What’s Wrong With My Pizza Stone?

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
published Feb 6, 2013
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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?

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Related: Want Awesome Pizza? Turn Up the Oven

(Image: Sur la Table)

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