Pizza Stones

[Beth]

We pulled out our pizza stone to use it for taking a hot dish to a picnic again today, and looking at its stained surface, was wondering if anyone out there has tried cleaning a pizza stone in a self-cleaning oven. A friend told me her sister did hers that way and kept it clean and white. Has anyone else tried it? Does it effect the stone? I thought a darkened surface was not a bad thing, but more like seasoning a cast iron skillet. Just curious. Thanks.

[Mamasue]

Beth,

I believe when I bought mine from Pampered Chef some years ago that you shouldn't clean it at all....just like your black iron pans.... it will darken with age and you shouldn't clean with soap. Its a "good thing".

[Deanna]

Just happen to have the instructions handy for my Superstone Baking Stone...

"To clean your Superstone Baking Stone, scrape off any excess food with a spatula and, after your stone has cooled, run it under hot water while scrubbing it with a brush. Your Superstone Baking Stone will naturally darken and spot with age, so do not try to remove this discoloration. Do not use soap on your stone, as it may leave a soapy aftertaste. Allow the stone to air dry and then store it in your oven."

[This message has been edited by Deanna (edited 06-18-2000).]

[Beth]

Thanks. That's what I seem to remember, but I got mine 8-9 years ago. I'd be afraid of the thing cracking since the oven super heats on the cleaning cycle, and the dark spots certainly haven't hurt anything. My house isn't likely to ever be so pristine that I'll be worried about how the pizza stone inside my oven looks, and even when I took it to a picnic, it was wrapped inside a beach towel. I was just curious whether I had missed something. Thanks again.

[hendsl]

Yes, you can put the stone in a self cleaning oven. I also thought of doing this because my stone was so icky. Before I did it I called my Pampered Chef rep and she told me that it would work. I was amazed how clean my stone was after 4 hours in the self cleaning cycle. Please note, you have to re-season the stone after putting it through the self cleaning cycle.