Customer Reviews

Best Manufacturers 14-inch by 16-inch Pizza Stone

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

No problems with this stone. Works great. Make sure you put in cold over and heat with oven. Do not wash--use a dough scraper to clean each time.

I've now baked 2 big batches (about 8 loaves) of whole-grain artisan bread using the stone. It works great, the quality is the best. We expect many years of using this stone which now lives in our oven full-time.

When I went to write this review I was somewhat surprised to see that this item was "under review" by the amazonians. All I can say is that my example came in a sturdy, well packed, box and suffered no damage. As a matter of fact the shipping container provided by the manufacture was light years better than the shoddy outer box Amazon wasted a tree for. The stone itself is smooth and without chips or flaws, a perfect bread/pizza stone for the home baker that does just what it's supposed to do. The appearance, to me anyway, is clearly superior to the "Old Stone" item which I had seen in a store. Glad I paid a little more.... I'd buy it again.

I researched pretty much every baking stone on the market (including custom-cut, high-end commercial stones) before I settled on this stone from Best Manufacturers. I've been making pizzas for a while using a round stone, but I wanted a separate rectangular stone for artisan breads, and I wanted it to be THICK. This stone is very thick and heavy and flat on BOTH sides, so it sits nice and stable on the oven rack. It's made in the USA and comes meticulously packaged in cardboard which has been cleverly engineered by the manufacturer to protect the stone. I've used it ten times or so now and it does a great job -- the bread is fantastic. This Best Manufacturers stone is really just about perfect for my needs. I don't know how I would improve upon it.

I recieved this stone approximately 1 month ago and have used it constantly for all my at home bread and pizza making. It arrived promptly and heavily package. No problems with it at all. I recommend a pastry scrapper to help clean it. It will become stained as it is used but that is to be expected in my opinion. Good solid product.

I purchased this stone off Amazon about four months ago and have had it in my oven ever since. I had previously used it in an electric oven, but now live in a house with a gas one. I've had no problems with it, and I can say that just about everything I've taken out of my oven has tasted and turned out better. I generally bake homemade pizzas, calzones and stromboli directly on the stone and the crust turns out deliciously crispy. It even makes store bought frozen pizza taste much better than without the stone.

When I don't bake directly on the stone, I do still leave it in my oven. Despite taking longer and using more energy to pre-heat the oven, it will keep the oven closer to the desired temperature during cooking. This is especially important when baking and you may end up making less adjustments in your recipes, as far as baking times go.

As far as the stone breaking, mine arrived fine and is still in one piece after being heated/cooled many dozens of times. I suspect if the stone was submerged in water and then heated right away, it would probably break. The manufacturer specifically says not to do this, so use common sense and follow instructions. The stone is porous and will stain with time. No big deal.

Great product that I now wonder how I ever did without.

This stone cooks great - some, however, may not appreciate the fact that there are minor cosmetic irregularities on the stone. Mine came out of box with a few minor rough spots and one dime-size visual blemish. I have not used many stones, so don't know how common this is, but is worth pointing out. Personal opinion is "who cares?" as the thing is going to be stained all over in a few weeks of use, but some might get panties wadded over this.

At first, we were delighted with the stone, using it primarily for baking whole grain Artesian breads. However, after just a few uses at 450 degrees in a propane gas oven, the stone began giving off an offensive chemical odor. We had to take it outside...

Our goal had been to leave the stone in the oven for frequent multiple uses, but even after diligent scraping (no soap) to remove particles, the stone still gave off that chemical smell and hurt our eyes.

Disappointing! I plan to contact the manufacturer to learn whether gas stoves cause this odor, and ask for their recommendation. We want the benefit of a fine, large baking stone--great size & performance--but these odors canNOT be harmless.

I plan to start making homemade bread again and wanted a good sized stone that was at least a half inch thick.
This one fits the bill and was reasonably priced.
Free shipping makes the price even better.

I am very happy with this stone. The packaging is very well done and professional. It's thicker than most other stones out there-flat top and bottom- and measures 5/8 inch thick. Way better than most other stones. Other stones that are sold online often have a described thickness to include protrusions they have on their underside. In reality, they're usually not even a half inch thick.

This stone according to the manufacturer is 'made of cordierite and can withstand temperatures of 1300 degrees fahrenheit. No curing process is required, just wipe it down with a slightly damp cloth when you first get it. Direct flame exposure up to 1,000 degrees should not be a problem.' Even so, when I first got it, I put it in my oven, covered it with fennel seeds and brought it up to 500 degrees (I like the idea of 'christening' a new piece with something fragrant--anyway, the seeds toasted away to soot!)

This cordierite is a food grade natural ceramic with superior heat retention and thermal shock resistance and baking properties-that's why I went with it. I personally couldn't justify fibrament, since I don't know what it's really made from and didn't want to deal with the odoriferous outgassing during the curing process. The specs on cordierite in my opinion are superior to all the products out there currently available-They make kiln shelves and crucibles out of this stuff!

The other option was to go with old fashioned soapstone which to be used in a conventional oven seemed impractical due to the necessary thickness and preheating times --too much energy consumption (I've read that in order for a natural piece of soapstone not to break because of stress as an oven stone it should be at least 1 and a quarter inch thick). I read that it takes at least an hour for soapstone of this thickness to reach 500 degree+ high temps, but that once you turn off the oven, it's still in high 300s after two hours. Soap stone is generally about 70 plus dollars a square foot, so a comparable stone might cost about 130 dollars plus shipping-and it wouldn't be that green. This cordierite stone reaches 550 as soon as my oven can (about 30 minutes), and I don't have to worry about it cracking due to flame or heat. Last night I baked a pizza on it, and the stone's temp got up to above 600 degrees on broil! -- my pizza cooked in 5 minutes! Excellent results. I used a no knead new york pizza dough recipe from the internet.

I keep this stone on the lowest shelf, and it leaves plenty of room to get the convention of air flow going. Best manufacturers is an awesome company.

Note: Ordering it through Amazon was fast, and professional, and was worth the couple of extra bucks in shipping costs. If you buy a baking stone like this...it can chip and crack if not shipped thoughtfully. Amazon packaged it well, and inside that packaging Best manufacturers did a great job overall with shock proofing their professionally branded box.