I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and
drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off
but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?

"Moka Java" > wrote in message
...
>I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the self
>clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really need to be
>cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and drips that it
>catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off but there are
>various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?

So just run the oven cleaning cycle anyway. If you have the heat on in the
house the excess heat will be not wasted. The stains will probably still be
there, but the grease will be gone.

Dee Randall wrote:
> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Moka Java" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the self
>>> clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really need to be
>>> cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and drips that it
>>> catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off but there are
>>> various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>> So just run the oven cleaning cycle anyway. If you have the heat on in
>> the house the excess heat will be not wasted.
>
>
> Unless it's so smokey that you'll have to open the windows! as in my case.
> Today gusting to 50mph & 29º. We just had to retrieve the grill cover.
>
> Wait until tomorrow if it's too cold outside.
>
> Dee Dee
>

My range hood is very efficient. Of course, that draws heat out of the
house. Nothing like heating the great outdoors!

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Moka Java" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the self
>>clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really need to be
>>cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and drips that it
>>catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off but there are
>>various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>
> So just run the oven cleaning cycle anyway. If you have the heat on in
> the house the excess heat will be not wasted.


Unless it's so smokey that you'll have to open the windows! as in my case.
Today gusting to 50mph & 29º. We just had to retrieve the grill cover.

Wait until tomorrow if it's too cold outside.

Dee Dee

Moka Java wrote:
> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
> need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and
> drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off
> but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?

I have been using pizza stones for years and years. Besides wiping up
any fresh spills when possible, I never clean mine. If it gets too ucky,
I go to the discount store and buy another for $10 or so. I'm on number
3 stone for the last 20 years. Number 2 stone broke in the RV.



--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

"Janet Wilder" > wrote in message
...
> Moka Java wrote:
>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really need
>> to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and drips
>> that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off but
>> there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>
> I have been using pizza stones for years and years. Besides wiping up any
> fresh spills when possible, I never clean mine. If it gets too ucky, I go
> to the discount store and buy another for $10 or so. I'm on number 3 stone
> for the last 20 years. Number 2 stone broke in the RV.
>
>
>
> --
> Janet Wilder

Your posting makes me think about perhaps getting a stone just for pizza --
well, now, that's pretty frugal, isn't it?
I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
clean stones that one uses for bread.
I value the stones I have now, so I may try something different, or even try
one of those -- is it? Fibrament?
I think I'll keep my eyes "peeled" in the next few months.

Dee Dee

Dee Randall wrote:
> "Janet Wilder" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Moka Java wrote:
>>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>>> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really need
>>> to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and drips
>>> that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off but
>>> there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>> I have been using pizza stones for years and years. Besides wiping up any
>> fresh spills when possible, I never clean mine. If it gets too ucky, I go
>> to the discount store and buy another for $10 or so. I'm on number 3 stone
>> for the last 20 years. Number 2 stone broke in the RV.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Janet Wilder
>
> Your posting makes me think about perhaps getting a stone just for pizza --
> well, now, that's pretty frugal, isn't it?
> I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
> clean stones that one uses for bread.
> I value the stones I have now, so I may try something different, or even try
> one of those -- is it? Fibrament?
> I think I'll keep my eyes "peeled" in the next few months.

I've been known to throw a Silpat over my stone when baking a loaf of
bread :-)

--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

In article >,
"Dee Randall" > wrote:

> Your posting makes me think about perhaps getting a stone just for pizza --
> well, now, that's pretty frugal, isn't it?
> I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
> clean stones that one uses for bread.
> I value the stones I have now, so I may try something different, or even try
> one of those -- is it? Fibrament?

Have you ever seen a pizza parlour's stone oven surface? Not pretty.
Still works.


jt

"jt august" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Dee Randall" > wrote:
>
>> Your posting makes me think about perhaps getting a stone just for
>> pizza --
>> well, now, that's pretty frugal, isn't it?
>> I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy
>> nice
>> clean stones that one uses for bread.
>> I value the stones I have now, so I may try something different, or even
>> try
>> one of those -- is it? Fibrament?
>
> Have you ever seen a pizza parlour's stone oven surface? Not pretty.
> Still works.
>
>
> jt


Right. I don't care how my pizza stone would/could/might look. But I like
a pretty clean surface for bread. Please, no goo on my labor-intensive
artisan breads. :-)

Dee Dee

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:18:46 -0500, "Dee Randall" > wrote:

>I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
>clean stones that one uses for bread.

Destroy? You must be using some really potent pepperoni...

My stone, which never comes out of the oven, sometimes has a few barely
detectable stains on it until going through the next self-cleaning sycle, but
nothing that affects baking.

But if you're really paranoid about barely visible stains 8, every bake stone
I've owned has two sides -- simply reserve one pristine side for baking, and
normally keep it downward in the oven.

-- Larry

Janet Wilder wrote:
> Moka Java wrote:
>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
>> need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents
>> and drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid
>> matter off but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any
>> suggestions?
>
> I have been using pizza stones for years and years. Besides wiping up
> any fresh spills when possible, I never clean mine. If it gets too ucky,
> I go to the discount store and buy another for $10 or so. I'm on number
> 3 stone for the last 20 years. Number 2 stone broke in the RV.
>
>
>

I may be heading for # 3 pretty soon. The 14" x 15" ones I like are as
low as $#16.95 on Amazon.

pltrgyst wrote:
> On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:18:46 -0500, "Dee Randall" > wrote:
>
>> I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
>> clean stones that one uses for bread.
>
> Destroy? You must be using some really potent pepperoni...
>
> My stone, which never comes out of the oven, sometimes has a few barely
> detectable stains on it until going through the next self-cleaning sycle, but
> nothing that affects baking.
>
> But if you're really paranoid about barely visible stains 8, every bake stone
> I've owned has two sides -- simply reserve one pristine side for baking, and
> normally keep it downward in the oven.
>
> -- Larry

That's a good idea. My stone is always in the oven for the stabilizing
effect even when not baking.

My stone has smooth surface on one side but a raised pattern on the other.
If I bake bread on the stone I just put some baking paper down first. After
nearly 15 years, the most we have done is scrape off the obvious spills. I
have to say that it never occurred to me to clean it!

"pltrgyst" > wrote in message
news
> On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:18:46 -0500, "Dee Randall" >
> wrote:
>
>>I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
>>clean stones that one uses for bread.
>
> Destroy? You must be using some really potent pepperoni...
>
> My stone, which never comes out of the oven, sometimes has a few barely
> detectable stains on it until going through the next self-cleaning sycle,
> but
> nothing that affects baking.
>
> But if you're really paranoid about barely visible stains 8, every bake
> stone
> I've owned has two sides -- simply reserve one pristine side for baking,
> and
> normally keep it downward in the oven.
>
> -- Larry

"pltrgyst" > wrote in message
news
> On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:18:46 -0500, "Dee Randall" >
> wrote:
>
>>I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy nice
>>clean stones that one uses for bread.
>
> Destroy? You must be using some really potent pepperoni...
>
> My stone, which never comes out of the oven, sometimes has a few barely
> detectable stains on it until going through the next self-cleaning sycle,
> but
> nothing that affects baking.
>
> But if you're really paranoid about barely visible stains 8, every bake
> stone
> I've owned has two sides -- simply reserve one pristine side for baking,
> and
> normally keep it downward in the oven.
>
> -- Larry


Hi Larry,

I bought (in other words, DH bought) a large Costco pizza last week (on sale
of course) which I cut into 4 pieces (silly me) and baked. Cheese galore in
hunks on my stones. I can get the hunks off, but wet gloopy bread dough
going on top of those smaller burnt-on pieces of cheese is not for me. I
don't demand pristine by any means, but .... I usually make my own pizza
and keep the cheese to a minimum and closer to the middle, but still I have
problems sometimes.

My stones have small legs on them, so I never think of turning them up-side
down.

But since your posting last week, I'm more apt now to keep the stones in the
oven, although I do sometimes set them aside the range on the counter to
place hot, hot large pans on (in place of the 11x11 silicone hot pads you
recommended and I purchased three of them). Usually I have them covered
with aluminum foil in that case - just because I like to do that ;-))
Otherwise, they have gone in another room, but I like more and more the idea
of keeping them in the oven.

It's hard to get used to the idea that perhaps I don't want to put a
casserole/souffle bowl, etc. directly on top of a heated stone (since I keep
one on top and one on bottom of range), and there is no other place to put
them.

For original poster:
I was reading about Fibrament (sp?) and there is a fact sheet on how to keep
a stone http://www.bakingstone.com/faq.php
At #12. It says:

"You can also bake-off the heavy spills. Instead of turning the oven off
when you are through baking, turn it up to the highest temperature setting
for 60 to 120 minutes. This will charcoalize the residue spilled onto the
stone.

Remember baking stones naturally darken and discolor over time with use.
The grease and toppings that drop on the stone actually improve the baking
properties. This seals the surface of the stone and minimizes the chance of
dough sticking to the surface.

This stone has been used several times a week for the last five plus years."

It shows a picture of the way I find totally acceptable.

Dee Dee

I use parchment paper 'sometimes.' But it is not the first thought. If I
do put parchment down, I will remove it from underneath the bread in 10-15
minutes so that the bread can bake on the stone. Reason -- je ne sais pas.
Dee Dee


"Viviane" > wrote in message
. au...
> My stone has smooth surface on one side but a raised pattern on the other.
> If I bake bread on the stone I just put some baking paper down first.
> After nearly 15 years, the most we have done is scrape off the obvious
> spills. I have to say that it never occurred to me to clean it!
>
> "pltrgyst" > wrote in message
> news
>> On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:18:46 -0500, "Dee Randall" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy
>>>nice
>>>clean stones that one uses for bread.
>>
>> Destroy? You must be using some really potent pepperoni...
>>
>> My stone, which never comes out of the oven, sometimes has a few barely
>> detectable stains on it until going through the next self-cleaning sycle,
>> but
>> nothing that affects baking.
>>
>> But if you're really paranoid about barely visible stains 8, every
>> bake stone
>> I've owned has two sides -- simply reserve one pristine side for baking,
>> and
>> normally keep it downward in the oven.
>>
>> -- Larry
>
>

"Moka Java" > wrote in message
...
> Janet Wilder wrote:
>> Moka Java wrote:
>>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>>> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
>>> need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and
>>> drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off
>>> but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>>
>> I have been using pizza stones for years and years. Besides wiping up any
>> fresh spills when possible, I never clean mine. If it gets too ucky, I go
>> to the discount store and buy another for $10 or so. I'm on number 3
>> stone for the last 20 years. Number 2 stone broke in the RV.
>>
>>
>>
>
> I may be heading for # 3 pretty soon. The 14" x 15" ones I like are as
> low as $#16.95 on Amazon.


Thanks for the heads-up. I will be purchasing that configuration myself.
Round is certainly limiting -- sometimes it's nice to make a
square/rectangle pizza.

Yes, I know -- one can make a square pizza on a round stone :-)))))
Dee Dee

Dee Randall wrote:
> "Moka Java" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Janet Wilder wrote:
>>> Moka Java wrote:
>>>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>>>> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
>>>> need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and
>>>> drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off
>>>> but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>>> I have been using pizza stones for years and years. Besides wiping up any
>>> fresh spills when possible, I never clean mine. If it gets too ucky, I go
>>> to the discount store and buy another for $10 or so. I'm on number 3
>>> stone for the last 20 years. Number 2 stone broke in the RV.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> I may be heading for # 3 pretty soon. The 14" x 15" ones I like are as
>> low as $#16.95 on Amazon.
>
>
> Thanks for the heads-up. I will be purchasing that configuration myself.
> Round is certainly limiting -- sometimes it's nice to make a
> square/rectangle pizza.
>
> Yes, I know -- one can make a square pizza on a round stone :-)))))
> Dee Dee
>
>

I make round pizzas on the square stone. My aim is lousy to begin with
but trying to get a decent sized pizza on a round stone is too much of a
challenge for me. Actually, my round pizzas are rarely "round" more
often shaped like the continent of Africa or Australia though I've been
getting better in recent years.

To those who are putting parchment or silpats on their stones, doesn't
that defeat the purpose of using a stone to absorb moisture from your
baked goods?

Broke a stone once, bought a new one for our Jenn-Air built-in.
(gas-fired) The old stone's two fragments went on an upper
rack, the new one went into the lower rack. Breads improved.

Advice: don't fill your oven's steamer bowl with cold water
when it's sitting on your baking stone! Trust me on this.

Alex

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:18:20 -0500, Moka Java
> wrote:

>
>That's a good idea. My stone is always in the oven for the stabilizing
>effect even when not baking.

We also remove the paper after a few minutes. Having it on for a short
while (for pizzas and bread) allows the dough to start to cook without
picking up all the gunk from the stone and then removing the paper allows
the dough to crisp up from the stone.

"Dee Randall" > wrote in message
...
>I use parchment paper 'sometimes.' But it is not the first thought. If I
>do put parchment down, I will remove it from underneath the bread in 10-15
>minutes so that the bread can bake on the stone. Reason -- je ne sais
>pas.
> Dee Dee
>
>
> "Viviane" > wrote in message
> . au...
>> My stone has smooth surface on one side but a raised pattern on the
>> other. If I bake bread on the stone I just put some baking paper down
>> first. After nearly 15 years, the most we have done is scrape off the
>> obvious spills. I have to say that it never occurred to me to clean it!
>>
>> "pltrgyst" > wrote in message
>> news
>>> On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:18:46 -0500, "Dee Randall" >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>I have not thought of that previously, but a pizza can really destroy
>>>>nice
>>>>clean stones that one uses for bread.
>>>
>>> Destroy? You must be using some really potent pepperoni...
>>>
>>> My stone, which never comes out of the oven, sometimes has a few barely
>>> detectable stains on it until going through the next self-cleaning
>>> sycle, but
>>> nothing that affects baking.
>>>
>>> But if you're really paranoid about barely visible stains 8, every
>>> bake stone
>>> I've owned has two sides -- simply reserve one pristine side for baking,
>>> and
>>> normally keep it downward in the oven.
>>>
>>> -- Larry
>>
>>
>
>

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> "Moka Java" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the self
>> clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really need to be
>> cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and drips that it
>> catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off but there are
>> various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>
> So just run the oven cleaning cycle anyway. If you have the heat on in the
> house the excess heat will be not wasted. The stains will probably still be
> there, but the grease will be gone.
>
>

Great advice, thanks, it looks new. Grease, stains, all gone.

On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 16:12:27 +1100, "Viviane" >
wrote:

>"Dee Randall" > wrote in message
...
>>I use parchment paper 'sometimes.' But it is not the first thought. If I
>>do put parchment down, I will remove it from underneath the bread in 10-15
>>minutes so that the bread can bake on the stone. Reason -- je ne sais
>>pas.
>
>We also remove the paper after a few minutes. Having it on for a short
>while (for pizzas and bread) allows the dough to start to cook without
>picking up all the gunk from the stone and then removing the paper allows
>the dough to crisp up from the stone.

Hmmm -- we don't bother to remove the parchment from pizza, and have never noted
that it makes any difference. Not at 550 deg F plus, anyway.

-- Larry

"Moka Java" > wrote in message
...
>I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
>need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents
>and drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid
>matter off but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any
>suggestions?

Ignore them?

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:21:39 -0500, Moka Java
> wrote:

> Any suggestions?

Just let it go. Some things are just not important enough to worry
about.

Mr. Bill wrote:
> On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:21:39 -0500, Moka Java
> > wrote:
>
>> Any suggestions?
>
> Just let it go. Some things are just not important enough to worry
> about.
>

Yes, but it gave off smoke when cooing other stuff in the oven and now
it;s clean like new. Thanks for being so thoughtful and helpful. Do
you eat out a lot?

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:26:04 -0500, Moka Java
> wrote:

>Mr. Bill wrote:
>> On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:21:39 -0500, Moka Java
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Any suggestions?
>>
>> Just let it go. Some things are just not important enough to worry
>> about.
>>
>
>Yes, but it gave off smoke when cooing other stuff in the oven and now
>it;s clean like new. Thanks for being so thoughtful and helpful. Do
>you eat out a lot?

Hardly ever.....my stones have been in use for twenty plus years and
this has never been a problem at my kitchen.

If you are preheating your stones as recommended by manufacturers, you
will find they do not have residue when heated to the proper
temperature.

Good luck....and maybe you might need an effective kitchen fan.

Rub a mixture of baking soda and water on the stone with a toothbrush to remove small stains.
Never put soap on a pizza stone or soak it in soapy water. Most pizza stones are made of ceramic that is porous and soap will absorb into the stone. The soap will then be released from the stone when you cook with it.
Never put a hot pizza stone on a cold surface, as it may crack.
Excessive oil buildup on a pizza stone may cause it to smoke when it is being used.

On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:50:59 +0000, cess > wrote:

>Rub a mixture of baking soda and water on the stone with a toothbrush to
>remove small stains...

Ummm, you're over a month late to the party. Did it take you that long to read
the thread?

-- Larry (and I thought *I* was the slow one...)

pltrgyst > wrote in
:

> On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:50:59 +0000, cess
> > wrote:
>
>>Rub a mixture of baking soda and water on the stone with a
>>toothbrush to remove small stains...
>
> Ummm, you're over a month late to the party. Did it take you
> that long to read the thread?
>
> -- Larry (and I thought *I* was the slow one...)

Looks like it was posted from an online forum (foodbanter) NOT
USENET!

On Sun 07 Dec 2008 08:21:39a, Moka Java told us...

> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
> need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and
> drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter off
> but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>

I've often run my oven's self clean cycle when the oven itself didn't
particularly need cleaning. I use it to clean my baking stones, as well as
the enamelled cast iron grates to my gas grill. AFAIC, it's worth the few
pennies it costs to run the cycle, and also cleans better than any amount
of scrubbing or other cleaning methods you might apply. Just my 2¢.

--
Wayne Boatwright
e-mail to wayneboatwright at gmail dot com
************************************************** **********************
Date: Sunday, 01(I)/25(XXV)/09(MMIX)
************************************************** **********************
************************************************** **********************
It's a small world but I'd hate to have to paint it.
************************************************** **********************

A simple and easy way to clean it is the mixture of vinegar and washing soda. Spray it using a squirt bottle and soak for 2-3 hours, then brush it and rinse.

cez wrote:
> Moka Java;1231631 Wrote:
>> I see from another thread here that a baking stone will withstand the
>> self clean cycle of an electric or gas oven. My oven doesn't really
>> need to be cleaned yet but the stone is a mess from pizza accidents and
>>
>> drips that it catches from above. I've scraped all the solid matter
>> off
>> but there are various food stains and grease spots. Any suggestions?
>
> A simple and easy way to clean it is the mixture of vinegar and washing
> soda. Spray it using a squirt bottle and soak for 2-3 hours, then brush
> it and rinse.
>

Thanks but I'd rather keep anything that might cause an off flavor away
from my food. The stone is porous and will certainly hold the vinegar
and washing soda for a while. The self clean cycle worked like a charm
though, the stone looks like new with very little effort. Larry's
advice to flip the stone over when not in use is a real help too.