Scraping Off Burnt Food
Let the pizza stone cool completely. You can easily burn yourself if you try to clean burnt food off of a hot pizza stone. Instead, just leave it in the turned-off oven for at least a few hours so it's cold to the touch. To speed up the cooling time, wear oven mitts to take the stone out of the oven. Set it on the stovetop to cool. If you don't feel like cleaning the stone right away, leave it in your cold oven overnight and work on it the next day.
Use a scraper to remove as much of the burnt material as possible. Take a metal spatula or bench scraper and scrape it against the burnt-on food to loosen it. Keep scraping and wipe the burnt bits into the trash. You can also try plastic scraper tools, but they may not be strong enough against burnt-on food.
Scrub the stone with a bristle brush or scouring pad. Although a spatula or scraper can remove large pieces of burnt-on food, there might still be burnt spots that don't come off. Take the stone to your sink and run hot water over it while you scrub with a sturdy bristle brush or scouring pad. Rinse the loosened bits away with the hot water.Tip: Some manufacturers recommend scraping burnt surfaces with medium-grit sandpaper. Rub the sandpaper back and forth across hard-to-clean burnt spots to remove the burnt-on food. Don't soak the stone in water or it can take a really long time to dry. Rinse the stone with just enough running water to remove the burnt-on food.
Scrub on a baking soda paste to remove stains from burnt-on foods. To naturally lighten the stains, stir 1 tablespoon (14 g) of baking soda with about 1 teaspoon (4.9 ml) of water. Spread the paste on the stone and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, scrub the stone with your bristle brush before rinsing the paste off with hot water. Baking soda neutralizes odors so it can remove burnt smells from your stone. It's also slightly corrosive, so it can clean the top layer of the stone.
Avoid using soap to clean the stone. You might be tempted to clean blackened parts of the stone with soapy water, but this will damage your pizza stone. The porous stone absorbs anything you put on it, including soap, which would give your food an off-taste. You should also avoid cleaning the stone with harsh cleansers or bleach since you won't be able to completely rinse them from the stone.
Cleaning the Stone in the Oven
Put the stone into the oven and turn it to 500 °F (260 °C). If your pizza stone has burnt-on food that you can't scrape off, place it onto the middle rack of your oven. Then, turn the oven on to 500 °F (260 °C) or as hot as you can heat it.Tip: If your oven has a self-cleaning feature, you could use this to clean the stone since it heats your oven to the highest temperature for several hours. Keep in mind that most ovens lock themselves when you run the self-cleaning cycle.
Bake the stone for 1 hour. Over time, the high heat burns off the food that's stuck to the stone and turns it to ash. Don't worry if you smell smoke and burning, since it's just the oven cleaning the stone. Since heating the stone can cause it to smoke, open a window for ventilation.
Let the stone cool completely. Turn off the oven and leave the stone in it. Don't handle the stone until it's completely cold. This helps the stone cool evenly and prevents you from burning yourself. Cool the stone for at least 2 hours. If you want to clean it the next day, leave the stone in the oven overnight.
Wipe off the stone with a damp cloth. Once the stone is cold, remove it from the oven. Run a clean cloth under hot water and wring it out. Then, wipe the damp cloth over the stone to remove the ash that's on the surface. If there are still stains, you could try spreading a mix of 1 baking powder (12 g) with 1 teaspoon (4.9 ml) of water over them and rinsing the stone.
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