Pizza stones. Plenty of amateur pizza chefs swear by them, and if you've never used one before – it's not just a gimmick – using a pizza stone when you cook pizza at home is a great way to ensure your crust will be baked all the way through, without burning the edges and leaving soggy dough in the middle.

But WHY do they work better than metal cookie sheets?

Capillary Action

Chemist and science writer Leigh Krietsch Boerner helps explain.

She says that it has to do with water distribution. Remember studying capillary action in high school? How when you put the end of a piece of paper into water, the water travels right up the paper?

Boerner says that a pizza stone basically does the same thing.

"It has pores where the water will travel into," she says. "If you have an area that has a lot of water and an area that is dry, the areas like to even out – nature really loves to make things even out – so the water will travel from the crust into your stone."

That's why there isn't a gooey, undercooked spot in the center of your pizza crust – the stone enables water to escape even from the parts that don't have good contact with the hot air in the oven.

Are All Pizza Stones Created Equal?

Since pizza stones are just a type of ceramic, the cheap ones will work just as well as the expensive ones.

You can even make your own pizza stone with a trip to the hardware store and $5 in your pocket. But read the instructions completely – buying the wrong material can put you at risk for lead poisoning.

Once you have a pizza stone in your possession, the pros recommend you cure it. This prevents the dough from sticking and ensures you and your stone will have a long, delicious relationship.

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