Many of you probably have some form of ceramic pizza stone to assist in baking a crispy crust (of course it works for bread too). There is a faction out there who are strong advocates for a steel "stone". One of the better known suppliers for the steel alternative is a company named Baking Steel, bakingsteel.com . If you're already familiar with them you know they sell a variety of shapes and sizes in 1/4" and 3/8" plate. If you have any interest in buying one and aren't on their mailing list they're having a sale this weekend, ending midnight Sunday (they didn't specify time zone). 15% off any product using code SteelisCool.
The proposed advantages are that the steel "absorbs" heat better than ceramic, thus offers better brownin/crisping to the crust. Supposedly it will also shorten the pre-heat time. The other is durability; steel won't crack or shatter from dropping or thermal shock. I find the argument/discussion intriguing and the experimenter in me wants to try it, but the tinkerer in me doesn't want to just buy a nicely prepared hunk of steel with some companies logo on it. I did a little searching and found a steel supplier in Houston who has a stock of 16" round, 3/8" thick steel plate they offer for sale. Ends up about half the list price of the similar offering from Baking Steel (if I'd had a local supplier could have avoided shipping cost that pretty much doubled the price, it's a 22 pound chunk). The kicker of course is I'll have to invest time/labor to make it a finished product for cooking purposes. I plan to polish, lightly, one side of the plate and then put it through the normal seasoning process as you would for a carbon steel or cast iron griddle. I chose the 16" round because that is a very good fit for my Kamado Joe as well as the Stampede or my kitchen oven. My typical pizza is 12" or so, leaving ample room on the "stone". Hoping that it becomes a useful tool in the food prep arsenal. The search for pizza perfection continues...…………….
The proposed advantages are that the steel "absorbs" heat better than ceramic, thus offers better brownin/crisping to the crust. Supposedly it will also shorten the pre-heat time. The other is durability; steel won't crack or shatter from dropping or thermal shock. I find the argument/discussion intriguing and the experimenter in me wants to try it, but the tinkerer in me doesn't want to just buy a nicely prepared hunk of steel with some companies logo on it. I did a little searching and found a steel supplier in Houston who has a stock of 16" round, 3/8" thick steel plate they offer for sale. Ends up about half the list price of the similar offering from Baking Steel (if I'd had a local supplier could have avoided shipping cost that pretty much doubled the price, it's a 22 pound chunk). The kicker of course is I'll have to invest time/labor to make it a finished product for cooking purposes. I plan to polish, lightly, one side of the plate and then put it through the normal seasoning process as you would for a carbon steel or cast iron griddle. I chose the 16" round because that is a very good fit for my Kamado Joe as well as the Stampede or my kitchen oven. My typical pizza is 12" or so, leaving ample room on the "stone". Hoping that it becomes a useful tool in the food prep arsenal. The search for pizza perfection continues...…………….