Pizza Stones or terracota tiles, do they work?

wilson16, Jan 23, 2:20pm
So basically they are just a slab of terracota or ceramic. I saw a thread suggesting terracota plates from the garden centre (for under big pots)

Any of you good people have advice on this?
maryteatowel1, Jan 23, 2:35pm
...you need to season it first with a little oil so that it wont dry out and crack with the heat...don't use one that has any sort of glazing on it...i will find the site i used when i started using terracotta tiles for baking...
maryteatowel1, Jan 23, 2:37pm
...oh and yes, they do work!!!....nice crisp based pizza!!!
http://www.recipepizza.com/pizza_stone.htm
...not the page i was looking for although it seems to cover everything...
wilson16, Jan 23, 3:08pm
Thank-you, you're a gem. That is exactly what I'm needing to know.
The BIG rectangular one I liked was $100 plus, next stop, garden centre.

Will let you all know how things turn out. We may have started something here.
falcon-hell, Jan 23, 9:13pm
i use a stone and find it great.
maryteatowel1, Jan 24, 1:07am
...dh has informed me i only told you half the story...our biggest problem was to get the made up uncooked pizza onto the stone...'cause damn they're hot!!!...i tried all sorts of things...what i really needed was a pizza paddle and a dough that didn't stick to the paddle or the stone...oh and most importantly a technique for a kitchen sized oven and a small stone...i now do my final rolling of the base in semolina...the dough slides off the paddle and onto the hot stone no problem...now!!!...there were a huge amount of not so round and flat pizzas and a few burns before i understood how it all worked in my kitchen...
wilson16, Jan 24, 1:36am
Yes, I've been thinking about that, baking paper is good for slidabitily too. Will start with small on the biggest stone that will fit in my oven.

Might have to buy two with my crowd, and have a bit of a relay going.
sweater, Jan 24, 2:06am
bump this thread as i need to also learn more please
gardie, Jan 24, 2:18am
Use my stone with baking paper under the pizza to slide in and out.Love it.Mmmm might have pizza tomorrow.
auntlb, Jan 24, 2:20am
I heat my pizza stone in the oven and roll out the dough while it heats.When dough is ready and oven is hot I take the stone out.Sprinkle some cornmeal on to the stone and place the base on.Then put toppings on.Pizza cooks fine - base is crispy and slides off stone when done
elliehen, Jan 24, 4:16am
I bought 500gms of Sun Valley Polenta (coarse ground cornmeal) for $1.94 today - nothing but corn in it.Great for making crunchy muffins too.
maryteatowel1, Jan 24, 1:21pm
...here in lies my problem...once the pizza stone is hot enough...i cant take it out of the oven...it's too big...and too heavy...and loses too much heat....i like the stone to be hot enough to blister my base otherwise i may as well just use a pizza tin...it takes me about 30-40mins to heat up the stone...i then get the pizza on the stone and only cook it for no longer than 10mins...then i get the pizza out and leave the stone in the oven to cool down...i have a very definite idea of the end result i want and after months of trial and error i'm now achieving this...
wilson16, Jan 27, 1:32pm
GREAT SUCCESS - I bought a pot plant saucer ($12.50), good result. Crispy base with tuna, prawn, mozzeralla and cream cheese topping.

Now I'm going to look at tiles shops for rectangular, unglazed terracota tiles. Then I can do two at a time. Need quantity as well as quality.

Two adults, two teenagers, one big kid and if I'm going to do it, I may as well have left-overs for school lunches.
suzanna, Apr 17, 8:47pm
Can anyone tell me please how much yeast in an 'envelope'? Thank you.
nzl99, Apr 17, 10:05pm
2 1/4 teaspoons
alebix, Apr 17, 10:16pm
Sorry to seem dence, but these terracotta tiles you are referring to, are they the large dishes that sit under your plants, the ones with the lip on it????
matt_forall, Aug 9, 12:13pm
Yes they work! we love ours....what ever you do dont wash it in detergent.