I love pizza and so do most people. As a result, the pizza business has become a significant hit in the united states and worldwide.
Unless you are into healthy eating, I bet you order pizza a few times a week. For some of us, almost daily due to different reasons, mainly laziness.
If you get tired of ordering pizza and constantly waiting for delivery or want to test your cooking skills, you can make your pizza from scratch. Or maybe you want to start your pizza business.
Whatever your reasons, you need to learn how to make pizza before trying it out.
There is a famous tv show by Alton Brown about food and recipes called Good Eats. in this show, Alton says that the best way to cook pizza is by using a pizza stone.
What if you do not have a pizza stone? Can you still make pizza at home? Of course. If you do not have a pizza stone, Alton Brown recommends using unglazed quarry tile as a substitute.
Also, Check-Out: The Best Way to Reheat Pizza. HERE
Who is Alton Brown?
Supposing you love cooking, you must have heard about Alton brown. I have watched his show several times, and I learned a lot from them.
Alton Brown is a chef, tv host, and actor. He launched his food tv show in 1998 after attending culinary school in 1997. He has been active in the food network, teaching recipes ever since.
In this context, we will talk about him for his famous use of a pizza stone substitute while preparing pizza. His most renowned substitute is an unglazed quarry tile. Unlike a pizza stone, it is cheap and widely available.
Alton, however, warns that you should be careful when buying the tile. It would be best to buy a quality tile to avoid cracking while cooking your pizza.
Also, Click to Read On: Creole Mustard Substitutes.
Other Pizza Stone Substitutes
Other than the unglazed quarry tire that Alton Brown uses, there are other pizza stone substitutes that you can use. They are baking steel, inverted baking sheet, grilling your pizza, cake pan, dutch oven, and pizza pan.
You might be wondering why using a pizza stone is good despite the price. Using a pizza stone when cooking pizza has various advantages. They are;
● It helps distribute the oven heat evenly to your pizza
● It ensures your pizza cooks completely without burning
● It does not crack easily
● Due to the even distribution of heat, the pizza becomes evenly crispy at the bottom.
Despite a pizza stone having all these advantages, you may find it hard to afford it. Because of that, I will discuss the options I have stated above, which you can use in their place.
Read on to discover what else you can use if you do not have a pizza stone.
1. Inverted Baking Sheet
An inverted baking sheet is one of the cheapest and readily available pizza stone alternatives. I am saying this because it is highly likely you already have it if you are an avid cook.
Supposing you do not have a baking sheet, you can buy it in any grocery store.
How do you use a baking sheet to make pizza? First, you need to grease the baking sheet thoroughly. The purpose of greasing is to make sure that your pizza does not stick. Afterward, you will overturn the sheet and place it on the bottom compartment of your oven.
Pour your pizza mixture on the already preheated baking sheet. Set the temperature and ensure you keep checking the bottom of the pizza to avoid burning.
When using the inverted baking sheet, give your pizza an extra fifteen minutes to cook thoroughly.
2. Baking Steel
Baking steel is another excellent pizza stone alternative. Ideally, it works the same as a pizza stone. The only difference between baking steel and pizza stone is that the former is steel while the latter is ceramic.
If money is not an issue for you and you are looking for the next best pizza stone alternative, baking steel should be your choice. It might be more costly than other alternatives in this list, but it is still available in the stores.
You use baking steel like you use a pizza stone. Put it in the oven and preheat it. Put your pizza roll at the center of the baking steel and give it some time to cook.
It is simple to use, and it will ensure that your pizza cooks evenly and has a crusty bottom. Just the way you like it.
3. Pizza Pan
A pizza pan is a pan-shaped aluminum disk with tiny holes. These wholes are responsible for letting accumulated moisture out. As a result, your pizza forms a crusty bottom.
For the best results, I advise you to get a pizza pan that is of the best quality. Heavy aluminum pizza pans are the best pizza pans for they will retain the heat needed to bake the pizza.
To use a pizza pan, first preheat it in the oven. After making your pizza roll, place it on the pizza pan in the oven. Set the temperature and keep checking on it.
A pizza pan is an inexpensive alternative to a pizza stone. So, if you cannot afford a pizza stone, you can settle on it, and you will not be disappointed.
4. Dutch Oven
A dutch oven is also called a french oven. It is made of heavy metal and is rounded at the bottom. It has a tightly fitting lid, and it retains a lot of heat when cooking.
If you buy a dutch oven, it will be of great advantage. Other than cooking a pizza in it, it is perfect for browning meat and veggies. You can never go wrong with a dutch oven.
Using a dutch oven as an alternative to a pizza stone will serve you best, especially when you can’t access an oven. You need to have charcoal and the dutch oven, and you are set.
To cook pizza using a dutch oven, put the dutch oven n hot charcoal; align the bottom with parchment paper or pizza paper and wait for it to heat properly.
Put your pizza rolling on the paper and then fit the dutch oven lid. Let your pizza cook for like twenty minutes. Remove it from the charcoal and serve it.
5. Cake Pan
A cake pan is what you use when you want to make a pizza and don't have anything else. Most of the households have cake pans or tins. They come in different shapes and sizes, and you can use whatever you have.
Mostly you use a cake pan for baking cakes and cookies. If you do not have any other option, you can use it for cooking your pizza.
Unlike other options like the pizza stone, using a cake pan will limit you to the dimensions of the cake pan. Using a cake pan is like using a pizza pan. Some pizza pans and cake pans share the exact dimensions.
To cook a pizza using a cake pan, follow the steps you do when using a pizza pan. If you are not clear on what I mean, check above on how to use a pizza pan.
6. Grilling the Pizza
Using a grill to cook your pizza is another perfect pizza stone option if you do not have access to an oven. You can use a charcoal or gas grill, whatever you have at hand.
This pizza method is cheap, especially if you have the grill already. Another good thing about using a grill for cooking your pizza is the smoke from the charcoal will give your pizza a sweet, smoky flavor. You cannot achieve this flavor utilizing an oven.
To grill your pizza:
● Put your pizza dough on the grill first.
● Flip the dough so that the crusted part is on top.
● Add all your pizza toppings to the converted part, and let it cook slowly.
After like 30 minutes, your pizza will be ready.
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Final Thoughts
As we have established, pizza stone has many benefits when cooking pizza. We can also not ignore one of its main disadvantages. It is expensive, and it is not available widely.
Alton Brown suggests that the next best option we can use is an unglazed quarry tile. While we can’t deny that this is an effective alternative, we also need more choices—some of which are readily available and cheap.
I have discussed those options, and I am sure you will find them quite fulfilling. Most of them are cheap and locally available.
I am now confident that you will not struggle the next time you want to make a pizza and do not have a pizza stone.
