"Rich Hollenbeck" > wrote in message
news:9DRpf.5300$vJ4.5201@trnddc07...
> About making pizza. . .
>
> Reading up on stones vs. screens and cornmeal vs. parchment paper has left
> me confused. Those who like screens seem to swear by them and hate
stones.
> The opposite also seems to be true--stone people don't seem to like
screens.
> And I suppose it's an either/or thing. I don't guess somebody would use
> both. It reminds me of the MS-Windows vs. Macintosh loyalty thing. I'd
like
> an unbiased explanation about the pros and cons of each.
>
> Today I bought a stone and a long-handled wooded paddle (peel) and had the
> same disaster I've been reading about all over the Internet: the dough
stuck
> to the peel while the topping and cheese slid off onto the 400 degree
stone
> and oven floor. Ouch! What a mess. Thank God for self-cleaning ovens,
> though the smoky house wasn't fun. I sure hope my brand new stone isn't
> ruined (I did not have the stone in the oven during the self-clean). Some
> Internet sites say that corn meal is not good enough for beginners and
> parchment paper, directly on the stone, is better for newbies. Others say
> to use semolina.
>
> With time and experience, I'm sure I'll develop my own opinions, but I'd
> like to toss this to the group for some feedback.

I see no reason to use both a screen and a stone. I would just learn to use
the stone and peel, either with corn meal or parchment. I like parchment
simply because there is no mess and it works well. I don't have a peel.
Everyone has their own technique and preferences. Try them all and then
practice, practice, practice.

Your oven should be as hot as possible, not 400F. The stone should be
pre-heated for at least 20 minutes. If you find that the hotter oven is a
problem, pre heat as hot as possible and turn the oven down when you put the
pizza in.

Try to make-up the pizza at the very last moment possible and then quickly
slide it into the oven. If you make up the pizza on the peel or parchment
and let it sit for 15 minutes, it will stick to the surface and it will not
slide into the oven. Since you will never get your home oven as hot as a
commercial pizza oven, you might try pre-baking the dough for a few minutes
(~10), remove it from the oven, build the pizza, and put it back in the
oven. This will allow you to get the dough into the oven quickly and let it
crisp a little without and heavy, moist topping. This may improve the
texture of the dough as well as reduce the risk of sending sauce and topping
spraying across your stone and oven.

Pizza stones are not decorative accessories. Your stone will get stained
with use. I leave mine in the oven and run the self-clean cycle to remove
burned on food. Some people say not to clean the stone as it becomes
"seasoned" with time. I prefer a clean stone. It's up to you which school
you subscribe to.