Old Stone Oven 4467 14-Inch by 16-Inch Baking Stone
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List Price: Our Price: $29.99 You Save: $12.00 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Old Stone Oven 4467 14-Inch by 16-Inch Baking Stone
Customer Review: Fantastic. So good, I'll never make pizza without it again.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this stone over 2 1/2 years ago, put it in the bottom of my oven, and left it there ever since, only removing it when doing the oven's self-cleaning cycles. It fit perfectly in my oven, even though it is convection and therefore is a bit shallower than a standard oven to allow space for the fan in the back wall. In all that time, it has never cracked. It is the right shape for an oven, and almost any pizza will fit on it just fine. (I did find some monster-sized pizzas from Target that hang over the edge a little bit, but they still work.)
To use it, I heat the oven up to 500 degrees. Still a couple hundred degrees shy of a professional pizza oven (which reach over 700 degrees), but the highest temperature a standard oven will allow. I wait another ten to fifteen minutes or so after it reaches temperature to ensure that the stone is as hot as it is going to get, then slide the pizza on using a wooden peel that I bought separately. Ten minutes later, I slip it off the stone using the peel, and it is ready! This works with premade refrigerated pizzas, frozen pizzas, and homemade pizzas. It makes a great crust, which is never soggy regardless of topping overload, and is always crisp on the bottom.
Alton Brown is a great source of information, so I have no doubt that his advice of getting an unglazed tile for this purpose will certainly work. However, rest assured that this is not a tile being resold at a high markup as a pizza surface. It has feet molded into the bottom to hold it off the surface, is a better shape and size for the oven cavity, and was manufactured for use with food, rather than being stacked on a pile of construction supplies. It is thick, but is engineered to withstand the kind of thermal stresses I've been subjecting it to for years without cracking. Sure, it is more expensive than a tile, but the cost is still low, and it really lasts. Makes great pizza, too!
So, make your own choice about whether to use a tile or not, but keep in mind that the comments about the tiles being so much better seem to be coming only from people who don't own this stone. I don't see any comments like "I bought this and wish I had a cheap tile instead."
Customer Review: Works great for frozen pizza too!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this baking stone, one year ago, after it received a recommendation from America's Test Kitchen. This is the first stone I've ever bought, at the age of 35. I finally decided to buy one after having my pizzas come out with either burnt or soggy crusts. I'm happy to say that it works just as well one year later after repeated use.
If you are deciding between round vs rectangular stone, remember a rectangular stone gives you more surface area to work with.
Before you buy any stone, remember to measure the inside of your oven first, to make sure the stone will fit!
I use this pizza stone regularly once a week to heat up a store-bought frozen pizza (Freschetta, in case you are interested). This stone works wonderfully. The pizza is cooked evenly, and the crust doesn't burn. Finally, my pizza comes out looking like the photo on the back (and front) of the pizza box!
I use parchment paper every time I use the stone, so I've had to do no cleaning to it since I bought it. Thus far, it's been care-free, and you don't have to pre-treat it before using it.
Unlike other comments I've read on here, there have been no smells associated with the stone, and it arrived safely and well packaged in one piece.
I have not used this stone for baking bread or pizza dough, so I cannot comment on its effectiveness for those purposes.
I've been very happy with the product and because the stone retains heat so well, you can keep your uneaten pizza "warm" by leaving it on the baking stone long after the oven is off.
As a disclaimer I should note that I *do not* work for Old Stone Oven or any other food manufacturing/service industry.
Peace and happy eating!
Customer Review: Arrived well packed and in one piece!
Summary: 5 Stars
No problem with the stone arriving in one piece. The original packing from Old Stone Oven (made in USA) was a well fitted box inside another box filled with packing popcorn. This packing was tight and secure. This set of boxes was then placed inside a HUGE box by Amazon and filled with brown paper. The outer Amazon box was sealed with only one strip of clear tape down the middle seam and this was busted open due to the weight of the box. Amazon should have secured this outer box with more than one strip of tape. Also, the outer box likely didn't need to be so large and a more appropriate sized box would have made the shipment even more secure. The important point of shipping came from the manufacturer rather than Amazon. Amazon's added packaging simply ensured one more layer of protection which would have been better with more tape.
This stone is heavy! Nicely manufactured. No cracks, breaks, chips, or scratches to be found.
Update 12/30/2009:
I've used this stone many times since receiving it. I used it all day Christmas day. As expected it no longer looks brand new but like a well tempered baking stone. No problems with breaks, chips, or anything that might be construed to be a mfg or user failure. I love this stone!
Update 04/23/2010:
This stone is still without problems. I used it for 2 loaves of bread yesterday and two today. I leave it in the oven at all times and only take it out to use my scraper to get bits of stuck dough and cornmeal off. Only washed it for the first use.
Customer Review: Pizza Baking Stone
Summary: 5 Stars
Turn your oven into a brick oven with the Old Stone Oven Pizza Stone... Now with a specially designed HEAT CORE. Absolutely the best Pizza Stone available. This specially-engineered design concentrates heat at the center delivering a delicious crispy crust evenly throughout your pizza. No more under-baked center on a large pizza.
Elizabeth's Pick "I use my Rectangular Pizza Stone for baking pizza and breads. This stone is so durable you can leave it in the oven all the time.... making storing the stone easy, I just bake all my foods with the stone on the lowest rack in the oven."
A baking stone for home oven use reminiscent of the stone baking ovens of earlier times. Over 30 years ago the Old Stone Oven Company first introduced the baking store for home use and it is still the best. Thicker than other stones available, it has a porosity and heat retention that is perfect for a good crust. The Old Stone Oven Pizza Stone duplicates crispy pizzeria quality pizza - crust and all- in a standard kitchen oven. The Stone can also be used to bake bread, rolls and biscuits giving them a very special texture and quality or as a warming tray to keep waffles, pancakes, fried chicken, etc warm until ready to serve.Pizza Stone - Rectangular
Customer Review: Solid performer for over 10 years!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this stone for a long time. It went through a period of time with very little use, because I did not know how to use a pizza stone. PREHEAT, PREHEAT, PREHEAT! All pizza stones should be well preheated before use. I mean 20-30 minutes once the oven is hot. I use and IR thermometer to tell when mine is hot and I regularly get this stone to over 500 F. I make all my pizza dough from scratch and I never, ever use corn meal under my pizza and the pizza never sticks. If you can slide your pizza off a peel (or cardboard), then it should not stick to a properly heated stone. If you dough rips and hot cheese melts onto the stone, yes, that will stick.
This stone accumulates stains, but so what. I use a bench scraper to remove burnt on cheese and sauce. Mine is almost black, but it performs as well as it has for years. I have probably owned 3 other pizza stones before this one and most of those easily broke. I also own a different brand stone that fits on my Big Green Egg grill and can handle being placed over an open fire. I probably would not try that with this brand of stone, unless the manufacture states that as a use.
It seems to me from reading reviews here that the negative reviews are about Amazon shipping this thing like a book, and not like a piece of pottery.