Pizza Stone / Oven Stone (tiles)

A pizza stone is normally a circular stone you can buy at most kitchen shops in the US, normally made out of earthenware or ceramics and is used to cook pizzas on inside your oven. These stones distribute the heat evenly which allows for even cooking. However, these stones can cost from $15 USD to over $40 USD for a small 12 inch piece. What actually works much better is going down to your local tile shop and picking up a few unglazed quarry tiles and then cutting them with a tile cutter to the size of your oven (just measure your oven and ask the tile people to cut for you.) This far more cheaper than buying a pizza stone and will have much better results. Most home ovens cannot reach the desired high temperature of a true pizza oven, by using the unglazed quarry tiles, your oven will actually go a few degrees hotter when set to its highest temperature.

You simply place the tiles directly on the bottom metal part of your oven (if you have a burner on the bottom then place it on the wire shelf on the lowest setting) and leave them there. There is no need to ever remove them again, they will not only give you a very crispy crust but will also help distribute the heat throughout your entire oven more evenly than before (most home ovens have cold spots.) These tiles will also keep the heat in your oven every time you open the door since they retain heat for a long time. For pizzas and bread you would simply put the food directly on the tiles with no pans. The tiles will draw the moisture away from the pizza crust and breads giving you a much sought after crispy texture. To clean up the tiles all you need to do is wipe it down with a damp cloth (do not use soaps of any kind as this will ruin the taste of the tiles) to remove the crumbs, the high temperature of the oven actually will burn off most waste and spills. I also put a piece of aluminum foil under the tiles and leave a little of it in front, this way when I wipe the tiles clean the crumbs will fall on the foil and I just need to bend it out a little and brush off the crumbs.

Indoor Electric Grill / Panini Grill (Clam Shell Design)

An indoor electric tabletop grill that has both a top and bottom grate with a Teflon coating, usually also slanted in order for the grease to drip down and away from the food, it is a healthy way to quickly cook foods. You can use it for making Panini sandwiches (grilled sandwich, Italian style), grilled vegetables, hamburgers, steaks, pork chops and on some they even come with an exchangeable bottom griddle plate where you can make pancakes, fry bacon and cook eggs. We use the George Foreman Grill.

Pizza Knife

A pizza knife is simply a knife for cutting pizzas, I use one of two types the long blade knife and the roller blade (also known as a pizza cutter.) the long blade knife (normally around 14- 18 inches long) is more accurate and much easier to use but is also much larger while the smaller roller blade is easier to store, however is not always the easiest to use. Both can be used for other foods and are excellent tools to have in your kitchen. The bladed knife is rather hard to find in Malaysia, however it can be made here by just about anyone who can work with metal, aluminum will do fine.

Pizza Peel

A pizza peel is a very large spatula for pizzas, normally made out of wood or aluminum and will range from 12-24 inches wide and long at the base. With the wooden peel (which is what I recommend) you can make your pizza directly on the peel (be sure to add a little corn meal or wheat flour to the peel first) and then slide it right into your oven or on top of your grill. The reason I recommend the wooden peel over the aluminums is because the wood will help to absorb some of the moisture of the pizza dough and also will become seasoned after several uses, the aluminum peel cannot be seasoned. After your pizza is finished cooking you would use the peel and slide it under your pizza and then remove it from the oven or grill. It is also advisable to either let the pizza rest on the peel for a few minutes or if you have a wooden counter, cutting board or wooden plate go ahead and slide the pizza onto it. The wood will help absorb some of the moisture from the pizza crust while the pizza is still very hot and this will insure a crispier crust.

Dutch Oven

Also known as a French oven, heavy casserole and Cocotte and is similar to the Japanese tetsunabe, is normally a large (around 5-8 quarts) and very heavy (around 13-15 pounds) cast iron pot with an enamel coating and a heavy tight fitting lid. These ovens can also be quite expensive ranging from around $150 USD to upwards of $500 USD, however they will last for decades can be handed down to future generations. The original cast iron Dutch ovens (without the enamel coating) would most likely have 3-4 little legs and would have an indented lid so you could stack another pot on top while cooking over a camp fire (you can use the enamel ones directly over a camp fire but you can use on a gas fire stove.)

Today most people use the enamel Dutch ovens, they are much easier to clean up and you do not need to season them and they do not rust. These pots can be used inside an oven and on top of your stove and allow for long slow cooking. Dutch ovens have many useful applications, you can roast in them, cook stews and soups, make casseroles, bake cakes and even wholesome rustic loaves of bread (and you do not have to knead the dough.) Unlike their plain cast iron relative, the enamel Dutch oven cannot be used for deep frying. The one in the photo above, I brought back with me from the US.