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I have a ceramic pizza stone that I believe is 16 inches in diameter.

It cooks pizza very well and I try and follow all of the instructions included with the stone, but I have yet to make one pizza that does not stick in a few places, usually about 2-3 inches from the edge.

Before anyone says "Put cornmeal on the stone," I already have, a lot. I put what I believe is enough down without creating a giant dusting of cornmeal on my pizza when it's done. If I add more I will just be getting a giant taste of cornmeal from the bottom of my pizza.

Here is a list of that come to mind:

  1. Use flour, but heard it will burn
  2. Use vegetable oil, but it can crack the stone (instructions)
  3. Use tin foil, but does that not void the purpose of the stone and its seasoning applied overtime?

I always preheat the stone in the manner the instructions say and such, but it still sticks to the point I have to get a fork and scrape 3-4 pieces off in certain spots.

Does anybody have any unknown secrets to getting it not to stick without religiously applying cornmeal?

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  • 3
    A sheet of parchment.
    – Stephie ♦
    Apr 14, 2016 at 19:51
  • Have you searched the site for Q/A's about pizza stones yet? The seasoned / not seasoned bit is discussed there somewhere... Ah, here: cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/10661/…
    – Stephie ♦
    Apr 14, 2016 at 19:56
  • I'm not sure what you mean by "disregards the seasoning"? It certainly won't remove any seasoning from the stone, and unlike a wok or cast iron pan, a pizza stone being "seasoned" doesn't have an impact on the flavor of the pizza. There's really no disadvantage to using the parchment.
    – SourDoh
    Apr 15, 2016 at 0:18
  • Corn meal is often too fine to be effective, especially in the US. Try coarse corn meal or better yet coarse semolina and I bet your problem will go away.
    – GdD
    Apr 15, 2016 at 7:38
  • How about season the stone the same way you season cast iron? Wipe on some oil and bake the oil dry.
    – Escoce
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:19

4 Answers 4

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I'd use parchment paper. Foil might work, but it's not actually that great a nonstick baking material. Parchment paper is pretty much designed for that, though.

The purpose of the stone is to hold a lot of heat. Parchment doesn't "void" that purpose at all. I've baked plenty of pizza and bread on a stone with parchment, and it works great.

There's no need to worry about seasoning. It doesn't matter for the pizza. It's pretty much just an appearance thing; a well-used pizza stone won't be all pristine and clean like a new one.

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  • Tried this and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the advice and the seasoning clarifying.
    – theblindprophet
    Apr 20, 2016 at 3:14
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How about just making sure it's very well floured on the bottom? I use a very ample dusting of cornmeal on my stone, and really only the cornmeal that touches the dough actually sticks to the dough -- the rest stays on the stone, and I brush it into the trash after the oven has cooled.

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  • That sounds reasonable, I'll give it a try, thanks.
    – theblindprophet
    Apr 14, 2016 at 22:28
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Assemble the pizza on a cornmeal-dusted pizza peel (large flat handled tray). You need enough cornmeal to ensure that the pizza can slide off the peel and onto the stone. If the pizza slides freely on the peel, I have found it does not stick to a pizza stone/steel.

If the pizza sticks to the peel, it can be a mess trying to transfer to the stone. You may end up with a calzone instead of a pizza.

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Use fennel seed in place of cornmeal

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  • Fennel seeds release their distinct sweet aroma when heated, which I don't think most of the people would like in their pizza.
    – Ess Kay
    Jan 8, 2019 at 10:05

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