15" Square ThermaBond Baking/Pizza Stone - For Oven or Grill - PC9897

Baking one pizza on this stone is all it took to convince me that this was an excellent product. I don't know what "cordierite" is, honestly, but this stone is slightly thicker than it appears in the pictures and must have excellent heat capacity, because it makes excellent pizza. The 15" square size is good, it fits in any oven easily, and the surface area is fine for any average size round pizzas or a couple large loaves of bread. I've kept this on the floor of my oven since I got it which is where the flames are in my gas oven. I typically operate my oven at 425-450°F when baking bread and 600°F when baking pizza and it hasn't cracked yet nor shown any signs of wear or degradation whatsoever.The first time I baked pizza on this thing, I grabbed some fresh dough from my local italian market, made the pizza, and slid it onto the 600° stone on parchment paper (which burns but is still convenient). 8 minutes later it was cooked perfectly and I took it out. You would not believe the crust on that pizza. I've actually used corn grits on the stone in subsequent bakings to lessen the burn because the first pizza I made came out looking like it had been prepared in a coal fired oven. But oh man, is it good. Crispy as heck, exactly like NY style thin crust pizza. Perfectly cooked. Excellent flavor from the high baking temperatures. This is the way pizza is supposed to be - I highly recommend that you pick up a pizza stone of this variety and see for yourself.

I bought this pizza stone (cordierite) and an Artisan Steel pizza steel from Amazon last year (the stone in May 2021). I was curious about the material used. I have a large baking stone from 1998. For making pizza, I will give a small edge to the Artisan steel (16 inches by 14.5 and it weighs about 16 pounds, 1/4 inch thick). The steel gets very hot and stays hot for several hours after making pizza. For bread baking, the steel will scorch the bottom of the crust and make it tuff as shoe leather. So, my baking stones are better for bread. Last week I did a test, one with my 24 year old stone, one with the pizza craft stone. I got excellent results with each. I make either a thin or a medium crust pizza. The key is not steel or stone, but the key is (1) pre-heating the oven for an hour or so at its highest setting (hopefully 475 to 500 f) and (2) make sure to use the second level from the top in the oven. The oven is actually the most hot at the top. My oven is electric and has an exposed heating element on the bottom. My oven has 5 levels and I normally used the middle level for bread baking, cakes, pies etc. The steel takes about 9 to 9.5 minutes and the stones take a little longer, maybe 30 to 45 seconds. The pizza craft stone is the lightest of the three, I make a square pizza to take advantage of available space. The pizza craft stone is durable, well made and will make an excellent pizza. The crust will come out perfect and the toppings will be done all at the same time. When I have used the middle or lower rack levels in the oven with my older stone from the 90s, the baking takes 20 minutes or longer and the crust only gets done the next day when I reheat the leftover pizza. The weight of the pizza steel for many may be a deterrent. It is about as heavy as my 7 quart cast iron dutch oven or my 12 inch cast iron fry pan with lid.

Nice pizza stone, had a round one and this one is definitely better!

This pizza stone is very sturdy, and works great for making French bread and pizzas. We've used it about a dozen times so far for bread and pizza. Gets the crust done nicely on home made pizza. I keep it on the lowest oven shelf, and I've also noticed that the oven stays at temperature with it in there. (As you probably know, you would want to make cookies or cakes on a different shelf, not directly on the stone).It's a nice quality, thick stone. Much better than a previous one I used that was round. The large square shape gives you some leeway in placing the pizza or bread, and is a long as the baguettes I make. The only drawback, imho, is that it was not made in USA. It irks me that so many products come China. But the stone is nice.

I bought this exact stone in April 2021, because 15 x 15 fit in our smoker perfectly. Since the smoker doesn’t get that hot (500 degrees) I pre-bake the crust in the oven. Smoked pizza is absolutely amazing. I have 8 dough balls in the frig to bake off today for our family reunion. As you can see it has gotten plenty of smoke. We keep it stored in the original box. I hope you enjoy yours as much as we enjoy ours.

I can't say enough good things about this stone. I had to come back to review this fabulous stone when looking to purchase a 2nd one for my outside fireplace. This particular stone is now 6 years old and to me will be nearly irreplaceable. It will smell, smoke a bit in the beginning because it is new. Using it a dozen times isn't near enough use to get a stone so seasoned that it becomes the essential tool for your oven, grill, fireplace, etc. It will turn black and charred over TIME AND USE. Could take 50 times or more. This is called seasoned. I oiled mine in the beginning and put it in the oven on low temp for many hours at a time until the stone was no longer as porous. You will feel this by running your hand over the top. This provides the slick surface you need to easily slide pizza, breads etc., from the stone. The more you use it, the better it gets. After use, AND IT HAS COOLED, simply scrape the stuck on food with a straight edge spatula and quickly run under a bit of water to rinse. Towel dry and run a thin coat of cooking oil over the entire surface. NO SOAP. Mine is as slick as a ceramic plate now. Almost looks glazed. If you have the time and patience this requires in the beginning, it will bring you much joy and pride in your future culinary creations. Remember -Patience!!