The Hidden Reason Pizza Stones Crack After a Season Outdoors – And the Long-Lasting Fix to Ensure Artisanal Pizza Year after Year
There's a simple fix to extend the life of your appliance
In my opinion, there is no better summer appliance than a pizza oven. But after months spent outside or in outdoor storage over winter, you might return to find the all-important pizza stone has cracked.
The culprit is often moisture, says pizza expert Vickie Hawley, founder of Delivita. Repeated exposure to fluctuating temperatures – especially during early spring use – allows moisture trapped in the stone to expand and contract, eventually causing it to crack and bringing this year’s pizza parties to a halt.
Gozney have a range of covers designed for each of their pizza ovens, all available on gozney.com. Each over is water repellent, UV stable, and protects from wind, frost, and insects.
For those with Ooni models, ooni.com also caters to every style, with tight-fitting covers and carry cases to protect your appliance. They are entirely waterproof, UV-stable, and designed to protect against all weather.
The weather and UV resistant fabric of his cover keeps the elements out, the adjustable drawstrings and elastic sides allow for a custom fit for your Ninja pizza oven.
One of the biggest pizza oven mistakes is assuming that, because many models are designed for outdoor use, it is fine to leave them exposed year-round or simply tuck them into outdoor storage. In reality, temperature fluctuations can quickly damage the stone – especially if you do not clean a pizza stone properly after its last use.
Vickie, founder of Delivita, explains, 'Pizza stones can crack due to thermal shock caused by rapid temperature changes and moisture exposure. If a hot pizza stone is left outside and temperatures suddenly drop, especially overnight, the combination of retained heat and moisture can weaken the material and lead to cracking.
'Moisture can also cause the stone to crack when reheated, as any trapped water expands under high temperatures.'
The trick is to find the perfect cover for your pizza oven, so that it seals tightly around the base to protect against harsh temperature fluctuations, she explains. A durable, weatherproof cover helps shield the oven from sudden temperature swings and keeps moisture out, protecting the stone and ensuring your oven is ready for use.
Beyond choosing the right cover, Vickie also stresses the importance of curing your stone after prolonged disuse, before the first use, and after cleaning a pizza oven.
'The curing process involves gradually increasing the oven's temperature using kindling and an eco firelighter, maintaining a steady temperature of 200-250°C (392-482°F) for four to five hours, and avoiding hardwood logs during this time,' she explains.
This slow, controlled heating process helps evaporate any residual moisture trapped in the stone, reducing the risk of cracks.
What Else to Shop
To perfect the art of artisanal pizza at home, you need more than just the perfect pizza recipes. I have rounded up six of my favorite tools and accessories to help elevate this summer's Italian-inspired entertaining.
All prices correct at time of publication.
Know exactly when your pizza oven’s thick stone floor is ready to cook a perfect pizza. It features an LED backlit screen, the ability to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit measurements, and single or continuous temperature read options.
This Ooni 12″ Perforated Pizza Peel is made with anodised aluminium with a heat-resistant glass-reinforced nylon handle, to make handling your pizzas safe and non-toxic.
Gozney's first cookbook features over 75 pizza recipes and essential how-tos, plus 20 outdoor recipes. You can learn how to make eight styles of dough, create a range of restaurant-worthy pizzas, and learn outdoor cooking methods to harness your pizza oven’s full potential.
If you are setting up your yard and don't need portability, the Arc Lite outdoor pizza oven is ideal. It features a lateral rolling flame system that replicates a traditional wood-fired oven. It delivers evenly distributed heat for a crispy, restaurant-quality 12" pizza in just 60 seconds.
The hardest part of homemade pizza is juggling sticky dough. This tool set is optimized to make dough prep more efficient and engineered for the ideal combination of flexibility and rigidity to help mix, prep, and handle dough.
This stainless steel pizza rocker slices through a pizza quickly and easily without tugging on toppings or ripping the dough. It's the professional way to slice and serve.
Meet the Expert
Vickie is the founder of Delivita and Kasai Grills, with years of hands-on experience in outdoor cooking and product development. Vickie’s expertise lies in creating high-performance, stylish cooking tools that bring people together around great food.
Did you know that your pizza oven is for more than just pizza? We have rounded up a chef-approved list of other things you can cook in a pizza oven to make the most of your appliance this summer.
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