How to Keep Pizza Dough from Sticking to a Pizza Stone

Making pizza at home can be fun and rewarding instead of baking a frozen pizza or ordering takeout from a pizza chain. You can choose your own toppings and layer the pizza any way you want. You can also put on as much cheese as you desire. Yet, one of the problems home cooks face when making homemade pizza is transferring pizza to a stone without it sticking.

Why Should I Be Cooking on a Pizza Stone?

When you want to make authentic-tasting pizza at home, you need to use a pizza stone or get an outdoor pizza oven that already has a pizza oven stone slab built into the base of the oven. Pizza stones are designed to handle the high temperatures needed to bake pizzas to perfection.

Pizza stones will not burn the bottom of the pizza dough, and they allow for quicker cooking compared to using a baking rack or pizza screen. Additionally, the intense heat and rapid cooking capabilities provided by a pizza stone are unmatched by any other material, baking sheet, or cooking tool.

In fact, pizza stones have been around for quite some time. They have been used in Italy for generations to make various Italian foods, including breads, pizza, roasted meats and vegetables, and desserts.

How Do You Transfer a Pizza to a Pizza Stone?

Transferring a pizza to a stone is simple:

1. Dust your pizza peel with flour or cornmeal and gently slide it under the pizza, making sure it slides freely.
2. Position the peel over a preheated pizza stone and give it a quick, firm shake to slide it onto the stone.
3. If the dough sticks, gently use a spatula to loosen the edges before transferring.

Why Does a Pizza Stick to a Stone?

In addition to sticking to the peel, fresh pizza dough can stick to the stone itself. Some of the most common reasons for this include:

• Excess moisture: A dough that’s too wet or has been left sitting with toppings for too long will be moist and sticky. You should know how to fix sticky dough before transfer.
• Improper preheating: If the stone isn’t preheated to the right temperature, the dough won’t cook quickly on contact, increasing the chances of sticking.
• No flour or cornmeal on the peel: Failing to dust the pizza peel with flour or cornmeal before transfer creates direct contact between the dough and the stone, leading to sticking.
• Too little flour on the dough: When shaping the dough, not using enough flour can cause it to adhere to the stone during baking.

How to Keep Pizza from Sticking to a Stone

It is not too difficult to learn how to keep pizza dough from sticking when using a pizza stone with fresh dough by using these great tips:

#1. Don’t let your pizza sit.

One of the biggest mistakes after preparing a pizza is leaving it to sit. If the dough sits with toppings for too long, additional moisture is absorbed, causing pizza stone sticking. Work quickly and efficiently, but don’t rush.

#2. Use flour or cornmeal on the surface where you stretch out the dough.

Before putting the dough on the countertop to stretch it out, sprinkle flour or cornmeal on the surface. This will help prevent the dough from sticking. You can also lightly dust your hands with flour to make it easier to work with the dough. After rolling it out, be sure to sprinkle a light layer of flour on the surface again before placing the freshly rolled dough on top.

#3. Always use cornmeal or flour when using a pizza peel.

It’s important to know how to use a pizza peel properly to transfer pizza to a stone. The best way to prevent the pizza from sticking to the peel is to flour or cornmeal the pizza peel, and then slide it under the dough.

#4. Always preheat the pizza stone to the desired temperature.

The stone must be preheated along with the oven or outdoor pizza oven to bake pizza correctly. The most common cause of pizza stuck to a pizza stone is the stone not being preheated.

#5. Keep the pizza stone clean.

Leftover bits that remain on the stone can cause the next pizza you bake to stick, and can add an off-putting burnt flavor. Use a brush to remove the bits before baking the next pizza.

#6. Avoid using flour or cornmeal directly on the pizza stone.

If you put flour or cornmeal on the pizza stone, and then put your pizza on the stone, the flour or cornmeal will burn, and that burnt flavor will bake into your pizza. This is why you should only use flour or cornmeal on the pizza peel. When it is on the bottom of the crust before being placed on the pizza stone, it bakes evenly and will not burn.

#7. Never use oil or cooking spray on the pizza stone.

It might seem tempting to oil the pizza stone or spray it with cooking spray to prevent sticking. However, doing so could cause your pizza stone to crack and break, so don’t do it.

Outdoor Pizza Ovens and Pizza-Making Accessories