NFT: Looking for a Pizza Stone and Peel

Old Stone round pizza stone. I've used it for about 10 years without issues, and it is well seasoned now.

Never have used a pizza peel, but I only use the oven to make pizza.

Just be careful with cooking other things on the stones. My sister in law cracked her stone when she tried to cook other things with a higher moisture content.

A wooden one to build on and load into the oven. A metal one to retrieve the pie from the oven

I highly recommend a steel stone -- they heat up and mine cooks the pizza in under five minutes with the oven at it's highest stting -- it's terrific -- I paid $20 for it on Amazon.com

I use a 14" metal peel to place on the stone and remove as well. My wooden one got abused after a while

Thanks guys. I've read rumors of bad smells you can't get out of the stone. Any truth or guesses as to why?

Any tips on cleaning?

of the odor issue.

The only tip I'd give is to season the stone frequently. And NEVER use soap on it. In fact, I wouldn't even use water on it until it is seasoned.

Because it is a stone, there will be a natural porosity to the material. You don't want to introduce moisture or it will crack. We had a stone baking dish that was in the oven and we heard a loud crack that sounded like the oven was about to break. Turns out the stone dish cracked, sending dinner all over the oven. Turns out my Mom had washed it when she visited.

For seasoning the stone, just pour about a half capful of olive oil after most uses and rub it into the surface evenly . The stone might stain but don't worry - and don't try to wash it! As for the smells - not sure if it is due to factory finish. Don't have advice for that.

That makes a ton of sense, really appreciate the advice. Moisture is not friendly with plenty of surfaces at high heat.