Wirecutter Weekly: Take another little pizza my heart

Baking the perfect pizza at home is all about having the right tools. ‌ Take another little pizza my heart [View this email in your browser]( ‌ ‌ [imp?s=265684&li=bb5d08fe40&e={EMAIL}&p=2768f9a705]( [imp?s=265685&li=bb5d08fe40&e={EMAIL}&p=2768f9a705] [imp?s=265686&li=bb5d08fe40&e={EMAIL}&p=2768f9a705] [imp?s=265687&li=bb5d08fe40&e={EMAIL}&p=2768f9a705]( [imp?s=625037&li=bb5d08fe40&e={EMAIL}&p=2768f9a705]( ‌ ‌ [Wirecutter Weekly] ‌ The best from Wirecutter in your inbox, every week. ‌ ‌ Wirecutter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. [Learn more.]( ‌ ‌ ‌ Photo: Sarah Kobos ‌ ‌ Ganda Suthivarakom, special projects editor ‌ I know you know this, but sometimes the most expensive, hyped thing isn’t the best tool for the job. I learned this once again in our new guide to [pizza stones and steels]( written by Lesley Stockton. I first heard about baking steels when they came out about seven years ago, during the ascent of science-y cooking writing and Kickstarter. [Pizza obsessives raved](. I’m always attracted to the shiny, new, harder-to-get option—won’t it last longer and be better? Not always. I’m glad I read through Lesley’s guide before getting one. No question, the baking steel excels at pizza. But I make a lot more bread than I do pizza, and for the right versatility-to-excellence ratio, I’m going with her pick, the [FibraMent-D Home Oven Baking Stone]( (which can be cut to fit in my little oven). Lesley was surprised to learn that, besides the stone’s thickness, it was the stone’s surface texture that seemed to improve browning. And the proprietary ceramic mix of the FibraMent was rougher than the more standard cordierite ceramic. “FibraMent isn’t cordierite, and they won’t say exactly what it is,” she said. She compared ceramic stones with [The Original Baking Steel, ⅜-inch]( (still an also-great pick). If you are an avid pizzaiolo, steel will give you the charred, puffy crust you find at serious pizza places with roaring wood fires. But, as our kitchen editor Marguerite Preston told me, it’s a one-trick pony. That intense heat will blacken the bottoms of bread loaves and pastries. Also, this thing is 23 pounds! Moving it from shelf to shelf would add more wear and tear on my arms than I want for a dish I rarely cook. Finally, three tips: 1. All [pizza dough recipes]( (registration required) have pretty much the same few ingredients, but Lesley told me that the secret to puffier and chewier pizzas is [diastatic malt powder]( that is the oomph I’ve been missing in homemade dough. 2. Get your dough to room temp, maybe even warmer, for a stretching that stays put. 3. If you want to impress people, make the [Franny’s clam pizza recipe]( total stunner and easy-peasy, despite how complex it tastes. (RIP Franny’s, formerly my favorite pizza restaurant in Brooklyn; at least we still have [its cookbook]( ‌ [New this week at the Wirecutter] ‌ Our newest and recently updated reviews ‌ ‌ Kitchen & Dining ‌ [The Best Pizza Stone and Baking Steel]( ‌ Our pick: [FibraMent-D Home Oven Baking Stone]( ‌ Published March 25 ‌ ‌ Blog ‌ [Lessons From the Asus Hack: How to Keep Your Computer Safe]( ‌ Tips on how to protect your computer from future security breaches. ‌ Published March 26 ‌ ‌ Gardening ‌ [L](#)[ist: Urban Gardening Starter Kit]( ‌ Basic supplies for getting a container garden started this spring. ‌ Published March 27 ‌ ‌ Audio ‌ [The Best Workout Headphones]( ‌ Our pick: [Jabra Elite Active 65t]( ‌ Updated March 27 ‌ ‌ Smart Home ‌ [The Best Plug-In Smart Outlet]( ‌ Our pick: [Wemo Mini]( ‌ Updated March 29 ‌ ‌ Smartphones ‌ [The Best Smartwatch for Android Phones]( ‌ Our pick: [Fossil Sport]( ‌ Updated March 28 ‌ [See all reviews]( ‌ [Things we’ve been enjoying lately] ‌ Some good listening, watching, and reading you may like ‌ “We’ve all been in that meeting, either as host or reluctant participant, when suddenly a racy notification pops up, or everyone’s eyes are focused on an interesting tab name. Screen sharing is dangerous.” ‌ [The Sometimes Catastrophic, but Mostly Just Embarrassing Consequences of Screen Sharing at Work]( [The New York Times] ‌ Suggested by Medea Giordano, assistant updates editor ‌ “Hiking has traditionally been a very white and cis activity—but groups like The Venture Out Project are working to get more diverse people interested in the outdoors, by leading LGBTQ+ hiking groups.” ‌ [The Group Getting Queer People Outside Together]( [Outside] ‌ Suggested by Tim Barribeau, editor ‌ “The series exploring the conflict between the Danes and the Saxons is addictive with its charming cast of characters, especially the hero named Uhtred of Bebbanburg.” ‌ [The Last Kingdom]( [Netflix] ‌ Suggested by Rozette Rago, photo editor ‌ [Let’s be friends] ‌ [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Pinterest]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( ‌ First time receiving this email? [Subscribe and we’ll send you the latest once a week](. 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