With its delicious combination of crispy dough and sweet tomato sauce overlaid with creamy cheese, there's a reason why pizza is one of the most popular meals out there. There's nothing quite like a steaming hot, crispy-based pizza coming fresh out of a wood-fired oven, but it can be hard to recreate the same quality at home. That's where a pizza stone comes in.
A ceramic or cordierite pizza stone will help you to create the perfect crisp base in your own oven, or even on your BBQ if you fancy some alfresco cooking. Whether from scratch or ready-made, we're going to guide you through all of the things you need to consider when choosing a pizza stone - all of our top picks are available to buy in the UK, from Amazon and B&Q.
Quick List - Top Pizza Stones
A recommendation service that carefully researches each product and consults with experts across many disciplines. We are constantly creating new content to provide the best shopping experience from choosing ‘cosmetics’ to ‘food and drink’, ‘home appliances’ to ‘kids and baby’ products, reaching users all across the United Kingdom.
Table of Contents
While most of us will probably think of pizza as being a famously circular food, this doesn't necessarily have to be the case. In fact Neapolitan pizzas are traditionally rectangular. Such pizzas are good for feeding a crowd as they can be cut up into squares (which the chees is less likely to slide off) and you can fit more dough, when rectangularly shaped, into a standard home oven.
A rectangular pizza stone gives you the option of being able to make a circular or a rectangular pizza, but if you know you're going to stick to traditionally-shaped pizza, you might be happier sticking to a circular stone.
Unless you're lucky enough to have a large, industrial-sized pizza oven, you won't want to buy a pizza stone that's too big. Most normal kitchen ovens aren't enormous, and a rectangular stone shouldn't be any larger than around 38 by 30 cm if you want to make sure it fits in without a hitch.
A circular stone's dimensions should be similar to avoid any potential size issues. If you are looking to cook your pizzas another way – in the aforementioned BBQ, for example – it's worth checking that the dimensions work for that as they might be different to your oven.
The dimensions you get will also come down to the size of pizzas you'll want to be making. If you're by yourself and would like to make personal pizzas, you won't need as big a stone as you would if you were making pizza for a large family.
Lots of pizza stones are ceramic, as this material gets really hot and spreads that heat evenly, resulting in an evenly baked base. Ceramic is slightly porous and excellent at removing moisture, which helps to create the crispy base pizza makers aspire to. It is also usually the cheaper option, if cost is something you're worried about.
Cordierite as another material option, pizza stones made of this naturally occurring mineral compound are very durable and can handle more extreme temperatures. One consequence of this material's hard-wearing nature is its weight, which is heavier than ceramic.
Catering for non-meat eaters? See our top Vegan Pizzas to try.
There are many reasons to love a BBQ, and if yours only comes out when it's time to cook some sausages on a hot summer's day, you are missing out. Barbecues make a great alternative to pizza ovens as you get the direct heat that a traditional pizza oven would have.
However, if you're thinking of cooking on a pizza stone, you'll have to ensure it is suitable for BBQ use. If it doesn't specify, then it's best to stick to the indoor oven as a stone might react badly (or even dangerously) to being put on direct heat if that's not what it's designed for.
Inspired to get outside? Here are our recommendations for the best portable pizza ovens.
As if getting a new pizza stone wasn't exciting enough, lots of them also come with helpful extras that will make cooking, serving and sharing your pizza a little easier. The most common additions to look out for include handles or a rack, which make your stone easier to carry (but do wear protective gloves to do so), a pizza cutter for sharing out slices and a paddle either for taking it in and out of the oven, or for serving.
Need help with creating pizzas from scratch? Check out our 10 best rolling pins.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hans Grill Pizza Stone Set | ![]() | An All-Rounder Suitable for All Cooking Methods | |
2 | BeChef Pizza Stone Set for Oven and BBQ | ![]() | A Complete Set of Paddle, Slicer and Pizza Stone | |
3 | DOLCE MARE Black Pizza Stone Set | ![]() | Smart Glazed Black Pizza Stone That Won't Show Stains | |
4 | Unicook Round Pizza Stone | ![]() | A Dough Scraper is Included For Dough-Kneading Perfection | |
5 | Navaris XL Pizza Stone | ![]() | A Basic but Effective Stone for Ovens or BBQs | |
6 | VonShef 3-Piece Pizza Stone Set | ![]() | Ceramic Pizza Stone With a Smart Acacia Wood Serving Board | |
7 | Rocksheat Pizza Stone Bread Baking Stone | ![]() | A Smart Cordierite Stone With Handles Built In | |
8 | BKC Pizza Stone for Oven or BBQ | ![]() | Large 38 cm x 30 cm Rectangular Pizza Stone for Feeding a Crowd | |
9 | KitchenCraft World of Flavours Pizza Stone | ![]() | This Proves a Pizza Stone Doesn't Have to Be Heavy | |
10 | Weber Barbecues Pizza stone | ![]() | A Quality Cordierite Pizza Stone For a Weber BBQ or For Your Oven |
Months of testing has led to the creation of a stone that you can have confidence in. With this stone, soggy pizza will be a thing of the past whether you're cooking in your oven, your BBQ, your grill or on your hob, all of which are compatible with this pizza stone.
The stone works to absorb excess moisture and cook your pizza thoroughly and evenly. Everything comes together to make this possible (the material, the thickness, the style) and you never know, you might just find that pizzas made and cooked at home on this stone are even better than those from your local pizzeria!
All your pizza-night needs will be ticked off with one purchase thanks to this complete set. With a paddle and a slicer in addition to your stone, you'll be ready to serve pizzas of all sorts of varieties and flavours.
The hard-wearing cordierite material makes it ideal for use in a domestic oven and a BBQ, being able to go between the two thanks to its resistance to dramatic heat changes. It's easy to clean too, as a wipe with a damp cloth is all that's needed to remove any pizza that might be left after use.
Here's another set that lends a hand when you're creating your pizza from scratch, with a wooden pizza slider and a professional looking cutter. The extra sharp pizza cutter is made from 50% recycled stainless steel.
Unlike most pizza stones, this one is black and glazed, which helps make it stainless and non-stick. So this pizza stone will continue to look smart even after many uses. It's worth noting that you can select a square version or stick with the circular version pictured, depending on your pizza preferences.
This stone, made from cordierite, is full of invisible micropores which absorb excess moisture from the dough, stopping your pizza from getting soggy. Being slightly smaller makes this stone wonderful for personal pizza portions, or if you're tight on oven or BBQ space.
Pizza dough can be difficult to handle, particularly during the early stages of its creation, and this is when a dough scraper comes in very handy. It allows you to move your dough and remove it from surfaces it's stuck to, which is why the inclusion of this tool will be welcomed by those bakers aiming for the perfect dough.
Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this pizza stone; it promises to be just as effective as those that might appear more so with all their gadgets and gizmos. The cordierite construction means that this pizza plate is stable at the most extreme of temperatures and can be used on the BBQ or grill.
Because of this stone's simplicity, the options for what you can do with it are endless. It not only works as a tray on which you can cook all sorts of sweet and savoury treats, but it also works as a cheeseboard too.
This neat little set is excellent for any pizza and film nights you might be having. It comes with a pizza cutter that has a user-friendly moulded handle and a beautiful, high-quality, acacia wood serving board.
This pizza stone will suit medium pizzas, the ceramic stone itself isn't too heavy, nor too big or too small, but unfortunately it isn't suitable for BBQ cooking, so it is less versatile than some other options.
This stylish pizza stone is sleek and compact, making it a great addition to small kitchens that can't absorb a lot of extra equipment. Ingeneously it has double-faced handles built into the design of the stone to save space.
The thickness of this stone is 1.6 cm, which is great for retaining and distributing heat, and, despite this thickness, it still isn't too heavy. What lets this stone down slightly is the lack of extras, but it might be a viable option if you already have all the pizza accessories you could need.
Although it's one of the more affordable options on this list, this stone has not had to sacrifice size to keep its price low. The large rectangle shape makes it great for baking a big pizza to feed many hungry mouths. You'll also get a pizza peel board and a metal serving rack.
This is a well-made but really rather heavy cordierite pizza stone, weighing in at 4.67 kg. So if your BBQ is situated a distance from your house, or if you struggle with wrist weakness issues, this may not be the pizza stone for you.
If a lightweight stone is something you're looking for, this might just fit the bill. As well as weighing less than half a kilo, this stone also has handles and a rack for it to stand on, making it even simpler to move. Any pizza will be easy to divide up with the included stainless steel slicing wheel, too.
Home bakers are always looking for that crisp, airy, Italian-style crust, and that's something that this stone can provide. However, the light nature of this stone means it may not be as effective as cooking a pizza all the way through and then retaining that heat, which is something to keep in mind.
Taking the form of a convenient serving rack with two handles attached, this pizza stone is simple to move from place to place - wearing oven gloves of course. The excellent heat dispersion also means that your pizzas will always be cooked right through to the centre.
You're not limited to pizza either, with this stone making a great tray on which to bake bread, biscuits and cookies. This pizza stone is specifically designed for Weber BBQ cooking, but it performs well in a regular oven too. Unless you own a Weber kettle-style BBQ the price point could be offputtingly high.
To keep your pizza stone in tip-top condition, it is recommended that you don't wash it with detergents or chemicals and, because of its porous nature, you shouldn't soak it for extended periods. This porosity is also why you should never add oil to it.
A wipe clean with a damp cloth should be enough to keep your stone clean and hygienic, and while this method of cleaning won't be able to remove deep stains, the build-up of marks over time is perfectly normal and should instead be seen as a sign of loving use.
Unless specifically sold as 'dishwasher safe' do not put your pizza stone in the dishwasher. A pizza stone will absorb both moisture and soap, making it unusable until fully dried out (which would take many hours at a low temperature) and potentially ruining the flavour of future pizzas you cook.
It is not recommended to use a random piece of granite as a pizza stone unless you are a stone mason or similar expert. You would need to be sure of the granite stone's provenance and integrity, as weak or previously waterlogged stone could shatter explosively and dangerously.
No. 1: Hans Grill|Pizza Stone Set
No. 2: BeChef|Pizza Stone Set for Oven and BBQ
No. 3: DOLCE MARE |Black Pizza Stone Set
No. 4: Unicook|Round Pizza Stone
No. 5: Navaris|XL Pizza Stone
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
Automotive
Baby Products
Beauty
Books
Business, Industry & Science
Computers & Accessories
DIY, Garden & Tools
Electronics & Photo
Fashion
Grocery
Health & Personal Care
Home & Kitchen
Large Appliances
Musical Instruments & DJ
PC & Video Games
Pet Supplies
Sports & Outdoors
Stationery & Office Products
Toys & Games