Wondering how to use a pizza stone? See tips for oven baking stone crust pizza that’s crispy with the best cooking temperature. Let’s make it!
HEY THERE — Are you on instagram? I share weekly pizza tips @sipbitego.
Why it’s at the top of pizza stone recipes…
- Simple instructions for making great pizza baked on a stone.
- Ready in about 20-25 minutes.
- Top with anything you’d like!
- My way of making homemade pizza is always better than delivery!
- Tips for baking stones in FAQ at bottom of page.
- Newer home chefs: see my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page).
No pizza stone? Then you need my OTHER pizza recipe. See how to bake pizza in oven without pizza stones (using a baking sheet instead).
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for cooking pizza with pizza stones to make a tasty crispy crust…
- Pizza dough (see my store bought pizza dough recommendations or make homemade pizza dough by hand or with one of those popular KitchenAid attachments).
- Flour
- Olive oil (substitute ghee or unsalted butter)
- Pizza sauce (or use pasta sauce for pizza with a sprinkle of salt and pepper in it)
- Mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni
- Parsley
How to bake with a pizza stone in the oven
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at this recipe
- Preheat oven with pizza baking stone in it and stretch dough.
- Parbake pizza crust on the hot stone for 8 minutes.
- Add toppings and finish baking pizza on stone until done.
- Cool and serve with fresh parsley.
Detailed recipe steps
- Preheat oven with pizza baking stone in it, to 475 degrees F (or whatever pizza stone temperature is safe for the one you’re using). Don’t forget to let the dough stay out so it comes to room temperature before using it!
- Create a work surface to prepare pizza dough for stone baking. Sprinkle half the flour on the work surface (large cutting board, etc.) and put half the flour to the side of the board to use as you stretch the dough.
- Stretch pizza dough. (See my pizza dough stretching tutorial)
- Half-bake pizza crust on stone. Carefully remove pizza stone from the oven and prepare the crust quickly. Brush half the olive oil on the top of the pizza stone. Add the stretched pizza dough on top. Brush the remaining olive oil on the outside inch of the pizza dough crust (this will make a tasty crust). Bake pizza dough “naked” for 8 minutes on the middle or top oven rack. When done, remove it from the oven, and leave the oven on.
- Add toppings. Leave an inch around the outside of the dough for the crust when you assemble toppings. First, add dollops of pizza sauce on the parbaked dough and spread it around. Then top with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.
- Bake stone crust pizza in the oven at 475°F for 8-12 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and starts to bubble, and the bottom pizza crust is golden brown.
- Let pizza cool and serve it. Transfer pizza-stone pizza to a cutting board, sprinkle cooked pizza with some fresh parsley, slice and serve it when cool enough to eat.
For your next pizza on stone recipe, try my Philly cheesesteak pizza or classic pepperoni pizza.
FAQs
Some people have made pizza stones at home with glazed tile, but you have to be careful and I don’t recommend it, because it’s likely to have lead and there are some steps involved. So that’s a bad idea!
Because if you stick a cold pizza stone into a really hot oven, you’ll get thermal shock – making it likely the pizza stone will crack from the sudden change from room temperature to high heat. The ceramic needs time to absorb the heat in advance, which is why you need to preheat pizza stones in a cold oven before cooking on them.
Special thanks to Emile Henry for providing the beautiful pizza stone used in this recipe. I’ve had mine for 1-2 years, used it in many hot ovens and even to make smoked pizza, and love two things about it. First, the handles make it easy to take in and out of the oven. And second, I like the texture of the pizza. It’s not completely flat, it has bumps / grooves which makes a nice pizza crust. Shop my pizza stone.
I don’t find it necessary to use one. See the recipe for details.
The Perfect Pizza Setup
Want to make restaurant style pizza at home? I’ve got you covered! Here are some of my top tips, tricks, secret ingredients and tools for a pizza night everyone will look forward to, again and again.
- NEVER do this… Contrary to what most people believe, when baking pizza on a sheet pan, never add toppings to raw pizza dough. Instead, follow my recipe for making homemade pizza with ready made dough, which will teach you how to par bake pizza dough first.
- Get help from secret ingredients…
– This dough seasoning is the secret to real Italian-tasting homemade pizza dough.
– Add pizza seasoning to store bought pizza sauce. This makes the pizza taste really fresh! - Herbs are for after… In my weekly pizza making practice, I’ve found that fresh herbs, like basil, need to be added to pizza after the pizza is done baking (so the herbs don’t wilt).
- Buy fresh dough and get amazing results. Yup, fresh dough from grocery stores is one of my favorite short-cuts. Learn how to use fresh Trader Joe’s pizza dough and Whole Foods pizza dough with my tutorials.
- Frozen pizza can taste amazing, too!! Learn how to spruce it up with this recipe for pizza using frozen crust.
- Slice pizza pies like a chef with just a few swipes, using big ol’ pizza cutters.
- Want to grill pizza? Here are some pizza grilling tools to check out.
- Do you really need to cook pizza on the rack? Nope! I basically never do. Here are tools you see me using in my tutorials on cooking pizza in the oven…
– Bake pizza on a rimmed baking pan set to get a beautiful golden brown crust.
– Love crispy crust? Let the air flow with this dishwasher safe pizza pan.
– Get personal – let your fam / friends top their own pies with this set of personal pizza pans.
More pizza recipes from Sip Bite Go
- Cheeseburger pizza
- Philly cheese steak pizza
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Chicken spinach pizza with bacon
- Homemade pizza dough
- Pizza sauce recipe
- White pizza sauce
- See tips for stretching pizza dough by hand
- Learn how to make frozen premade pizza crust taste better
- GUIDE: how to cook chicken breast for pizza
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about making a perfect pizza with a pizza stone. I’m working on a few new recipes and trying to perfect using a pizza pan, so I’ll share more on that soon.
If you don’t follow me on instagram you totally should @sipbitego. And for more deliciousness, subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel and see the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.
Crispy Pizza Stone Crust Pizza Recipe (+ Dough Tips) | Sip Bite Go
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ball pizza dough store bought or homemade (rise on a counter 2-6 hours in advance for best fluffy pizza crust results)
- 1 tbsp flour all-purpose
- 1 tsp olive oil substitute ghee or unsalted butter
- 1.5 cup pizza sauce substitute pasta sauce with a sprinkle of salt and pepper in it
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 6 oz pepperoni sliced (more or less as desired)
- 1 tsp parsley fresh chopped (optional, garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven with pizza baking stone in it, to 475 degrees F (or whatever pizza stone temperature is safe for the one you’re using). Don’t forget to let the dough stay out so it comes to room temperature before using it!
- Create a work area to prepare pizza dough for stone baking. Sprinkle half the flour on the work surface (large cutting board, etc.) and put half the flour to the side of the board to use as you stretch the dough.
- Stretch pizza dough. (Beginners – see the pizza dough stretching tutorial on Sip Bite Go for more tips.) I like to first push the ball of pizza dough against the floured cutting board, so it can pick up flour all over. Then, pinch the outside 1” of pizza dough, in a circular motion, to outline the crust and help form a circle shape. (don’t force a perfect circle, so you don’t get holes). Switch between pressing the center of the dough against the cutting board, and using the back of your knuckles to stretch the dough from underneath, pulling it outwards in a circular motion. Add a little extra flour as you stretch it to a larger size, so it retains the bigger circle shape. (sometimes I use a rolling pin at the end to really further flatten the dough evenly)
- Half-bake pizza crust on stone. Carefully remove pizza stone from the oven and prepare the crust quickly. Brush half the olive oil on the top of the pizza stone. Add the stretched pizza dough on top. (Exactly how to transfer pizza to hot pizza stone isn’t a full-on-science… you don’t need a pizza peel, and adding a sprinkle of cornmeal to the top of the pizza stone is optional. I usually just pick up the stretched dough and hold as much of it as possible between my hands and arms, then stretch it out carefully a bit more by pushing it in a circle shape around the hot pizza stone.) Brush the remaining olive oil on the outside inch of the pizza dough crust (this will make a tasty crust). Bake pizza dough “naked” for 8 minutes on the middle or top oven rack. When done, remove it from the oven, and leave the oven on.
- Add toppings. Leave an inch around the outside of the dough for the crust when you assemble toppings. First, add dollops of pizza sauce on the parbaked dough and spread it around. Then top with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.
- Bake stone crust pizza in the oven at 475°F for 8-12 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and starts to bubble, and the bottom pizza crust is golden brown.
- Let pizza cool and serve it. Transfer pizza-stone pizza to a cutting board, sprinkle cooked pizza with some fresh parsley, slice and serve it when cool enough to eat.
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