Q: I got a pizza stone with the convection oven I bought at Kohl's and online instructions said to 'condition' the stone first. But as it was heating, the smell was awful. It got worse, and started stinging my throat and eyes. After I turned the oven off, it continued to smell bad. This morning, my eyes are still burning! What could cause this?
I conditioned the stone by coating it with vegetable oil (I used canola), and put it in a cold oven, turned the temp to 350°F, and once it reached that temp, left it heating for 20 min. Then I turned off the oven and let the stone cool overnight. Repeat the next day.
Sent by Judy
Editor: The smell could have been the oil burning, but that doesn't seem likely to have caused the kind of extensive stinging and bad odor you mention. I don't typically season my new pizza stones — just wash it, let it dry, and it's ready!
Had you used your oven before this point? New ovens often need to be heated a few times before actually using them to burn off whatever solvents, cleaners, and chemicals were used during assembly. You'll need to turn on your fan and open a window!
Readers, what other thoughts do you have?
Next question?
Related: Want Awesome Pizza? Turn Up the Oven
(Image: Sur la Table)
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Bacsac Bacsquare 04...
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
I was going to ask the same questions. I have a pizza/baking stone for over 10 years now and haven't experienced anything like that. I hope there is a simple explanation, such as leftover cleaning chemicals. I love using our stone for baking. I hope it works out for you!
I have the same problem! Got a pizza stone as a gift, and it emits a crazy smell the few times I've tried to use it. Was thinking I just needed to invest in a better one - but would love to learn how to fix this, since the smell hasn't "cooked off" after several uses.
Our pizza stone smelled funny the first few times I used it, but over time it has lost the smell.
pizza required a much hotter oven than most things you make too, so it might be one of the first times you turned the oven up that high too
We just bought a cast-iron pizza pan (round griddle with a low lip, basically). And we had been using a small, square cast-iron griddle for pizza before. Seriously, way better pizza off the cast iron than we had ever gotten off the cheap pizza stone I had before. And the good thing is that you can use the cast iron for all sorts of things that you can't use the pizza stone for (esp. because the stone stains from grease, etc). That's my recommendation, anyway.
"Online instructions said to 'condition' the stone first."
I've never heard of conditioning a pizza stone, so I'm thinking this may be the issue. Were these instructions from the manufacturer, or some unrelated website? Generally, you try to avoid getting oils on a baking or pizza stone - bread doughs should not stick to it, so I'm not sure why they'd tell you to oil it. A baking stone isn't like a cast iron piece that needs seasoning.
I suggest to heat the oven to 525F and use a steel cookie sheet to bake your pizza on. You will get a super crisp crust! I used to have a pizza stone and it NEVER turned out. Be sure to preheat the cookie sheet before putting on the pizza. Enjoy :)
Don't condition the stone at all. After a few uses, it will condition itself. I made the same mistake by using oil and my stone was smoking and smelled up the house. I bought a new stone and didn't use anything to condition it with (advice from my mom) and my new stone is great.
I have never had to condition my stone, but I leave it in the oven when I electronically clean the oven. It cleans the stone. Works great. If you have a stove that is self-cleaning, try doing it with the stone in first. What have you got to lose? I never condition it...
Our recent purchase of a pizza stone said to rinse it with warm water (no soap!), let it dry all the way out, and then "season" it (i.e. scatter liberally) with cornmeal the first couple of times you use it.
I have no idea why it would smell - maybe it had some sort of weird plastic coating? Eye stinging sounds like burning chemicals.
Use a BBQ grill to condition the pizza stone - that way anything that's in the stone will burn off outside and will save your eyes from the off gassing! ;)
Sounds like rancid oil to me. I agree with the other posters - there's really no need to season or condition it in the first place.
I was thinking rancid oil, too. I have several baking/pizza stones. My Pampered Chef are the best I've got, and one I bought for 50 cents from a garage sale took a long time to season properly. My understanding has always been that it's best to bake something buttery (Pampered Chef always recommended those buttery Grands biscuits, I think) or similarly oily, as the stone is porous and absorbs the oil, which is what seasons it & makes it nonstick. (It's actually not totally unlike cast iron.)
My gut feeling is that your oven/stone combo may not be used to the level of it needed for properly baking a pizza.
I would use the deduction method. Use your outside grill (if you have one) to bring your pizza stone to proper heat. You will know if the stone is the culprit or not. If it is, do your conditioning there a few times. Just make sure to do it at the maximum heat your outdoor grill can do. In addition, any potentially toxic fumes will dissipate in the air and not your house.
If the stone is not at fault, you will indeed need to make sure that your oven is cleaned properly and not have any residues of cleaning supply, especially at high temperature.
You may also need to consider this alternative: Bake your pizza on stone outside on the grill (Should bring higher heat anyway). See this post on how to do this best: http://seattlefoodgeek.com/2012/07/how-to-hack-your-grill-into-a-superior-pizza-oven/
Personally, I used a heavy stainless steel plate in my oven and bring up temperature to its max. I am able to bake a pizza that rivals some pizzerias in about 3-4 minutes at the most.
Good luck in your quest!
Kohls is an excellent store. I would simply bring that pizza stone right back to them. You should have no problem.