How to Read Your Pizza Stone with an Infrared Thermometer

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The display on your Ninja Woodfire shows the air temperature inside the oven. What actually decides whether your crust sets and browns is the surface temperature of the pizza stone. The two don’t always match — especially partway through a preheat — and the only way to know the stone is ready is to measure it.

An infrared thermometer costs about $20 and does that in two seconds. Point it at the stone, read the number, decide whether to launch.

What we actually measure

These are the readings from our own Ninja Woodfire OO101, taken at the center of the stone after a full preheat:

• Our usual setting — 550°F: after about 20 minutes, the stone reads around 540°F. We par-bake the oiled crust for about 1 minute 30 seconds, then top it and bake about 5 minutes.
• The 700°F setting: the stone reads around 695°F, and a pizza cooks in about 3 minutes.

In other words, once the Ninja is fully preheated, the stone ends up close to the set temperature. The thermometer is how you confirm you’ve actually gotten there instead of guessing from the clock.

How to use the thermometer

Aim at the center of the stone, where the pizza will sit. Take a reading toward the end of the preheat, and again right before you launch. If the number is still climbing, give it a few more minutes.

Check between pizzas, too. Opening the door and launching a cold, topped pizza pulls heat out of the stone, and it takes a little time to recover before the next one.

When the numbers are off

Stone too cool: wait. A pizza on an underheated stone comes out pale and soft on the bottom no matter how good the dough is. A few more minutes costs nothing.

Readings jump around: make sure you’re aiming at the stone itself, not the oven walls or the door, and hold the thermometer steady at a consistent distance.

The Thermometer Itself

The Etekcity Lasergrip 1080→ Amazon runs about $20 on Amazon and handles everything described here without any issues. You do not need a $60 unit with Bluetooth logging and a carrying case. You need a number in under two seconds and a laser dot you can aim. The Etekcity does that. We cover it in our accessories post alongside the other four things we would buy before firing up the Woodfire for the first time.

The oven display tells you when to start paying attention. The infrared thermometer tells you when to actually cook. At about $20, it’s the cheapest upgrade with the most direct impact on results.

Get one before your next cook.