Pizza Stone vs Cast Iron: Which one is Better for Homemade Pizza?

By Kitchen Warrior | Pizza Baking and Cutting Tips

Pizza Stone vs Cast Iron - thekitchenwarriors.com

Who doesn't love pizza? In fact, homemade pizza is loved by most of us. Customizing your own pie with your preferred flavors is an ultimate luxury. But the question is what you can bake it on.

Pizza stone and cast iron both are the answer to this question. However, you need to know which one is better for your homemade pizza. In this article, we will let you know about the pros and cons of both. This will help you choose the best one for you.

We know that your core consideration is to make the perfect version of pizza that requires proper equipment. It requires several factors to choose the right equipment and material.

The first thing you should decide on is the crust you need to make. You should choose if you want a thin crust or crispier than usual. And then do you want a pie with a lot of cheese and meat? Also, our kitchen habits play a vital role in choosing between pizza stone and cast iron.

So let's take a look at how this all factors into your decision.

What is a Pizza Stone? Its Workings and Usage

The pizza stone is available in varying shapes, including square, rectangle, and circle. The surface of the stone penetrates the moisture that forms in the dough while baking inside the oven. This way, you will get quite a crisper crust to your pizza.

A pizza stone is preferred for making thin-crust pies. You can get it in various sizes and thickness according to your needs. Its sizes range from 10 to 20 inches with a thickness of ½ to 1 inch.

If you need to save money, then buying a new pizza stone is not essential. It is because there are options for DIY stones with the use of cheap unglazed quarry tiles. But make sure to get only unglazed ones, as glazed ones may have lead that can get into your food.

Pizza on a Stone

Pros

  • It has microscopic pores that absorb moisture from the pizza dough
  • The pizza stone evenly distributes heat all over the pizza
  • Regardless of how much the pie is thick and loaded, still, your pizza crust will be crispier
  • It assures you that every bit of your pizza is wholly cooked
  • It does not let the bottom of your crust burn
  • Stones have varied kinds of sizes and shapes to choose from
  • It allows you to be creative by creating different pie shapes

Cons

  • It requires better handling
  • Cheaper ones are more breakable, so you need to be extra cautious
  • Thicker stones need more than 30 minutes for pre-heating
  • All the cheese drips and tiny pizza particles get stuck to the stone
  • It does not let you soak in the water instantly after cooking, so you need to wait before washing it
  • The grease gets harder as you wait, and this makes it hard to clean
  • You can't use liquid detergents to clean a pizza stone as it will absorb them

What is Cast Iron? Its Workings and Usage

Cast iron is a baking pan in a wide shape to let you create a large-sized pizza. It has handles on either side, making it easy for you to pull in and out of your oven. A cast iron baking pan comes pre-seasoned with vegetable oil to let you use it instantly.

It is widely known because of its heat retention properties. Having a cast iron baking pan is the best option for making homemade pizza. The cleaning of the cast iron pan is quite easy. All you need is to just scrub away with steel chain mail or a simple brush to clean it.

Pizza on a Cast Iron

Pros

  • A cast-iron pan gets heated in the oven quite swiftly
  • It does not crack or break with any temperature change
  • It is quite durable to last and does not break after dropping
  • Equipped with handles to move in and out of the oven with ease
  • Cleaning cast iron is super easy
  • It just needs soaking in water and cleaning with your sponge or brush
  • You can use liquid detergents to wash it

Cons

  • Enameled cast iron cannot be used at more than 400°F
  • You need to get a non-enameled cast iron pan to bake your pizza as it requires 425°F
  • It is heavy
  • It requires a bit of care to handle

Pizza Stone vs Cast Iron: Which one is Better for Homemade Pizza?

From our perspective, a cast iron baking pan is a much better option than a pizza stone. There are a lot of factors that make it a better choice. The only better advantage of a pizza stone is that it absorbs all the moisture and enables you to have super crispy pizza that is undoubtedly a great treat.

However, it does not mean that you cannot enjoy crispy pizza from a cast iron baking pan. Cast iron pizza is also crispy but not as much as from a pizza stone. We recommend you choose a cast iron pizza pan to have high quality and tasty pies.

Additionally, it lets you clean and work on it with ease. So indeed, cast iron is a better option than pizza stone as the stone demands caution and several other things, making your work troublesome. However, both a pizza stone and a cast iron pan have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Final Words

Everyone likes to eat pizza, whether it's home-cooked or from a restaurant. But cooking it in your home makes it a combination of healthiness and tastiness. So, you should have the proper equipment to cook it in the best possible way.

Getting a cast iron baking pan is a great choice for your home-cooked pizza as it gives you a lot of space to make big-sized pizza with many toppings. Also, it offers a lot of ease when cleaning and cooking. In contrast, a pizza stone makes cooking and managing pizza a bit of a challenge.

However, the choice is still yours, and we hope we've made your choice a little easier.