Comments on: The Sugary Pizza Debacle: Cleaning The Stoneware Aftermath

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:25:59 +0000

Thanks for the post about stone ware.

By: Elesha

Elesha — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:38:14 +0000

well I don’t know for sure about the hairline crack theory but I was told about the self-clean cycle by a
Regional Director from Pamp Chef several years ago and I have tried it at least 5-6 times.

Now I will add that I do leave my stone ware in my oven all the time so it is constantly getting heated.

Good luck either way!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:17:15 +0000

How did you KNOW I needed this post?! I am telling you, I’ve had a stoneware baking pan sitting in the sink for over three weeks because I haven’t known how to clean it. At times, it’s been on the bottom of a terribly disgusting pile of dirty dishes. It’s been soaking in the filth of them, which is probably even worse than putting soap on it. So THANKS!

By: amy

amy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:09:54 +0000

Great advice – I am actually a Pampered Chef Consultant and I would offer the following –

Do the cleaning with baking soda – NEVER soap – the more soap you use the worse off your stone gets.

As far as the self-cleaning cycle, I would just go for a high temp for an hour or so to help burn off some of the mess. It will stink, but will work. If you stoneware cracks during a high heat like the self clean, then you will not be able to have it replaced by PC. If it cracks in a normal oven temp (450 or so) then it’s totally replaceable!

By: dwindle

dwindle — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:55:20 +0000

Btw…

Don’t ever, ever use soap. You will have to wait eternities for the taste to come out. If you for some reason do need to use soap, use lye instead (oven cleaner (which is mostly lye) works just fine, and rinses right off).

By: dwindle

dwindle — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:52:06 +0000

I’ve run my stone through the self clean cycle, and it worked fine. Keep in mind, the over had been run several times without using the stone (I leave it in the oven to keep the heat balanced for other dishes).

If you want to try this, I say let it spend at least an hour at normal cooking temperatures before running the clean cycle. As long as there is no moisture trapped inside the stone, the heat shouldn’t bother it (remember, the stone was originally forged at over 700 degrees).
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In my experience as a pizza maker, warm salt water soaked on a rag, scrubbed on a hot (but not extremely hot – 350 ish) stone will clean it well, but take away from the “seasoning”.
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If any of you end up in a situation where you want to cook something that may very well burn in the same way, put a nice layer of corn meal or semolina down on the stone first – it will brush off easily from the finished product.

By: Badbadivy

Badbadivy — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:28:11 +0000

Elesha, my Pampered Chef consultant told me that putting it in the oven on self-cleaning cycle could cause hairline cracks in the stone and eventually cause it to break.

Clearly, it’s working out alright for you, so it may be a case of “cover your hiney”, but I’d just be a little leery of that.

By: Elesha

Elesha — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:13:10 +0000

I don’t know what brand of stoneware you are using,but I use Pampered chef and I just put my stone in the oven and turn on the self cleaning cycle and it will take it back to the original color then wait for it to cool off and rinse it and you are all set. I have had my stoneware for about 8 years and it works everytime.

However you may want to lightly spray it with cooking oil or Pam before it’s next use.

By: tammy

tammy — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:18:08 +0000

Lol!!

As for not using soap on a stone….well this just grossed my husband out and he told me I better figure something out because if he was doing the dishes and saw it would use dish soap on it regardless. My begging and pleading didn’t work, so I decided to get smart and find something that would make us both happy!

If the baking soda mixture doesn’t please you as a cleaner, there are all natural dish “soaps” out there that I have tried, and have worked just fine on my stoneware. My favorite is Ultra Dishmate by Earth Friendly Products, I picked it up at Whole Foods. The scent is Natural Almond. It contains water, coconut oil, salt, almond oil and cherry oil.

By: diXymiss

diXymiss — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:21:10 +0000

I laughed, I cried…I took notes! My DH tried to “help” with clean-up and washed my beloved pizza stone with soap. The neXt time I used it, our pizza crust had a distinctive soapy flavor. I had written it off as a lost cause (the stone ~ not the husband), but will give your deep-cleaning tip a try. ThanX