Hopi women are responsible for the household. They prepare corn by shelling kernels and grinding them into a fine meal. Each household owns three grinding stones, called metates, which are kept in a large wooden frame. These stones of varying degrees of coarseness are vital to the production of cornmeal.

Another important Hopi cooking utensil is a cooking stone, called a piki stone, that women use to make piki, a wafer-thin bread made of fine blue cornmeal that is one of the Hopi's most prized foods.

To make piki, Hopi women build a fire under the piki stone and spread cottonseed on its surface. They then spread a thin batter made of cornmeal on the hot stone. When the bread is cooked, the woman takes it off and rolls or folds it. Piki is a food that is served daily, as well as at ceremonial occasions.