Pizza stone substitutes
Pizza stone substitutes — 6 options, ranked
Also called baking stone, bread stone, oven stone, cordierite stone
Use Inverted rimmed baking sheet
A heavy sheet pan flipped over gives a flat, rimless, preheated surface to slide a pizza onto.
Turn a heavy rimmed baking sheet upside down on the lowest oven rack and preheat it for 30 minutes at 500°F, or as hot as your oven goes, then slide the pizza onto it on a sheet of parchment trimmed close to the dough. The crust browns and crisps underneath, a little less than on a stone because thin metal stores less heat. For a thick pan pizza use a preheated cast iron skillet, and for a round loaf of bread a preheated Dutch oven does more than a stone would. Never preheat an empty glass dish as a stand-in: it can shatter.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Put the sheet upside down on the lowest rack of a cold oven, heat to 500°F and leave it 30 minutes. Build the pizza on parchment on a second upside-down sheet or a cutting board and slide paper and pizza across together; pull the parchment out after 3 to 4 minutes if you want the base in direct contact.
- Best for —
- thin-crust pizza
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the pizza stone doing?
Pick your caseWhat are you baking on it?
Preheat an upside-down heavy sheet pan on the lowest rack for 30 minutes at 500°F and slide the pizza on with parchment. A baking steel is better than a stone if you have one.
Notes on inverted rimmed baking sheet, baking steel or unglazed quarry tiles
Bake it in an oiled cast iron skillet at 500°F on the lowest rack for 12 to 15 minutes. The base fries crisp in the pan.
Notes on cast iron skillet or pizza pan on the lowest rack
Use a Dutch oven preheated at 450°F for 30 minutes: lid on for 30 minutes, then off for 10 to 15. The lid traps steam, which a stone alone does not.
Notes on Dutch oven
Preheat an upside-down sheet pan and slide the loaves on with parchment. For steam, put an empty metal pan on the rack below while the oven heats and pour 1 cup of hot water into it as the bread goes in. Wear oven mitts, stand back from the steam, and keep the water off the glass of the oven door, which can crack.
Notes on inverted rimmed baking sheet or baking steel
A stone is a store of heat. Preheated for 45 to 60 minutes, it holds enough to set and brown the underside of the dough in the first minute or two, before the toppings overcook, and its mass means the temperature barely drops when cold dough lands on it. For bread, that burst of bottom heat gives oven spring and a crisp base. A substitute needs to be flat, safe at 450°F to 500°F, and as heavy as possible, and it has to be preheated; a cold pan of any kind is a different method.
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of pizza stone | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inverted rimmed baking sheetthin-crust pizza | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Cast iron skilletpan pizza | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Baking steelthin-crust pizza | See notesWorks | Works |
| 4 | Dutch ovenround loaves of bread | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Pizza pan on the lowest rackfamily-size pizza | See notesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Unglazed quarry tilespizza | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| Not a swap | Preheated glass baking dish | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Glazed tile or marble slab | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Inverted rimmed baking sheet
similar taste · crisp base, less char
A heavy sheet pan flipped over gives a flat, rimless, preheated surface to slide a pizza onto.
- Best for
- thin-crust pizza, flatbreads and naan, free-form loaves, reheating pizza
- Prep
- Put the sheet upside down on the lowest rack of a cold oven, heat to 500°F and leave it 30 minutes. Build the pizza on parchment on a second upside-down sheet or a cutting board and slide paper and pizza across together; pull the parchment out after 3 to 4 minutes if you want the base in direct contact.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
A sheet pan stores far less heat than a stone, so the base is crisp but less blistered, and a second pizza needs the pan reheated for 5 to 10 minutes. Thin sheets can warp at this heat; use the heaviest one you own. Check the maker's temperature limit before preheating a nonstick-coated sheet, and check the limit printed on the parchment box.
Cast iron skillet
richer where the base fries in oil
Thick iron holds heat the way a stone does, so the base fries crisp against the metal.
- Best for
- pan pizza, deep-dish pizza, focaccia, personal pizzas
- Texture
- crisp and slightly fried underneath
- Prep
- For pan pizza, oil a 10- or 12-inch skillet, press the dough in, top it and bake at 500°F on the lowest rack for 12 to 15 minutes. For a thin crust, preheat the skillet upside down in the oven for 30 minutes and bake the pizza on its flat base.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
The pizza is limited to the size of the skillet. A dry skillet at 500°F is heavy and very hot to handle, and the handle stays hot long after it leaves the oven. The crust is thicker and fried at the edge, not the dry crisp of a stone-baked base.
Baking steel
similar taste · more char and blistering on the base
A ¼-inch slab of steel that is used exactly like a stone and passes heat into dough faster.
- Best for
- thin-crust pizza, bagels and pita, hearth breads, flatbreads
- Prep
- Preheat on an upper-middle rack for 45 to 60 minutes at 500°F. Watch the first pizza closely: the base browns sooner than on a stone.
- Pantry
- Special trip
Steel conducts heat faster than ceramic, so the underside of a long-baked loaf can scorch before the crumb is done; set the loaf on parchment or move the steel a rack lower and bake the bread above it. It is heavy, and it rusts if it is put away wet.
Dutch oven
similar taste · thicker, crackling crust on bread
For bread, a preheated lidded pot gives both the hot floor of a stone and the trapped steam that makes a crackling crust.
- Best for
- round loaves of bread, no-knead bread, sourdough boules
- Prep
- Preheat the pot and lid in the oven at 450°F for 30 minutes. Lower the dough in on a sheet of parchment, cover, bake 30 minutes, then take the lid off and bake 10 to 15 minutes more until deep brown.
It bakes one round loaf at a time and cannot hold a baguette, a batard longer than the pot, or a pizza. Check that the lid knob is rated for the temperature; some plastic knobs are rated lower. Some makers of enameled pots advise against heating them empty, so check the instructions for yours. The pot is extremely hot when the dough goes in.
Pizza pan on the lowest rack
similar taste · softer, breadier base
An ordinary round pizza pan or sheet pan, not preheated, with the oven's bottom heat doing what it can.
- Best for
- family-size pizza, thick or Sicilian-style crusts, heavily topped pizza
- Prep
- Oil the pan lightly, stretch the dough in it, and bake on the lowest rack at 475°F to 500°F. For a crisper base, bake the bare crust for 4 to 5 minutes before adding toppings.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
A cold pan has to heat up before the dough does, so the base is paler and softer and the pizza takes a few minutes longer. A perforated pan browns the underside better than a solid one. This is the option that changes the pizza most.
Unglazed quarry tiles
similar taste and texture
Plain unglazed clay tiles laid edge to edge on an oven rack behave like a stone in pieces.
- Best for
- pizza, hearth breads, flatbreads
- Prep
- Wash and dry the tiles fully, lay them tight together on a rack in a cold oven, and preheat with the oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Bake on parchment so nothing drops through the seams.
- Pantry
- Special trip
Use only unglazed tiles sold as lead-free and safe for food contact; glazes and some clays can contain lead. Tiles crack if they go into a hot oven cold or wet, and they shift when a peel is pushed across them.
Preheated glass baking dish
not applicable
An empty glass dish heated in the oven and used as a hot baking surface.
- Best for
- nothing: do not preheat glass empty
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Glass bakeware is not made to be heated empty or to take cool, wet dough on a very hot surface. The sudden change in temperature can shatter it. Makers also rule out the broiler.
Glazed tile or marble slab
not applicable
Decorative glazed tiles, floor tiles of unknown make, or a marble pastry board put in the oven.
- Best for
- nothing in a hot oven
Glazes that are not made for food can contain lead, and marble and sealed stone can crack at pizza temperatures. A marble board is for rolling cold pastry, not for baking on.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- SafetyA glass or ceramic dish preheated empty and used as the baking surface.Preheat metal: an upside-down sheet pan or a cast iron skillet.
- A recipe that bakes a pizza in under 8 minutes at 550°F on a stone, moved to a cold pan.Preheat the pan for 30 minutes, or bake the bare crust for 4 to 5 minutes before topping it.
Questions
6 questionsWhat can I use if I don't have a pizza stone?
A heavy rimmed baking sheet turned upside down and preheated on the lowest rack for 30 minutes at 500°F. Slide the pizza onto it on a sheet of parchment. A preheated cast iron skillet works the same way for a smaller or thicker pizza.
What is a substitute for a baking stone for bread?
For a round loaf, a Dutch oven preheated at 450°F for 30 minutes: bake with the lid on for 30 minutes and off for 10 to 15. For long loaves and rolls, use a preheated upside-down sheet pan with a pan of hot water on the rack below for steam.
Is a baking sheet as good as a pizza stone?
Not quite. A sheet pan heats fast but stores little heat, so the base is crisp and evenly browned without the blistering and char of a stone. Preheating it, using the lowest rack and keeping toppings light closes most of the gap.
Can I use a cast iron skillet instead of a pizza stone?
Yes. Bake a pan pizza in an oiled skillet at 500°F for 12 to 15 minutes, or preheat the skillet upside down and bake a thin crust on its base. The pizza can only be as wide as the skillet.
Is a baking steel better than a pizza stone?
For pizza, usually yes: steel passes heat into the dough faster, so the base chars more in the same time, and it does not crack. For bread baked 40 minutes or longer, the faster heat can scorch the bottom, so a stone or a Dutch oven is the easier choice.
Can I use tiles as a pizza stone?
Only unglazed quarry tiles sold as lead-free and safe for food contact. Lay them tight together on a rack and heat them up with the oven. Do not use glazed tiles, floor tiles of unknown make, or marble.
Tips for substituting pizza stone
5 tips- Preheat for longer than the oven takes to beep. The air reaches 500°F well before the metal does; give a sheet pan 30 minutes and a stone or steel 45 to 60.
- Use the lowest rack for a sheet pan. It sits nearest the bottom element, which makes up for some of the heat a thin pan cannot store.
- Build the pizza on parchment and trim the paper to within 1 inch of the dough. Overhanging paper scorches at 500°F; check the temperature limit on the box.
- No peel is needed: a second upside-down sheet pan or a rimless cookie sheet slides a pizza on and off.
- Between pizzas, leave the pan in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes to recover its heat.