The Wall Street Journal-20080118-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Catalog Critic- Stone-Age Pizza
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Catalog Critic: Stone-Age Pizza
We're just weeks away from Super Bowl Sunday, widely considered the biggest day of the year in the pizza-delivery biz. But what if you're seeking a crispier and tastier alternative to those assembly-line pies, which inevitably make it to your doorstep in a soggy state?
That's easy: Bake your own.
A number of kitchen-gear manufacturers now offer pizza-making kits. They typically include a baking stone -- essential for creating a proper crust since it draws moisture out of the dough -- and accessories ranging from cutters to rolling pins. Linens 'n Things goes so far as to offer a Kitchen 101 Pizza Set. "Perfect for the pizza lover in your house," the retailer says.
We're pizza lovers, but we're not necessarily baking pros, so we were curious about how such kits would fare. After getting our dough, sauce and cheese ready, we put the sets to the test, making a basic modest-size pie with each one. In truth, all of the kits lived up to their essential promise: the crusts came out crispy, and the baking was fairly fuss-free. But certain styling points and features made some kits less worthy than others.
The biggest issue with the Crate & Barrel offering was that the stone came alone -- no pizza cutter or carrying rack with handles for getting the stone in and out of the oven easily. (Even so, at 16 x 14 inches it was one of the largest of all the stones we tested, and its rectangular shape allowed for the option of making a Sicilian-style pie.)
Other sets had the accessories, but still didn't quite deliver. The stones by Bialetti and VillaWare couldn't be cleaned with soap (admittedly, a problem with most other models); plus, the Bialetti stone's carrying rack felt flimsy and the VillaWare's stone didn't measure up, literally: It had a mere 13-inch diameter.
We were relatively impressed with Linens 'n Things' Kitchen 101 Pizza Set -- at $19.99 (on sale), one of the lowest priced offerings we found. Not only did the kit feature a decent-size 15-inch stone, it also came with the most accessories, including a rolling pin, easily making the package our Best Value. For Best Overall, it was hard to top the All-Clad Pizza Stone & Cutter set ($99.95 through Cutlery and More). Though the stone wasn't the biggest of the bunch, it had a real heft to it and could be cleaned with soap. Moreover, the cutter worked with all the precision of a surgeon's scalpel, slicing our pizza into perfectly equal-sized triangles of crusty goodness.
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All-Clad Pizza Stone & Cutter
BEST OVERALL
Cutlery and More
Cutleryandmore.com; 800-650-9866
$99.95; standard shipping is free
The Good: A hefty, washable stone with an equally hefty stainless-steel
carrying rack that fit snugly, lessening the concern that the stone might
come loose. The cutter was the best of the bunch, slicing with ease.
The Bad: A 13-inch diameter stone -- a bit small.
The Shopping: Though this model is sold through other online merchants,
Cutlery and More was one of the few that had it in stock when we placed our
order. Phone service was tops.
Linens 'n Things Kitchen 101 Pizza Set
BEST VALUE
Linens 'n Things
Lnt.com; 866-568-7378
$19.99; standard shipping costs $8.99
The Good: A robust set for the price. It included a pizza cutter, a rolling
pin, spices (oregano and chili) and other extras. Stone was a decent size,
too, with a 15-inch diameter.
The Bad: Some of the accessories seemed unnecessary. (Does anyone need
another set of oven mitts?). The cutter wasn't all that sharp, either.
The Shopping: Set regularly sells for $29.99. Retailer also carries a few
other pizza-making kits and accessories.
VillaWare Bravo Pizza Four-Piece Stone Set
DealYard.com
dealyard.com; 866-320-3325
$24.99; standard shipping costs $17.99 (estimated)
The Good: As with all our models, it turned out a crispy pizza. Accessories
included a handy "peel," good for sliding the pie onto the stone and into the
oven.
The Bad: The size of the stone was not very generous -- a 13-inch diameter.
(We found our pie started to hang off the edges.) And stone couldn't be
washed with soap.
The shopping: Value-oriented merchant doesn't offer much else in the way of
pizza stones, but it does carry a variety of other products, from batteries
to bathroom faucets.
Crate & Barrel Pizza-Baking Stone
Crate & Barrel
crateandbarrel.com; 800-967-6696
$44.95; standard shipping costs $8.50
The Good: A sizable rectangular stone -- 16 x 14 inches -- big enough to
make a serious-sized pizza. Plus, it was plenty thick and durable. Merchant
notes that it can be used for bread as well.
The Bad: So much for helpful accessories. The stone didn't even come with a
carrying rack!
The Shopping: Retailer doesn't sell other stones, but it does give you the
option to buy a Cuisinart Pizza Oven for $99.95.
Bialetti Four-Piece Pizza Stone Set
Zaccardi's
zaccardis.com; 866-675-7790
$29.99; shipping costs vary depending on location
The Good: Comparable to the Linens 'n Things set (stone has a 14.75-inch
diameter), but with fewer accessories. The pizza peel was especially helpful.
The Bad: Stone can be cleaned with water only -- no soap. Carrying rack
didn't feel as substantial as those with other models.
The Shopping: Retailer sells a solid variety of pizza-making items,
including a set of "pizza shears," another way to cut your pie.
