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i love my pizza stone, however, it is not the right tool for the bittman no knead bread, as you want an enclosed container to retain humidity. thats why he says to use a cast iron dutch oven with a lid. however, for pizza, its very effective. the key is to get it DAMN HOT. i preheat mine to 550 for about half an hour before putting the pie on it. also, i have found that not washing it (i just brush it off once it's cooled) helps it develop and nice non stick coating. this lets you get the pies off really easily and gives you and nice char on the bottom. there is a sort of break in period at first, sort of like an unseasoned cast iron skillet. have fun!

Love my pizza stone for pizza and bread. It gives great oven spring under a loaf of bread and yields a very crisp crust on pizza. It can be tricky to transfer the completed pizza from the peel to the stone but lots of cornmeal on the peel usually does the trick.

The more you use it the darker it will get and the more "nonstick" it will be.

I love my stone, well actually I just use 4 unglossed quary tiles that i got at lowes for like $3. I much prefer the quary tiles and there is no real breaking in to speak of.

One way to make good hearth loaves on a stone is to put a hotel pan on the bottom rack, under the stone, filled with near boiling water. put it in about 10 minutes before you put your loaf in so that it gets good and hot. this will give you some hot steam in your oven. You remove it from the oven after about 70% of your baking time. You will have to play around with this to suit the particulars of your oven and your dough. The steaming delays the caramelization of the crust and allows the bread to puff up and get nice and springy. after you remove it, then your crust will will cook.

Hi, I just joined, and already I've learned something. I guess I've been cleaning my quarry tiles too much. Every time they get too messy, I clean them with my oven's self-cleaning cycle, and they look brand new again. Perhaps I'm too tidy for my own good!

I love my stone and use it all the time. It is black with use. I don't clean it, just some hot water.

I love it for cookies and bread, also.

I too love my stone. I leave mine in my oven at all times except when cleaning the oven even though I have to pre-heat my oven 10 minutes longer when precise baking temp is critical for a recipe (cakes mostly). I have it placed on the lower rack with the upper rack right above it where most non-yeasty things cook. Over time, the stone will season itself if left in the oven. You'll be more likely to use it if you leave it in your oven all the time. I see some great advice in this thread!

i just made that bread recipe from the times. it was so easy -- mix flour, water, salt and yeast, let it rise, form the loaves, let rise, and bake. no kneading. the loaves, made on my new pizza stone, are incredibly crusty, are perfectly formed, and taste wonderful! unbelievable!

next time i think i'll invest in a pizza peel to slide them onto the stone. it was a bit tricky and messy with the fish spatula i used instead.

My stone is mighty stained and black too, but I used it last night to make pizza from naan dough. I have yet to use it for any other breads, but I'd definitely try it.

Wow, Urban Mom - I've never thought of using my stone for cookies - I love that idea! How does it affect them?

I use mine all the time for pizza and it's fantastic. Definitely agree on not washing -- I just brush it off. If some sauce drips on it I just spot wipe with a lightly moistened paper towel.