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Tricks & tips for keeping your pizza stone spotless
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Ooni baking stones are great for creating a crispy crust on your next pizza, but how do you clean up burnt-on residue on the surface? Flour, sauce, cheese, and toppings can all get stuck on your pizza stone, but it’s so easy to remove with the proper techniques. Since you’re not supposed to use soap or water to clean an Ooni pizza stone, we’ll walk you through the proper way to take care of it. Keep reading for everything you need to know to maintain your Ooni pizza stone and cook the perfect pie every time!
Things You Should Know
- Set your oven to the highest temperature for 30 minutes to bake off food residue stuck on your pizza stone.
- Scrape off burnt food with a pizza oven brush once the stone has cooled.
- Remove stains by scrubbing the pizza stone with a baking soda paste and a damp cloth.
Steps
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Bake the stone in your oven at the hottest temperature for 30 minutes. Put your Ooni stone in your oven or pizza oven and crank up the heat to the highest setting possible. Let the stone warm up for about 30 minutes so all the leftover food on the surface burns away. After 30 minutes, turn your oven off. [1] X Research source
- Keep your pizza stone in your oven while it heats up. If you put a cold or room temp pizza stone in your oven after it heats up, the stone could crack or break from the temperature change.
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Wait for the stone to cool completely before taking it out. Your pizza stone will hold a lot of heat even after you turn your oven off, so give it about 1 hour for the stone to cool off. After your stone is cool enough to handle, carefully pull it out of your oven to continue cleaning it. [2] X Research sourceAdvertisement
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Scrape residue off the stone with a pizza oven brush . A pizza oven brush has a hard metal scraper at the end and wire bristles to get rid of whatever residue is leftover after baking the stone. Apply gentle pressure and move the scraper back and forth over your Ooni pizza stone to clean off the burnt residue . Then, sweep all of the residue into the trash using the brush bristles. [3] X Research source
- Don’t have a pizza oven brush? Use a metal or hard plastic spatula to scrape the residue off instead.
- Avoid using a sharp knife for cleaning an Ooni pizza stone since you could damage the surface.
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Flip your pizza stone over the next time you cook. Turn your pizza stone upside-down so the dirty side is face-down and the clean cooking surface is face-up. Slide the stone back in your oven so it’s ready to use the next time you make a pizza . Whenever you heat up your oven again, the heat will burn off any remaining residue so it’s clean and sterilized the next time you use it. [4] X Research source
- If you only have a little burnt-on food on your pizza stone, then you may not need to scrape it off with a brush. Flipping the stone upside-down may be all you need to do.
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Leave the stains on the stone if they don’t bother you. It’s completely normal for stains to develop on your pizza stone the more you use it, and they don’t change the flavor of your food. If you don’t mind seeing the darkened spots on your pizza stone, just let them be and continue using the stone as normal. [5] X Research source
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Make a paste of equal parts baking soda and warm water. Mix together 1 tablespoon (17 g) of baking soda with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of water in a small bowl. Keep stirring the mixture together until it forms a thick paste. [6] X Research source
- Baking soda acts as an abrasive cleaner that can help lift stains from the surface of your Ooni pizza stone without leaving scratches or causing any damage.
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Scrub the paste onto your pizza stone with a damp cloth. Wet a clean microfiber cloth and wring it out completely. Dip the corner of the cloth in the baking soda paste and gently scrub it onto your pizza stone. Work in circular motions across the stain for about 5–10 minutes until you see the stain lighten up. [7] X Research source
- Avoid using any soap or a soaking wet cloth. The soap and water can absorb into the stone and cause it to heat up unevenly, or the soapy flavor may come through on any food you cook.
- You can also apply the paste with a brush to scrub stubborn stains.
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Wipe the paste off with a clean cloth. Dampen another cloth and rub it over your Ooni pizza stone to get rid of the paste. Wipe the entire surface to ensure there isn’t any residual baking soda left on the surface. [8] X Research source
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Let your pizza stone air-dry completely before using it. Start by drying off as much water as you’re able to with paper towels or a dry cloth so it doesn’t soak into the stone. Then, put your pizza stone on a drying rack or stand it up in a well-ventilated space so it dries out. [9] X Research source
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Wipe soot off with a dry paper towel. Wait until your pizza oven has cooled completely so you don’t burn yourself while you’re cleaning. Take a large sheet of paper towel and rub it over the entire surface of your pizza oven. Focus on any areas where soot has built up around the chimney or pellet hopper to ensure they’re clean. [10] X Research source
- While the inside of your oven shouldn’t be too dirty, run your paper towel along the interior in case there’s any residue.
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Clean off stubborn residue with a soapy cloth. Wet a clean cloth with warm water and dish detergent, and wring it out. Gently scrub the outside of your Ooni pizza oven where you see soot sticking to the surface. Once you get all of the residue off of your oven, wipe it with a clean, dry cloth to lift up the soap. [11] X Research source
- Avoid using soap or water inside your oven since it could negatively impact the flavor of the next pizza you make.
- If you have an Ooni Fyra 12, check the pellet hopper for creosote, which is excess soot that looks black and oily. Use a clean soapy cloth to wipe out the pellet hopper until you don’t see any more creosote.
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Use stainless steel cleaner on rusty parts of your pizza oven. The Ooni Karu 12 and Pro 16 have more stainless steel pieces than other pizza ovens, so they’re more susceptible to corrosion. Wet a cloth with your cleaner or something like Bar Keepers Friend , and rub it over the surface until the patina or rust lifts up. [12] X Research source
- Avoid using any abrasive cloths or cleaners since they could damage your pizza oven.
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Tips
- Only cook dry, bread-based dishes on your Ooni pizza stone. If you’re planning on cooking meat, veggies, or any other wet ingredients, put them in a cast iron pan instead. [13] X Research sourceThanks
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Warnings
- Avoid using soap or soaking your pizza stone in water since you could cause damage to the stone. [14] X Research sourceThanks
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Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about cleaning, check out our in-depth interview with Alessandra Mendes .
References
- ↑ https://youtu.be/j9A6yp3QMN0?t=167
- ↑ https://support.ooni.com/en_us/how-do-i-clean-my-ooni-karu-12-Bkd7TR_fi
- ↑ http://files.ooni.com/product-resources/ooni-fyra-essentials.pdf
- ↑ http://files.ooni.com/product-resources/OoniKaru-Essentials-v1_0-DIGITAL.pdf
- ↑ http://files.ooni.com/product-resources/OoniKaru-Essentials-v1_0-DIGITAL.pdf
- ↑ https://youtu.be/4F5DcR3d7xQ?t=58
- ↑ https://www.crustkingdom.com/pizza-stone-smoking/
- ↑ https://thepizzacalc.com/how-to-clean-ooni-pizza-stone/
- ↑ https://thepizzacalc.com/how-to-clean-ooni-pizza-stone/
- ↑ https://support.ooni.com/en_us/how-do-i-clean-my-ooni-koda-16-SyPVpA_fi
- ↑ https://support.ooni.com/en_us/how-do-i-clean-my-ooni-koda-16-SyPVpA_fi
- ↑ http://files.ooni.com/product-resources/ooni-fyra-essentials.pdf
- ↑ http://files.ooni.com/product-resources/ooni-fyra-essentials.pdf
- ↑ https://support.ooni.com/en_us/how-do-i-clean-my-ooni-karu-12-Bkd7TR_fi
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