A pizza oven accumulates burnt flour, semolina and dripped cheese, and all of it smokes and tastes bitter on the next preheat. The routine is short and there are a few things that must not be done.
Let It Cool Completely
The first and most important rule, and the one people rush. A ceramic stone that has been at high temperature will crack if water touches it, and the shell stays hot considerably longer than it looks.
Unplug it and wait. This is not a five-minute wait; a properly hot stone takes a long time to come down.
The Stone
- Scrape crumbs and residue with the supplied scraper or a stiff spatula
- Wipe with a dry cloth or a barely damp one
- No soap, no detergent, ever
- No dishwasher, no soaking
- Discolouration is normal and does not need removing
The no-soap rule is not fussiness. Ceramic is porous, it absorbs detergent, and it releases it into the next thing baked on it. Manufacturers state this explicitly, and guidance at piezano.net notes that the stone remembers flavours washed into it.
Removable Stones
A stone that lifts out can be taken to a sink and scraped over a bin, which is considerably easier than working inside a cavity.
It is genuinely uncommon on countertop ovens and it is the difference between cleaning happening weekly and cleaning happening when something starts to smoke.
Stubborn Residue
Burnt-on cheese usually comes off with a scraper once cool. Where it does not, running the oven hot for a few minutes carbonises it to ash, which then brushes away.
This produces smoke, so run an extractor or open a window, and do it before a session rather than during one.
The Shell and Window
Wipe the exterior with a damp cloth once cool. The window can be cleaned with a little washing-up liquid on a cloth, since it is glass rather than stone.
Avoid abrasive pads, which scratch both the glass and any painted or coated surface permanently.
What Never Gets Wet
The electrical parts, the elements and the base of the unit. This is an electrical appliance, and it should never be immersed or have water run into it.
Unplug before cleaning anything, as a matter of habit rather than judgement.
Between Every Session
A quick scrape once cool prevents nearly all of the accumulation. Two minutes after each pizza night is considerably less work than a session with an oven that has been left for months.
Storage
Completely cool and completely dry before it goes into a cupboard. A stone put away slightly damp can develop a musty smell that carries into the next bake.
The Peels
Wooden peels should be scraped and wiped rather than washed, and never put in a dishwasher, where they split. Metal peels wash normally and should be dried.