I got a pizza steel last Christmas. It's VERY heavy. Way heavier than I anticipated. I'm having issues with where, and how, to store it. I've read where keeping it in the oven is not a good option because it adversely affects the oven temperature. Also, it's hard on the wood surfaces if you try to slide it into a cabinet. I'd appreciate hearing from those of you that might have solved the problem.
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Probably just us but we leave our steel on the bottom rack all the time. We think it moderates the overall oven temperature so it maintains a steadier temperature over the long run. -
Mine is in the oven most of the time but if I remove it I put it in an enclosed closet in the garage. I haven't noticed any issues with it while cooking other items.Comment
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In the Oven.Comment
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I'm willing to store it for you. 😀Comment
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I'm not aware of leaving a steel or stone in the oven having an adverse effect. In fact everything I have heard is that the opposite is true. The extra thermal mass helps the oven hold a more consistent temp. The one thing it does do is cause a longer preheat time, and you really want to allow at least 30 minutes after the initial preheat to let the steel come up to temp as well. I store my pizza stone in the oven and usually allow 45 minuets to an hour for the oven to preheat if I'm going to be baking/roasting something.
If you have a link or source saying that it's a bad idea to store your steel/stone in the oven, then I'd love to see it. Just because I think I'm right, doesn't mean I am. So if I can learn something new, I'm all for it.
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Uneven Heat Distribution:
If the steel is stored on a rack that blocks airflow (especially low in the oven), it may interfere with convection and cause uneven baking for some dishes.
• Risk of Overheating or Warping:
If left in during high-heat cleaning cycles or broiling, the steel could warp or degrade over time. Gas ovens can have hot spots that exacerbate this.
These are the salient factors from an AI search of the pros and cons. I tried to send all of it, but am limited to 500 characters -
This is from the Baking Steel website.
Can I leave it in my oven all the time? Yes! Many of our customers leave their Baking Steel in the oven 24/7. It can even help regulate your oven’s temperature. Just remember to move it to a middle or lower rack when baking pizza or bread for best results.
Can I use it on a grill or open flame? Absolutely. Baking Steel works beautifully on gas grills, charcoal grills, and even over an open flame. -
Agreed, the only "adverse" effect is it will take longer for your oven to reach ambient baking temp as you have to heat up the steel and the oven. But its helps to minimize the normal swing of oven temps.
I don't keep my in the oven at all times, but I do use it as a heat sink/regulator on holidays like thanksgiving where things are going in an out of the oven all the time, it def. helps keep the temp up and rebound quicker
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My steel stays in the oven all the time, sometimes shelf location changes, as it normally sits in dead center of my oven. I season it maybe every two weeks.Comment
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All this talk of baking steels is making me think I need one for my pizza making. Get behind me, MCS temptation! I have two Lodge cast iron pizza pans. I gotta use those more before investing in baking steels.... I've GOT to keep telling myself that!
Personally I would store on the bottom rack of the oven, and I think it will in fact stabilize temps, although as others pointed out, it may increase preheat time. Some of it may depend on your oven type (gas or electric). And if you have convection, I could see the steel, if it takes up an entire rack, blocking convection airflow. So I think it needs to come out for a convection oven.
I store all my sheet pans in a big messy stack in the base cabinet under an island, and try to slide the one I want out of the stack without pulling the rest out. I personally would put the baking steel at the bottom of such a stack. I have a similar stack of pans on the shelf above in the same island, where the two Lodge cast iron pizza pans currently sit underneath the other cast iron, stainless and non-stick skillets, in a precarious stack...Comment
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Mosca - I bought a piece of plate steel, cleaned it and seasoned it. They were about $30.00 each. Works great.
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Double the price on your savings. The Pizza Bible suggests 2 steels in your oven for pizza. While I don’t run 2 of them anymore, I did for a long time based on his advice. So you are saving the money on 2 of them. lol
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Same problemo with a pizza oven. It's arguably a one trick pony, and where do you put it when you're not using it. I guess it boils down to how often you make pizza.Comment
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I just heated up both of my identical ovens, one with a Baking Steel slab and one without. Heating to 350 degrees, the difference in time to reach the set temperature was only 2 minutes.
KathrynComment
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TobyB
so I have a bit of experience with a steel being in my oven.There are 2 -3 days a week my oven is on at 475 bake, and up to 500 broil, for 4 - 5 hours each day, as I bake bread on a steel, not in a Dutch oven.
Details on my oven, cheap electric Amana, not convection, and honestly I don’t yet know why I would want convection yet. If I ever get one, I want to be able to shut it off. I also run huge hotel pans full of water below my steel to create steam in my oven the entire time.- “ Uneven Heat Distribution:” - I have not seen any sign of uneven heating, my electric oven does have real hotspots, they are in the corners, and I do not bake in those areas until I’m trying to set my crust, then I use the hot spots to my advantage.
- “If the steel is stored on a rack that blocks airflow (especially low in the oven), it may interfere with convection and cause uneven baking for some dishes.” - I’m sure it could block stuff with flow, but from seeing my steam run inside my oven for hours at a time, the steam seems very even,y distributed through out the entire oven.
- “• Risk of Overheating or Warping:” - For the life of me I cannot see this happening, having my steel on 500 broil for an hour at a time, there has been no signs of any warping etc,,, yet to see any damage to a steel. You will want to have your oven on for 45 minutes to an hour just to preheat the steel, otherwise the steel I just a heavy object without any benefit, I have had my steel at 525 broil cause the oven to overheat and shut down, but that has ever only been on 525 broil, never 500.
- Not AI, just 100’s if not over a 1,000 hours of baking with one in my oven. Just food for thought in helping make a decision in keeping yours in your oven,
Last edited by Richard Chrz; November 8, 2025, 02:52 PM.Comment
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