t, but you shouldn’t.
You must preheat your pizza stone well initially and let it cool down before cutting. Otherwise, the heat can damage the cutter and even the stone sometimes.
There are other surfaces as well, like baking sheets, parchment papers, cutting boards, etc., for cutting pizzas effectively. To keep your pizza stone and cutter in good shape, better to transfer the pizza for cutting. In addition, take good care of both the cutter and stone.