They say money can’t buy happiness. Apparently, “they” have not met pizza lovers yet.
Pizza is one of the most loved food items in the world. There’s no corner in the world where you would not find people who adore pizza. But as delicious as it is, baking a pizza from scratch is not everyone’s cup of tea. That’s where frozen pizzas help you out.
What if we tell you, that all you need is to know how to use a pizza stone for frozen pizza for you to make restaurant-like pizzas at home! But then, how can you start cooking frozen pizza on a pizza stone and make it taste amazing? We are here to help you with that.
What Is A Pizza Stone?
A pizza stone is a circular cooking surface primarily used for cooking pizzas, but it can also cook flatbread, and other food items. Usually, it is made of ceramic to favor the heat retention to make your crust crisp. But, sometimes, stone or salt is also used to make them. The only criterion that a pizza stone must meet in terms of material is that it must be able to absorb and retain heat. We’ve picked some great options for you in our comprehensive pizza stone review if you’re currently looking for one.
Thanks to the pizza stone, you end up with amazing pizzas with the perfectly crisp crust. It also saves your pizza from burning, which is a quite common occurrence when you usually reheat pizza without a pizza stone. Pizza stones in contrast to pizza pans, are a popular choice mainly due to fact that you’re guaranteed that authentic taste with them. Further, you can find one according to the size of your oven as they are available in many sizes in the market.
Now that we have the basics covered, let us find out how you can cook a frozen pizza on a pizza stone.
Cooking Frozen Pizza On Pizza Stone Step By Step Guide
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
A pizza stone goes a long way in making your frozen pizzas taste delicious. As we mentioned earlier, it does not let the crust get soggy. The heat it absorbs makes for an evenly heated cooking surface that elevates the taste of whatever you are cooking on it.
1. Temperature Is Crucial
While preparing frozen pizza on a pizza stone, you need to take care of certain things. The first of which is temperature. Putting something as cold as a frozen pizza on a hot stone can cause a thermal shock. And yes, it is as bad as it sounds.
The rapid change in temperature can cause your pizza stone to crack or even break! “Can you cook a frozen pizza on a pizza stone without that happening?”, Yes! Just follow one of these steps.
I. Thaw The Pizza
To avoid the rapid temperature shift, let your frozen pizza “lose it’s cool”. Leave it at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours and let the ice melt away. Once it is done, and the frozen pizza is not so cold anymore, you are ready to cook it.
But what if you don’t have 2-3 hours to let it rest? Don’t worry, if such is the situation, you can try the following steps.
II. Use A Microwave
You can use a microwave to raise the temperature of the pizza. This is effective as the microwave does it efficiently and quickly too. It’s best if the appliance is a microwave pizza oven combo. The convection mode in these ensures that the pizza is heated uniformly inside out.
While you heat your pizza stone, put the frozen pizza in the microwave. Depending upon the pizza’s size and crust, it would take anywhere between 5-10 minutes to be ready. Once it is ready, just place it on top of the stone without worrying about a thermal shock.
III. Cook The Pizza
Many people do not prefer using a microwave as they feel it changes the taste of the pizza. The solution is simple: just cook your pizza instead.
Preheat your oven and place your pizza on top of the oven rack. After cooking it for some time, place it gently on the pizza stone. Yeah, it is that simple. Alternatively, you can use a countertop toaster oven at this step. There are these compact toaster ovens that can cook frozen pizzas all on their own. You could reduce the load from your primary oven and have this gizmo take care of things instead.
The best way to be safe from a thermal shock is to begin cooking when your pizza stone is cold. That way you don’t have to worry about any temperature difference or thermal shock. It is the most effective way to keep your pizza stone safe and does not require any additional steps either.
2. Let’s Get Cooking
Okay, so now that we know how to prep your frozen pizza. Let’s get cooking.
I. What Surface To Use?
Some pizza stones have ridges on one side and are flat on the other. For cooking frozen pizzas, use the ridged side of the pizza stone. This side of the stone provides less surface area for a potential thermal shock. Using a baking sheet on top of your pizza stone can help take the pizza off easily later on. Specifically, you want to use a parchment paper here. A wax paper lining wouldn’t withstand the high cooking temperature of the oven. It also keeps your pizza stone relatively clean so you don’t have to clean it afterward. Believe us, having to clean a pizza stone after every use is no joke!
II. Time To Turn Up The Oven
Now that you have your pizza on the stone, place it inside the oven. The middle rack of the oven (You can use the upper rack in case you have a Camp Chef Pizza Oven) is the perfect spot for it.
Commercial ovens can heat to high temperatures. This allows cooking faster, resulting in a beautiful, crispy crust and tasty toppings. While we may not own a commercial oven, we can try to get a similar result using what we have at home.
Heat your oven to the maximum temperature. In most home ovens. This way, the pizza will cook faster and have a crisp crust. Monitor your pizza though, you do not want to overcook it. Once your pizza has that wonderful golden brown color, you can take it out and devour the delight.
III. The End Process
You might have cooked your pizza, but the job is not over. You might still damage your pizza stone if you are not careful. Take the pizza stone out of the oven using thick oven mitts as it would be extremely hot. Take your pizza off the stone using a pizza peel. This would be essential if you haven’t used a baking sheet to line the stone. Refer this guide to listing the best pizza peel to find you one, if you’re short on this essential.
Let the hot goodness rest for a little before cutting any slices. A lack of patience can lead to a mess. After all this “hard work”, that is the last thing you would want.
3. Cleaning Up
A little cleaning goes a long way. You can use your pizza stone to make many delicious pizzas if you treat it right. Cleaning it is a part of that. One very important thing to remember is to stay away from the soap. Soap gets trapped in the porous texture on the surface of your pizza stone. The trapped soap might get transferred to your delicious when you cook. It would ruin the taste and the quality of your dish.
Use a brush with thick but soft bristles to clean your pizza stone. Later, wipe it with a damp cotton cloth. And yes, no dipping it in water either. That causes the stone material to deteriorate in the long run. Check our Pizza Stone cleaning guide to understand how you can clean your pizza stone.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it; a complete guide on how to use a pizza stone for a frozen pizza. We covered all the basics that you need to know for cooking delicious pizzas instantly at home. Now if you’re hungry and have a frozen pizza in the refrigerator, or you wish to reheat pizza on a pizza stone, then you know exactly what to do!