Cooking/Baking steel for pizza

[Johnny Booth]

I recently ran across an idea that uses a 13x13x1/4 inch seasoned steel plate to cook pizza in a traditional oven.
It’s supposed to retain heat/conduct heat much better than a pizza stone.
I bought the plain steel to make my own and will post pics, but maybe someone has ventured here before?


For example - a finished steel product here, there are many varieties, thicknesses and prices.

https://www.amazon.com/hans-grill-conductive-stainless-included/dp/B08MWKDR4Q?th=1

Then I found a way to cure my own steel and save a lot of money. The author uses this steel plate to start.
Take off the mill scale by soaking in 50/50 vinegar/water for a couple days, then scrub, dry it immediately in the oven at 170F.
When it is dry, season with flax seed oil using standard seasoning process.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081Z3FKQM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creat iveASIN=B081Z3FKQM&linkCode=as2&tag=sipandfeast20-20&linkId=d5563ea77531e03e906c7609a716b938

[Oak Smoke]

My son must have read something similar. He called day before yesterday and ask if I would cut him a 14 X 20 X 1/4 inch plate and season it. He said it was for his oven. I wondered what he was up to.

[Johnny Booth]

Now you know.
Make him two. According to that famous pizza chef, Tony Gemignani, that is the way to a perfect crust. Cook on one for a couple minutes, then move to the other to finish the crust. 1/4 inch seems to be the best to hold heat, and not be extraordinary heavy.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cCk2bC6CQeM

[Donw]

I’ve been using a baking steel for pizza and other things for years. They really do work well and no cracking pizza stones. I might suggest getting on a little larger because sometimes you need the extra space. BakingSteel has one a little wider for $20 more. https://bakingsteel.com/collections/steels

[Johnny Booth]

Thanks Donw - for the confirmation and information.
I am going 16x16, and will DIY it. Two steels, $60. 👍

[STEbbq]

This is really interesting. Is this basically a Baking Steel at a cheaper price point? https://bakingsteel.com/

Do you have a link to the original article on making your own steel (the vinegar solution etc.)

[Johnny Booth]

Yes. Here is the article where I saw the idea. The author states he has done several. The technique is legit. The retailers are killing it with the current prices. A factory with a cutting table could make them for a few bucks each.

https://www.sipandfeast.com/pizza-steel/

[Oak Smoke]

I have used 50/50 vinegar and water to etch the surface of a CI skillet that someone has sanded smooth. That bit of etching makes a huge difference in how the seasoning adheres. A very smooth or polished surface takes much more time to get a decently seasoned surface on. I’m sure it would do the same for carbon steel.

[STEbbq]

Excellent. Thank you.

[JoeSousa]

I have a steel I use for my Chicago thin crust tavern pizza and it works great. I think this is the one I have: https://cookingsteels.com/square-pizza-steel/

[Johnny Booth]

Oak Smoke. Not at all. Perfectly concise.
I also mis-spoke that the steel I purchased was cold rolled. I am now deeper into the research than I should be, but the A36 mild steel in my original link above is hot rolled. 😬

[Oak Smoke]

Most demanding work. It has more surface scale to deal with because of the heat. By being much more plastic as it’s rolled out fewer stresses are introduced as the metal is rolled out. Hot roll is normally the less expensive of the two.

[Oak Smoke]

I can’t see a reason as far as material cost for any of them to be expensive.

[bmillin]

I have the 15” Lodge pan, works great for around 40$

[fzxdoc]

I make pizza on a large 18x14 Baking Steel Griddle all the time in my oven. I use it smooth side up. The crusts turn out great. I set the oven to 500° and let it heat for an hour so the Baking Steel Griddle is good and hot by the time I slide a pizza on it. The pizza is done and the crust's underside is nice and crispy in under 10 minutes.

It's quite heavy (25 lbs) ; it stays in my oven almost all the time unless I need its rack for something else.

Kathryn

[58limited]

A baking steel makes a great heat retainer so the oven doesn't cool when you open the door. The old Chambers stoves had a 40 lb piece of iron as the oven bottom for this reason.

[Richard Chrz]

I use baking steels a lot, one is always in my oven. Both of mine are 14 x 14 x 1/4..

this is the favorite of mine, between the two I have. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JXVNUHW...t_details&th=1

[Johnny Booth]

I’m glad I brought this up. Apparently this is a well-known secret. 😋

[yakima]

Had the local yard cut me a 1/2x12x12 inch steel, sized to fit in my cast iron chiminea. Treat the steel like cast iron. About $20. Gave the guy $5.00 to round the edges and corners on his grinder.

[yakima]

You guys are both undoubtedly near places that sell steel, metal of various kinds, and recyclers. Not Home Depot or Lowes or Amazon. Look at your local industries, where do they source materials? A steel yard is essentially same as a lumber yard.

Builders buy lumber, steel, paint, carpet. Look around.

[Carolyn]

STEbbq A budy of mine went to the scrap yard and got a square piece of scrap steel to steam oysters.

[Johnny Booth]

yakima - I did some searching. Getting clean steel plate is not as easy as it seems in your area. St. Petersburg is in Pinellas county. All beach, very very little industry. In the amount of time and travel I would spend to find a local source, I think $30 is fine to have it delivered.

[Smoker_Boy]

I've been using a Pampered Chef pizza stone for about 40 years or so.
But if it ever breaks, I'll do this trick with the steel!

[RonB]

I was gifted an original Baking Steel shortly after they came out. It stays in the oven all the time. I read somewhere that it helps even out oven temp. Or, at least, it takes longer for the oven to cycle on and off because the steel releases some of it's heat as the oven cools making the cycles longer. I am not sure if I see any improvement using it, but the oven is a great place to store that heavy sucker.

If ya bake bread, you can bake directly on the steel and, if desired, cover the bread with a disposable aluminium tray to help retain moisture. This is very similar to using a Dutch oven for bread.

[Richard Chrz]

You can eliminate the cover and put a water pan in the lower shelf. 2 things, it acts as a heat sink for the steel, and helps prevent the over browning of the bottom of the loaf, and it steams up an oven so heavily you can hardly reach your hand into the oven, without having the door open for 10-20 seconds first, it creates a lot more steam.

[58limited]

I have a baking steel, heavy as heck but it works great! It really holds the heat, no big temperature drop when you put food on it and it won't crack like a ceramic pizza stone due to thermal shock - my ceramic stone cracked when I put a double thick pizza on it at 750 degrees.

[captainlee]

I think steel works best.

[Uncle Bob]

Another vote for finding a steel fab shop. To them a piece that would yield a 16x16 finished product can be made from what they call "drops". Many of those shops have CNC controlled plasma cutters, some water jet cutters (will yield a smoother edge). Around four years ago I got a 16" round piece of 3/8 plate that I cleaned and seasoned, works great. IIRC it cost $40 before cleaning.

[yakima]

Sort of a diversion. We, collectively, like to fiddle with our gear, which mostly involves metal. Metal yards and fabrication shops are our friends. Make friends with them. There is a fab shop 2 miles away, plastic and metal. They made me a hard plastic mount for a depth meter on a little boat, and machined a notch out of a Breeo fire pit lid, to accommodate a cooking attachment. Years ago, a sheet metal shop fabbed a hinged lid for a surplus 1/4 ton jeep trailer which hauls camping gear to deer camp. One of a kind stuff, which, to me, is immensely satisfying. And often not ridiculously expensive.

[yakima]

An attorney friend once said, "you have a lot of cool stuff. Your estate sale is going to be fun."

[STEbbq]

Another idea for J-Melt