Pizza Stone
What?
Pizza stones are made of ceramic, which has the great quality of storing heat and distributing it evenly. This porous material also absorbs the dough’s humidity, resulting in a crispier crust.
New enamelled ceramic or cast iron pizza stones, much less fragile than ordinary stones, also give excellent results. The fact that they have very convenient handles on each side allows you to transfer the whole thing from the oven to the table, keeping the pizza warm during service.
How?
To really take advantage of the stone, you absolutely must preheat it before use. Our experience showed that, after a normal preheating period in the oven (at 260°C/500°F), the stone had reached a temperature of only 120°C/250°F! It took 45 extra minutes for the stone to reach its optimal temperature. So, a tip to avoid that: put your stone in the oven as soon as you start preparing your pizza.
Result:
It’s really worth it. The crust is perfectly golden all over and the texture is as crispy as you’ll ever want.
Upside Down Baking Sheet
What?
Just an ordinary baking sheet. However, to get the best results, the sheet must be of high quality, in other words, thick and heavy enough. Why turn it upside down? So that when you’ve finished preparing your pizza you’ll be able to slide it onto the baking sheet without the edges getting in the way.
How?
Preheat the sheet to cook the dough more quickly. No need to put it in the oven far in advance; our experience showed that it reaches its optimal temperature in less than 5 minutes!
Result:
The browning is a little less even and pronounced than with the stone, and the crust is slightly less crispy, but the result is still interesting.
Pizza Grill
What?
The principle of these perforated grills is that they allow the crust to dry better.
How?
As the dough tends to stay stuck in the mesh of the grill, it’s preferable to use a piece of parchment paper in between. This type of grill can be useful to reheat already cooked pizza.
Result:
In this case, the dough doesn’t cook from direct contact with a hot surface, but rather from contact with hot air (which diffuses heat less quickly). As a result, the browning is less interesting and very uneven. You’ll even see the grid pattern of the grill on the crust. In terms of texture, though, the crust is fairly crispy.
Round Pizza Pan
What?
The most classic tool to cook pizza, but not necessarily the most appropriate!
How?
You stretch and flatten the dough directly on a piece of parchment paper and slide it onto the pan. Then you add the toppings and transfer it to the oven.
Result:
An aluminum pizza pan offers the least interesting result in terms of browning and texture. The crust is a little doughy and lacks flavour, but some people prefer it that way, i.e., very tender and moist. To get a crust that’s more golden, you can extend the cooking time by several minutes, but the dough will never be as crispy as if it were cooked on a stone.
