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We've got a 40x30cm granite chopping board that I never use (it's more decorative than useful), and I've wondered for a while if it might work as a pizza stone.

The top and sides of the board are either very polished or possibly coated, I'm not sure - it's very smooth anyway - but the underside is clearly not prepared and is comparitively rough.

If I can successfully remove the feet it's got on the bottom, do you think using the underside would work (and be safe?) as a pizza stone?
Would I need to prepare/season/etc it before use?

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    Don't use it as a cutting board -- granite will kill your knives. If it were larger, I'd recommend using it for rolling out pastries, as it has a high thermal mass and would stay cool especially if chilled first. Given the size, I'd probably only use it as a decorative cheese board or other decorative platter.
    – Joe
    Aug 3, 2010 at 17:10
  • I don't use it for cutting, and haven't done for years. However, using it for pastries is a good idea, and one that I've not heard suggested before.
    – DMA57361
    Aug 3, 2010 at 17:33
  • Update! It took a while to get round to it, but on Sunday (2 days ago) I finally used the board as a pizza stone, and it seemed to work well - so it's pretty much as "yes" for this working. :)
    – DMA57361
    Aug 31, 2010 at 18:23

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Jamie Oliver has previously recommened the use of a simple granite slab as a Pizza stone so provided there are no coatings etc. it is feasible.

You will need to be careful to start with though. Granite could shatter under thermal stress or due to trapped water and when it does so, it could do so in an explosive way damaging your cooker. You need to be sure that the board is granite as other stones may not be strong enough under thermal stress. You need to be careful of reconstituted stone as well because this will not necesserily perform the same as natural stone. Make sure that there are no signs of weakness in the board such as cracks or natural weaknesses. Make sure that the stone is thick enough to avoid issues with stress changes as the stone heats up.

If you are going to go for it, I would recommend initially do it slowly, start out with the over cold and heat it up to a lowish temperature a leave it for a while, then turn the over off and let it cool. Inspect the stone, check it for cracks or other signs of distress and give it a few light taps. It should 'ring'. Dull sounds are indiciative of cracks. Then go to a higher temperatures.

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  • It shattering was a concern, but one I seem to have forgotten to explicitly mention in my question - good job picking that up. Any idea as to how I judge how thick is likely "thick enough" regarding issues with thermal stress?
    – DMA57361
    Aug 3, 2010 at 9:58
  • Jamie Oliver recommended at least 2cm which seems fairly sensible to me. Always starting the stone in a cold oven will help with this so it is possible you could go thinner with care and good quality well cared for Granite.
    – Ian Turner
    Aug 3, 2010 at 10:07
  • OK, I shall measure it once I'm home and, assuming it's not wafer thin (it's probably about the 2cm mark iirc) run it through a few heat cycle to see what happen. Thanks for the advice.
    – DMA57361
    Aug 3, 2010 at 10:13
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A granite pizza stone works fine. I like crispy thin crust pizza and it does the trick. As mentioned by others, never use granite as a chopping board. I got mine (a scrap piece) from a local countertop maker for $5 It's 16x18x1.25 inches thick

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Fire bricks from your local home and garden store work great, last forever, and cost practically nothing. And they stack up pretty small when you're not using them.

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  • I agree. I use the thin "half thickness" bricks made for lining wood stove fireboxes. 6 bricks nicely pave an oven rack with edge space for convection. But it takes a full hour for the oven to fully pre-heat.
    – Woody
    Jan 31, 2022 at 3:59
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Various granites (cut and polished surfaces)

What type of granite is the board made of? I don't know if there are any differences between their ability to cope with heat, but when I was looking for a baking stone I was recommended black granite by a stonemasonry. I ended up buying the stone from a bakery however; a granite stone somewhere in the middle between the gray and the black one.

Baking stone in black granite.

Mine was the size of 350 x 350 x 30 mm (1.2 inches thick). And yes, bread and pizza came out delicious!

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