Pizza Screen vs Pizza Stone


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Platinum Member
What are the benefits of a screen vs stone?

I'll confess upfront I'm inclined to stone. There is a reliably rustic finish to the bottom of the crust.... Anyway, I must be missing something cause knowledgeable folks also like the screen.
 
Steve, good question. I'm a stone hater of sorts for the home baker. The pre-heat required to get the stone hot and ready for baking is just a waste of energy and money for a pizza IMO. Now if you're talking about an all day event of baking breads and pizzas, that's different. I've found that I get great results using a screen for my pizzas with a minimal pre-heat, 15 min or less with the screen verses an hour or more for a stone. Yes the bottom is slightly different, but I prefer the screen bottom over the stone bottom. With a screen, I get a very thin crispy layer followed by the chewy center/inside of the pizza crust. It sounds alot like when you bite into a potato chip. Just my $0.02 on the deal.
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I'm in the same camp as Bryan. I use a screen. I've used unglazed tiles in the past, but they were a pain. In theory, if you crank up the oven to 550 for 1 hr, then the stone is also 550. The pizza goes on and develops a great crust. However, likewise, an oven at 550 using a screen should be able to produce a great crust. I don't find that the pizza itself is that much of a heat sink to affect the browning of the crust. It is after all literally exposed to the heated air through the screen. The screen itself conducts the heat within in a minute or two as most are made of aluminum. I'm sure there is a technical reason for the superiority of stones over screens, but with the variables of the home cook, IMO, screens do just as well.

Paul
 
I bought a stone and I used it a couple of times for thick store bought u-bake pizzas.

It seemed to me the stone was more of a hindrance ... put the pizza on, heat transfers then it seems to shield the pie and slow down the cooking. The thick ones certainly came out better without the stone.

Not tried for these home made thin crust ones and I don't think I'll bother given the comments.
 
So it sounds like screen users are happy. Yall get repeatable results. My comment is that I have found in my oven, despite what Reinhart and others preach about preheating an oven for an hour, I do not need to. Perhaps my stone, about 1/2" thick heats up in 25 minutes.... This may waste energy but rarely does it waste time as I am prepping ingredients and warming that dough from the fridge. To each their own. I appreciate your comments and point of view. P.S. I bet you haven't broken as many screens as I have broken stones! Thanks guys for your insights.
 
Steve, I've used the screens along with the unglazed tile. I like the results. I've come to prefer putting the pizza on the gasser with the tiles and screen. At 500-525 the pizza is done in about five to six minutes depending on the amount of toppings. I guess with the weather turning colder I'm going to have to go back to using the oven
 
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