The Comparison: Biscotto vs. Chamotte

The Biscotto Sorrento is a special clay mixture that is handcrafted in the Sorrento area of Italy. The Biscotto is very high quality and expensive, which is why it is installed in top-class commercial pizza ovens. It is characterized by the inclusion of various minerals and especially air pockets. These ensure that the stone is minimally uneven and the pizza never lies flat on the Biscotto. At high temperatures as found in commercial and Neapolitan ovens, this is a great advantage, because the air pockets, i.e., the surface irregularities of the stone, create a kind of air cushion, allowing the temperature under the pizza dough to distribute and the pizza to become perfectly browned without burning.

With the chamotte stone, a distinction must be made between the standard chamotte stone, which can be purchased everywhere in wholesale and is installed in most mid-priced pizza ovens from well-known manufacturers. This has a decent quality but does not retain heat permanently. The stone is too thin and the surface too smooth. After a few pizzas, the temperature drops.

Then there is the chamotte stone from Valoriani Forni, which is handcrafted in Regello, Italy, according to its own recipe. This chamotte stone comes very close to the properties of the Biscotto. The craftsmanship ensures quality, and the composition of various minerals also provides an uneven surface with air pockets. The air cushion effect is demonstrated by the chamotte stone, for example, in the Valoriani Baby. The handcrafted chamotte stone from Valoriani even has an advantage: it is heavier and denser than the Biscotto and therefore more stable. Due to this firmness, it reaches the high temperatures of up to 480 degrees and can maintain them for hours just like the Biscotto. And both stones have a crucial advantage in common, the Biscotto and the chamotte stone from Valoriani: they are both made in Italy from the best materials, making them absolutely free of harmful substances and food-safe.