topic Re: Making Pizza at Home? in Recipes

Making Pizza at Home?

timeless — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 01:22:24 GMT

Years ago, I got a pizza stone and never did figure out how to use it. I recall not knowing if I needed a special "spatula" to pull the cooked pizza off the stone, or do I take the whole thing out of the oven (seemed just wrong...where do I put that big hot thing?)

So it got tossed.

Since then, I'm willing to try again and am asking those who have one, how do you use it?

If you also have a pizza dough recipe...Yes, Please!!!

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

patbz — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 01:33:25 GMT

We have two pizza stones in our oven ( one on each rack) and we never remove them, regardless of what we are baking. We use the thing that has a wooden handle and a large flat surface to remove the pizza.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

AuntG — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 01:30:52 GMT

I ended up tossing mine out too. I always took it out of the oven with the pizza still on it. Probably came from a Pampered Chef party.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

Caffeina — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 01:37:16 GMT

I have one similar to this. The stone sits in its own rack, and I put the whole thing in the oven while it's preheating. When I'm ready to bake the pizza, I pull the oven rack out, put the pizza on the stone, and push the oven rack back in. When the pizza's done I slide the oven rack out, then use potholders to lift the pizza stone out by its rack's handles and sit it on a heatproof surface.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

sabatini — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 02:00:05 GMT

Hi there, @timeless. I like to make it as easy as possible when I make pizza.

The 'spatula' I use is a rimless cookie sheet w/ a piece of heavy duty foil.

Spray the foil w/ cooking spray, lay it onto the cookie sheet, assemble your pizza, then slide the whole thing off the rimless sheet & onto the pizza stone.

Easy!

Have fun!

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

timeless — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 02:05:53 GMT

@AuntG

"Probably came from a Pampered Chef party."

LOL!!! Been there...with you.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

timeless — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 02:08:46 GMT

@sabatini

"The 'spatula' I use is a rimless cookie sheet w/ a piece of heavy duty foil.

Spray the foil w/ cooking spray, lay it onto the cookie sheet, assemble your pizza, then slide the whole thing off the rimless sheet & onto the pizza stone.

Easy!"

A rimless cookie sheet? What is that?

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

FranandZoe — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 03:15:08 GMT

@timeless wrote:
@sabatini
"The 'spatula' I use is a rimless cookie sheet w/ a piece of heavy duty foil.
Spray the foil w/ cooking spray, lay it onto the cookie sheet, assemble your pizza, then slide the whole thing off the rimless sheet & onto the pizza stone.
Easy!"

A rimless cookie sheet? What is that?

@timeless Completelly flat - no edge or rim.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

deepwaterdotter — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 03:20:39 GMT

I use a loaf of Rhodes frozen pizza dough from the grocery store.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

Sooner — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 03:36:03 GMT

We make all our pizzas. We like the combo of less sauce, no so much cheese, and lots of veggies.

We have no standard recipe--sometimes use our bread machine, sometimes even a bought crust in a tube, or a cauliflower crust plain pizza and add toppings. But we do make them ofen, using an old Le Creuset enamled cast iron pizza pan that we preheat.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

AuntMame — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 07:22:59 GMT

I leave my pizza stone in the oven all the time. On the bottom rack.

I use a Lodge cast-iron pizza pan. I place it directly on the heated pizza stone.

I make home-made pizza probably once a month.

I follow America's Test Kitchen's recommendations by cooking the pizza on the stove for a few minutes to get the crust started crisping. Then I place it on the pre-heated pizza stone in the oven.

For the dough I follow Roberta's Pizza Dough Recipe. Easily Googled.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

AuntMame — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 07:27:15 GMT

I also have one of those long-handled pizza paddles. When I bake a frozen pizza I place it directly on the preheated pizza stone and pull it out with the paddle. It gets nice and crisp. The key is preheating the stone.

I've found it awkward--and perilous--to try to pull out a home-made-dough pizza off the stone with the paddle. So I put the home-made dough into the Lodge cast-iron pan and put that directly on the pizza stone.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

Desertdi — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 08:32:02 GMT

I have a Presto® Pizza Pizzazz. The plate rotates, and it heats from both the top and bottom.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

jackthebear — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 10:37:20 GMT

It is called a pizza peel, and if you sprinkle cornmeal on the stone first very easy to put in the pizza and take it out

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

CalminHeart — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 11:27:54 GMT

I make the pizza on something non-stick and smooth enough to slide the pizza off it.

I preheat the stone to the same temp as the oven.

I slide the pizza on to the stone.

Cook.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

wagirl — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 15:03:56 GMT

I still have a rectangle stone from Pampered Chef and it is a glorous rich, bronzy brown color--must have had it for nearly 40 years, I think. It's a pizza paddle to take it out. I would make the pizza dough in my bread maker. Easy!!

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

sabatini — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:12:01 GMT

Hi, @timeless. Like this:

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

Puppy Lips — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:22:24 GMT

@timeless I started to read your post and thought I wrote it. Someone gave me a pizza stone years ago. I never used it. Gave it to my DIL I think. But I did try to make my own pizza all long time ago. I spent more on the ingredients than ordering from Dominos. I love Dominos pizza, so that was the end of that adventure.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

ScrapHappy — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:37:22 GMT

I had one of those stones too. I made my own pizza once in a while but eventually tossed it. Pizza ia my all time favorite. There are some very good pizza places near me (not Dominos or Pizza Hut). If I'm going to eat pizza, it's going to be that and not something I make.

Re: Making Pizza at Home?

bargainsgirl — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 02:39:59 GMT

I never make pizza at home. We have so many good pizza places and for me it is a treat not to cook night!