Well I finally got around to buying a couple of new baking stones last week and boy what a difference! I had forgotten how much difference baking on a stone makes. It is the nearest thing to creating the fierce heat from a wood fired oven in your kitchen.
Using a stone ensures that you get a great crispy base but more importantly you get a fantastic oven spring, far better than you can get on a baking sheet. I used them on Saturday to bake numerous pizzas with assorted toppings and the ones I used came with a metal stand so you could use them to serve the pizza straight from the oven whilst keeping the pizza warm. This went down really well with the kids!
You can get a great pizza stone here and here are a couple of good books for creating great pizza.
Pizza dough is easy to make and is so much better than shop bought. I tend to make mine with half strong flour and half plain flour or half semolina flour for a more authentic base.
On Sunday I baked some rolls – topped with cheese and a few topped with sesame seeds. They were so light and delicious!
I have to say that my baking stones have reinvigorated my passion for baking and if you don’t have one you really are missing out. So go on…treat yourself to one and you won’t regret it.
Dalys bread 
so…getting the dough onto the pre-heated stone always defeats me. any tips?
Parchment paper and the bottom side of a sheet pan. Good parchment doesn’t burn until it gets over 500 degrees
I agree that you can use a baking sheet. I personally never use baking parchment. I just lightly oil or flour the sheet. But you will never get as good an oven spring when compared to a stone. I tested this over the weekend when baking my rolls and the few I baked on the sheet rose a lot less than the stone – but they were still delicious!
Well this weekend I used a baking sheet without a lip. I floured it with semolina flour and the pizza slid off quite nicely but I think I will get a peel eventually. I used to construct the pizza on the stone. I rolled the base, flipped it onto the stone then added the toppings before shoving back into the oven.
I own a few baking stones, actually used to have more but sadly they were dropped and that’s pretty much it for a stone. I absolutely love the way they cook anything, browns beautifully, cooks evenly, rises perfectly…I’m a stone lover.
I used a thick piece of granite for years but got rid of it when I last moved home. It seems to be a lot harder and more expensive to source now so I went and bought a couple of ceramic baking stones instead and they are great. I had forgotten what a difference they made to my breads.