Equipment Review: Pizza and Baking Stones and Steels
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- čas přidán 4. 05. 2021
- The blazing-hot oven of a real pizzeria can produce pizza with flavorful, crisp, deeply browned crust; melty, bubbling cheese; and hot, savory-sweet tomato sauce all in a matter of minutes. At home, though, pizza rarely reaches those heights. We’ve learned that heating a good baking stone or steel turns out pizzas that come closest to those produced in restaurant ovens. But which one performs best?
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This young lady is one hundred percent, my favorite reviewer of all time, in all of the CZcams world. 👍😊
I agree with you, @PPDX. She’s really good. Very clear and professional. None of that trendy narrative style in CZcams that’s bound not to last long (meaning in a few years, it becomes not only outdated, but annoying)
Yes I agree
short honest & too the point - not the usual 25min repetitive words
& realky like that blue uniform
Totally agree! She knows her stuff.
Love Lisa's reviews. Those are what got me hooked on ATK! I hope you guys produce more reviews like this.
Thanks!!
I have a four-tile stone set, and I love it. So easy to transport and store, I'll gladly throw them in a bag to bring to a friend's house, and it takes up much less space in a cabinet or on a shelf.
I used to make pizza at pizza moto in NYC back when it was truck operation only. I currently use the baking steel griddle. It’s a little thicker than the original. One side is like the original, and the other side has a smoother surface like like a flattop griddle. We use the griddle as much as or more than the baking side.
Like baking in a real wood fired oven, the first pie can get a burnt bottom. I use the broiler the whole time on the first pie, and it is the fastest pie out of the oven. I usually do my kids cheese pie first. Like in a wood fired oven, you want to put your next pie on the same spot. It’s a cool spot because of the previous pie, so you can have a little more wiggle room with it. Generally the second pies and after, I broil for a minute or two and then turn the oven back to 550.
Baking bread has been a learning curve. For a hearth bread, I preheat the steel for an hour at 350. The. The last 10 minutes before baking I’ll bring it up to 425, the temp the recipe calls for. Otherwise, the bottom of your bread will be black. I’ve even tried sliding a baking sheet under the bread about 10 minutes to insulate the bottom. It still burnt.
I love the baking steel griddle and I love making pies that look almost as good as a wood fired oven. Hope the advice helps.
I really love this very informative channel and great professional narration. Bravo!!
Glad to see this. Have not heard of the Steel until a couple of days ago - been checking into them. Thanks for the input, ATK - and thank you to everyone commenting.
U bought one!?
I use a pizza stone on the bottom rack, to cast my pies on, and a pizza steel on a rack above it to help with browning on top of the pie. Works great.
Andrew Rea of Binging with Babish uses this method. Seems very effective, and would also help even out uneven heat in an oven with "hotspots".
I have a big stone from Pampered Chef 20 years ago. It's very nice but I also have a steel. I like them both. Put the steel 9 inches from the top of the oven and switch to broiler as soon as you launch. My oven goes to 550 F and this worked nice. If you are firing more than one pizza the stone doesn't lose as much heat.
The most useful 6-minute cooking video ever -- thank you!
Fantastic! Just the type of breakdown I was looking for.
I bought the Nerd Chef steel a little while back and i love it!
love my baking steel (old school kickstarter backer)
Glad you like it. Hope you're making some amazing pizza at home!
Good presentation. Thanks.
I always just put the stone or steel on the top rack, right below the broiler on high, with the oven door open a bit. No need to wait an hour, you can have the stone up to temp in 10 minutes. Likewise, if you were to put the oven on to 500 or 550 and leave the door open a bit, with the steel or stone on the bottom rack, you'd find it would get up to temp MUCH faster than an hour. Again, probably 10-15 minutes.
This channel ROCKS!! No BS just facts!!
If you put the steel on the top rack and use the broiler, perfect pizza in 6-7 minutes. Boom. Don’t even have to worry about the cheese not melting or crust being overdone. Made the best pizza of my life last night with that method.
I love my baking steel. I have a round one, 3/8" thick. Even though it wouldn't work as well, I'd probably prefer if it was 1/4" thick because it's about 9.25lbs. I liked the one I got because it perfectly covers a stove burner and the other side has a groove for use as a griddle, but it's very heavy and a bigger and thinner one would probably be better for pizza. Lisa is absolutely right that you don't want one only slightly larger than the pizza. I'd suggest a larger round one. Not square, because the corners are extra weight you probably won't use.
If your steel or stone is not much larger than your pizza, you'll struggle in the "launch": getting the pizza on the steel. Much higher risk of a pizza disaster where the pizza partially or fully slides off the steel and immediately burns all over an oven at maximum heat, especially if you don't have rack that can easily slide in and out with so much weight on it. I've made many pizzas with only a few failures early on but I've learned a great deal about types of peels and how to flour them and how important it is to top the pizza quickly to prevent sticking. Still, each time I slide a pizza onto the steel I'm holding my breath that the pizza slides off the the peel just enough, not stopping short or going too far. A bigger steel or stone would make it a lot easier and less stressful. The extra space would also allow for larger pizzas if I feel like taking the risk.
Steel seems to give off heat about perfectly for home oven temperatures, but I think some research and development could produce a lighter steel that performed just as well, for pizza at least. Aluminum can hold more heat per pound, as well as absorbing and releasing it faster. Perhaps an aluminum plate/round of the right thickness over baking stones could work just as well for pizza as steel but be far easier to take in and out of the oven and clean than a heavy steel. It would also preheat faster and reheat faster between pizzas. Pure aluminum would probably burn the bottom of the pizza, but I suspect if you made a circle of a few ceramic pie-shaped wedges to hold and more slowly release heat and put a round aluminum on top, if the thicknesses are right it could work. That would be a good product. Unfortunately, baking steels are simply too heavy for many people. My parents can't use mine, it's just too heavy for them. I'm glad this video shows that set of ceramic tiles. Smaller pieces that can be handled individually makes it much easier to move and clean.
I just purchased a square steel pizza stone - 14x 16in by 1/4in . Would this be large enough for most pizzas (for 2-4 people)?
That's interesting and those baking steels could probably be used on a gas cooktop as a frying surface for pancakes and the like.
I've been using a 16 x 14 inch - 3/8 inch thick pizza steel for the last 8 months. It weights 24 pounds. I get great results with it. My pizzas have never cooked so fast with the right amount of leoparding (dark brown spots) underneath the crust that gives the pizzas that wonderful wood oven flavor. You don't really need to buy a brand name pizza steel that you may end up paying a lot more for; carbon steel is carbon steel. Mine is a generic pizza steel made out of A36 carbon steel that is laser cut with rounded corners. I did however smooth out all the edges with a hand file so it wouldn't have the slightest leftover sharp edge that could potentially scratch the chrome plating of the oven grill on which it rests. I bought my pizza steel on ebay for $35 plus shipping from a seller (synergysteeldesings) located in Pennsylvania..
The important specs to consider are the size you can accomodate inside your oven and the thickness. You should have at least one to two inches all around from the edges of the pizza steel to the oven walls so that the heat can properly circulate. A thicker steel will have higher thermal capacity, i.e. it will accumulate more heat, so after you bake one pizza, if you want to bake a second pizza, it will be have more heat reverves left to transfer it to the second pizza or third and so on. However, thicker steels will obviously weight more and take more time to heat up. A 1/2 inch thick steel for my pizza steel size weights in af 30 pounds, something to consider if you have to move it around a lot. I just leave mine inside the oven all the time, one third high up from the bottom of the oven. I heat it up for one hour like Lisa said, sometimes even longer. With regards to material safety, carbon steel, an alloy tipically consisting of about 97% iron and 1% carbon, is safe, arguably the safest and most bio-compatible metal with our body's phisiology
Under these conditions and running my oven full blast at 550°F in convection mode, I bake Neapolitan style pizzas in 4 minutes. You will need a pizza peel to launch the pizza onto the pizza steel and to take it out of the oven once baked. Spread plenty of the finest grit hard durum semolina you can find onto your work surface before you stretch the pizza dough so that you can easily pick-up the pizza pie with the peel from the work surface and so that it can slide off with ease from the peel onto the pizza steel. A steel blade spatula at around 4 inches wide is also needed to scrape off some toppings that will inevitably fall onto the steel at one time or another. You will also likely have some semolina residue left on the steel that burns out and turns black once the pizza is removed. Simply use the spatula to run it off onto the empty peel placed underneath the pizza steel. That's a great advantage of pizza steels though, you can scrapre off things from them without fear of cracking them as opposed to pizza stones, they're virtually indestructable.
Some words of precaution, specially if using the convection mode of your oven and run it at the highest heat setting like I do. Work from the sides of the oven so that you don't get a full blast of very hot air coming at your face when you open the oven door. Wear oven mittens if in between baking pizzas and if the oven is still running and you have to scrape off toppings or semolina that have fallen onto the pizza steel, otherwise you hands will cook like your pizzas but as an unwanted extra topping. If your oven doesn't automatically cut off the convection airflow when you open the door - my previous oven worked like that - turn off the convection mode to remove the residues and turn it back on when finished so it's ready for the following pizza.
Hello, thanks for review. I am curious if cast iron griddle/pan can also do the same?
Yay, already have the original baking steel. Makes great Pizza and bread.
Trial and error to find the best method to cook pizza in my oven sounds like a fun task... Attempt #42... another failure, let me eat it and try again....
Yes - I see the importance of keeping notes.
a tip: you can watch movies at Flixzone. Been using it for watching a lot of movies lately.
@Emerson Fox definitely, I've been using flixzone for since december myself =)
One tip I found was to dry the fresh mozzarella prior to cooking it with the pizza, and also partially cook the pizza crust with sauce only and then pull the crust out of the oven and apply your cheese, meats, etc. Apply a little olive oil around the edges of the crust to protect it when you put it back in the oven. Then to finish cooking the pizza put the pizza back in the oven for another couple of minutes and it'll be done. This extra step will keep the pizza from getting too soggy.
Absolutely love my baking steel!! Never had a burnt bottom ever...It's a game changer
My steel is MUCH thicker than the ones shown - we used a piece of salvage that we seasoned ourselves. It’s about 3/8 inch thick, and makes splendid pizza after an hour of preheating. Highly recommend. BUT, be careful! It’s very heavy.
@@99zanne That's pretty great! Interestingly, Baking Steel and NerdChef both sell steels in varying thicknesses. I chose the "original," most basic models that were ¼" thick, and they worked fine (and were plenty heavy to move around at 16 lbs each).
@@lisamcmanus6656 agree Lisa, i see no point going any thicker... it only adds a lot of weight in the oven.. it may cook a little slower than the heavier steels, but im ok with that..
I have found that as long as my steel is preheated, you can cook at 425 and you get good crust. The cheese/topping get melted/cooked. Cook for 8-10 min. Spin it. Then another 8-10. If you have a big enough steel move it to another spot.
A baking steel is also almost impossible to destroy. A baking stone will shatter if it get a sauce drip or other liquid on it while hot. I love my steel so much.
thank you😁
Would love to know which pizza crust recipe was used for this testing video. ATK has published many and I really like the bubbles shown from this recipe.
Thanks - any time I want/need a piece of kitchen gear I ALWAYS check out the ATK reviews so that I choose the best.
What changes did you do to make the steel version better this time? Also, would adding a pan of water help prevent the dryer effect using the ceramic?
I’ve been using a thick steel and the broiler for about a year now. It produces much better pizza than my stone ever did. I use the broiler to preheat the steel to an even higher temperature. My pizzas cook in 4-5 minutes.
Awesome!
A friend of mine swears by a thick slab of steel on top of the oven and the pizza on a stone below. With the oven on grill/broil it gives great pizza.
I've heard of people doing it both ways (steel over stone, stone over steel). We have a method (we call it the Ultimate setup) that uses the steel right on top of the stone. This doubles up on the benefit of each material (quick heat throw of the steel, heat retention of the stone) and makes it easier to make several pizzas in a row without waiting for the steel to reheat. So, if you you have the stone and want to get the steel, here's your excuse. :)
Excellent review as always. But if one wants consistency with time(got to churn out pizzas in large quantities), I would suggest stone rather than steel. There's a reason why oven floor in pizzerias are stone and not steel.
I love the ATK smash burger recipe but I always end up with a kitchen full of smoke. Tonight I threw my baking steel on my Weber kettle and used it as a flattop. I let it heat over a full chimney of coals for half an hour and then hit it with spray cooking oil. I cooked them using the timing in the recipe and there was an absolute kiiller crust on those burgers. I won’t do them any other way now. I think my steel may be getting more use as flattop going forward.
I picked up a half inch thick piece of plate from my local steel yard and I love it so much more than any ceramic. Yeah it’s 70 pounds but it’s not like I need to move it. It is also so thick and stores so much heat I can cook at 400 instead of 500. Most retail steals aren’t as thick. Thicker is better.
Curious what you paid
@@robertmason2707 ~$45.00 USD, two notes to consider. That price is what it is because I asked for an 18” square cut from a virgin sheet of 1/2” plate. The place I go has a cut off bin so it could maybe have been less expensive if I’d taken the time. At the price I paid it was still damned inexpensive compared to retail sources. Here’s the “but”, it’s raw factory steel so it comes covered in grease (not a ton but some) also sharp edges. First step was to put it on the gas grill burn off the grease. Took me about and hour to bevel the edges with an angle grinder (sander would work too) and remove the scale with a wire wheel.
Fun part is the lower cooking temp means no smoke from the cornmeal or flour used on the pizza peel.
Only negative is that it’s such a heat sink they when you’re cooking anything else on the upper racks you still have to let it preheat for about 00:30:00. Yes you could take it out but It’s heavy so it lives in the oven.
@@robertmason2707 I should stress the size I got is very heavy, depending on the quality of your racks, size appropriately. Most retail steels stop at 1/4 inch for that reason 3/8s is a good option. The yard I buy from will dress the edges but that’s and extra $15 and I own a grinder so just did it myself.
@@charleshetrick3152 Thanks for the very detailed reply! I've often wondered about getting a non-retail steel like this. The point about the lower temperature is a really interesting one. I suppose the preheat time is a downside, but then for any longer cooking, the oven will end up cycling less during the actual cooking, so it's probably not too inefficient except for shorter recipes.
I went with nerdchef vs baking steel mainly due to price difference. This was so validating!
Yes, both were great products.
The pizza tiles are fantastic.
I use large lodge cast iron round and it works fantastic. You should include that in your testing.
And FYI, I use the Nerd Chef Steel and I love it.
nuyce which size one i've got my 1/4 inch on the way.
My round pizza stone makes a pizza that's just as good as commercial, except that I don't scrimp on toppings because I don't have a profit margin to consider. At 5 to 6 dollars for one pizza, we have pizza all the time and save unbelievable amounts of money.
My old pizza stone JUST broke! Perfect timing for buying a replacement.
Which one would you recommend for a grill? Grill dimensions 16x34
Hi America's Test Kitchen, How do the steels tested here compare to the large (typically 14”-15”) cast iron pizza pans from Lodge and others? :)
How do the steels tested here compare to the large (typically 14”-15”) cast iron pizza pans from Lodge and others?
How do you clean stainless steel pans that have burnt-on food both inside and on the bottom? I've seen a lot of CZcams videos on the subject and they seem to conflict.
I have heard reviews on some ceramic baking stones giving an bad odor after a few uses. Is this true for the outset baking stone?
Would have liked to see them include a soapstone option. I use soapstone box in the oven and bbq and it turns out great pizza.
Lisa is a brilliant reviewer
You’ll find as you use the ceramic stone more it becomes seasoned and dries the crust out less, leading to perfect pizza crusts
I use a store ready made pizza crust. It is rolled in a piece of parchment paper. Will this make a difference in the crust browning?
Also: If you're looking for a cheaper option, you can get this:
www.amazon.com/14-16-Handle-A36-Rounded/dp/B08YNRHC17
Then soak it in vinegar overnight to remove the mill scale, then season it like a cast iron or carbon steel piece. Much lower price for those who aren't afraid to put a few minutes of work into their tools. And if you're just not super thrilled with clicking a link in the comments (I don't have anything to do with them, so maybe it goes dead? No clue)... Just search for A36 steel and look for the dimensions you're looking for. ".25" is 1/4 inch, which is what the default steel is. .375 is 3/8. But you might also see 1/4"x14"x16" (or something similar). In this case "A36" is the type of steel. Then you're just finding something that fits in your oven. Make sure you do the vinegar soak overnight though to get rid of the mill scale. If you've never done it, just do a search for "vinegar mill scale" and watch what they do. You'll probably want to do the final part outside, so as to not cause a mess.
Remember folks: No reason to pay huge amounts of extra cash for someone to give you a product that's essentially the same with just a couple minutes of work extra.
i went the diy route mentioned above and i've had great results. I guess if the weight of the steel is a concern, I don't see an issue with cutting the steel in half, similar to the 4 tiles in the video, and pushing them together in the oven, but I haven't done this myself so I can't confirm.
I just got a custom 10mm baking steel made. Wonder if there is someone that can explain if this is any good, or better than the average thickness? What is the ideal thickness? I’m into sourdough breads but can sometimes do pizza too.
ProTip: For a great non-stick surface, use Flax seed oil to season your baking steel.
Thx.
What about the thicker versions of steels?
Would also like to hear your thoughts on the claims of using travertine ot santilla tiles, as well as the 5-minute DIY outdoor builds from clay bricks or concrete.
I have a Lodge Pizza round. Works wells.
I've heard that it's a good idea to use ceramic stone underneath a steel pan if u want to make multiple pizzas because the ceramic will hold the hot temperature better and keep the steel pan hot. Wondering if anyone's tried this or knows if this actually works
In want to buy a 40 X 35 steel piece and make my own bread baking steel, my question is does it have to be a particular type of steel in order for it to be safe baking bread straight on it? .
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I should mention I am in the UK
That difference in texture between using ceramic or steel is interesting. Could the fact that ceramic is porous be allowing more moisture loss from the crust too?
great !
Wonderfully informative, as usual! Could you please review portable induction cookers?
We have done that; the review is on our website!
How about blackening the steel like you can do with cast iron? I triple blackened my cast iron and it's amazing.
Has anyone used a glazed ceramic rectangle, like the Emile Henry pizza stone?
Would turning on convection with a steel make it better?
A little note for pizza stones: Do NOT put a frozen pizza on a hot stone. There is a very good chance that you will crack it.
Good advice! Thanks for adding. (BTW, no need to throw out a cracked stone. If it's a single crack or two, just push the pieces back together and keep using it.)
@@lisamcmanus6656 That's true. I used a split round pizza stone for a couple of years before I accidentally dropped it and broke it into too many pieces to put back together. It was a shame because it was seasoned beautifully. The reason for the original crack? Yup, I put a frozen pizza on it. LOL
@@barcham Oh, no! I wondered whether you were offering that advice from experience. :)
@@lisamcmanus6656 Fortunately it was just a really cheap round stone. I think I only paid around $12 for it. It wasn't the best stone around, but I got my money's worth out of it. Now I have a nice rectangular, thick stone, and it works so much better.
@@lisamcmanus6656 That's exactly what happened to mine, though it was more from overheating than anything else (I make my own pizzas) but it's now cracked in at least 3 places, LOL. I keep using it, though I have contemplated getting a fresh stone though.
Can the steel be used on a kettle charcoal grill to make pizza and as a flattop griddle for smash burgers?
They make a product that does both. I’ve used it on my kettle grill and stove as a flattop griddle. You might be able to do that with the original too. But if you’re using the non-griddle version, I’d do smash burgers on a grill only. Otherwise excess grease might fall onto your stove. bakingsteel.com/collections/griddles/products/baking-steel-griddle
If you got the time and want to do the work. Buy the steel. I mean like just a steal sheet. I believe you want A32 steel since it's the stuff always used. The result is you will spend like 20-30 dollars. Then just gotta sand it a little and then hot oil it like any steel cookware. And if you got a metal shop in your area, you probably can has all the work besides seasoning done by the shop.
I did this, works great.
*A36 steel
Agree.
Have you done any tests cooking on a (pink) salt slab? I already have a large one that's 2" thick. Curious what your input is. I love mine.....it's just really heavy. 🤣
Guga tried one and didn't like it
I love my steel design but I don't move it, once I put it in the oven there it stayed. Thanks for the tips using the broiler!
Glad you liked the tips! I agree, you can leave your steel or stone in the oven all the time; engineers call this "thermal ballast"--it can help your oven regulate temperature. Just take it out if you are doing any delicate baking where it might interfere with heat circulation (and don't leave it on the floor of the oven; in many ovens there are vents or heating elements that shouldn't be blocked)
Been using a glazed ceramic tile ($1.00) from home depot for years. Many (most) do not contain lead and are made at temps exceeding 500F. I leave it in the oven when self-cleaning and comes out like new.
Because my oven only reaches 500F, to get a head start on browning, I put the dough with sauce in first for a few minutes (your time will vary) and then remove and put on cheese/ toppings and then back in until done.
"Daltile does not intentionally add lead in any form as an ingredient to either the body materials or the glazes of our manufactured products..."
The stone oven at the pizzeria I worked at was 825°. We would start them on a screen, then put them directly on the stone to finish. Hand tossed and the freshest ingredients available. We were constantly slammed!
I saw someone use a combo of stone and steel. They had the stone on bottom and the steel right above it. Is this basically the same as cooking under the broiler or is there more merit to this technique?
That's to trap the air. I'm not sure about the details, but it makes an oven IN THE OVEN.
@@absp2006 Thanks!
Can you compare cast iron options as well
We have tested and recommended a cast iron model Lodge used to make, however, I think it's been discontinued. We also have a fantastic recipe for pizza made in a cast-iron skillet. Check it out on our website!
It doesn't make any difference. All cast iron pans are basically the same. Just get one the size you want
Do the results/ recommendations remain the same when baking a cauliflower crust?
Unfortunately, I didn't try that so I can't answer with any authority.
Why would you even want a stone with that crust? It would just burn because it's not supposed to rise.
at 4:10 interesting thought, but...don't commercial ovens have steel decks while wood, coal or brick ovens have a ceramic deck, influencing what 'we' are used to? I've had the same ceramic stone for 30 years, just found a second one at a thrift store for $2, and had a wood fired oven for 15+ years. Hours to preheat, a. hour to prep, 5 min to cook, 2 min to eat
😂 I say that all the time. I also include the time to clean up & wash the dishes.
What you really want to do is go to a place that sells marble countertops. It will almost always have a scrap bin outside. Or go in and ask if they can spare some scrap pieces. Get enough to completely cover the oven rack. And if you can, especially if you have a two-level oven, cover the sides as well. The extra heat retention helps for pizzas and for baking bread. Costs nothing except the time and gives better results.
Protip: find your local steel fabrication joint, have them carve you up a 1/4" slab of mild steel to fit your oven. Or, better yet, have your friendly French Canadian uncle mill one out for ya: czcams.com/video/SNAr7adtpdY/video.html
Just get a steel it produces much better pizza. It's pricey but it will last a lifetime. I use my steel at 550 degrees with the broiler method after launch, haven't burned a pizza yet. Not sure what was going on in the test kitchen. Side note: do American ovens only go to 500 degrees?
0:28 Putting the steel/stone in the center of the oven makes little sense to me. Place the rack just above the lower element for maximum heat-transfer.
The big challenge is best oven
The biggest best full kitchen & giving away
The Amazon link for the budget winner brings up a different item
It's an amazon page with 8 choices for configuring the item; the bottom-left one (in the 2x4 grid) seems correct (Pizza Grill Stone Tiles: Set of 4).
Thanks 🙏for these very informative kitchen equipment test & reviews. Been a Fan from the beginning.
🤔 I’ll be giving this concept some thought 💭.
I’m considering combining the two!
Why not a 1/4” steel on Top of the Baking stones! Best of 2 worlds 🌎! 👍
Great minds: www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/10432-the-ultimate-pizza-setup-baking-stone-plus-baking-steel
Andrew Janjigian of Wordloaf tested this too and seemed to get good results.
Cast iron skillet is also really good.
Yes, but that's a completely different tool. There is no reason to compare them
"Pizza stones are great, but have you tried ice cream?"
@@Ninjalectual I don't think so. Cast Iron has almost the same thermal properties of Steel.. A slab of it will make a pretty good replacement for Pizza steel
Nothing like a well seasoned cast iron surface, tried them all I use cast iron only now. 🍕
I use a cast iron skillet when I make pan pizza, it can't be topped. But for regular pizza, I use a stone as a regular thin crust pizza requires a pre-heated stone or steel and trying to work with a 500 plus degree pre-heated cast iron pan on the stove top to make and dress a pizza is not a very safe thing to do.
@@barcham Making pan pizza is really good for your cast-iron pan's seasoning, we've found.
@@lisamcmanus6656 Oh yeah! It's excellent! I use olive oil to make my pan pizza which would usually burn if used to season a pan, but because of the pizza being cooked, the oil doesn't burn or scorch at all, and it really adds to the seasoning. After baking the pizza, all the pan needs is to be wiped out with paper towels, and it cleans up beautifully. I rescued three old rusty frying pans that someone had put out for the trash a couple of years ago and after a cleanup and reseasoning, I wouldn't trade them for anything. Two are almost 100 yrs old and the third is about 75 or so. One of the best things I ever did was to rescue those pans! 😋
@@barcham Rescuing rusty cast iron pans is so satisfying! Thanks for saving them from the trash!
@@lisamcmanus6656 I saw them and just decided to take a shot. It took me quite a while to clean them up and reseason them, it was the first time I ever attempted doing something like that. But when I was done, I was so glad I did. They are fantastic for steak and unbeatable for pan pizza. I used peanut oil to season them, and it went beautifully.
...I unboxed a new stone earlier today lol.
Which one did you purchase
@@pjfan173 the pizzacraft 16.5" round one on amazon. Because I just have an instinct on buying the wrong thing 😂.
Eh whatever. I'll make it work till the cat trips me again and it flies across the room and shatters.
@@roscocsa It will be ok!
@@lisamcmanus6656 thanks for that, and pray for my ankes
Pampered Chef by far has the best pizza stones and stoneware!!!
yayyyyyyy lisas back!
I have yet to find a stone that doesn’t stink up my kitchen with a chemical smell. Even after numerous usages.
Hi Artagain, I’m surprised you had that experience since I didn’t have any fumes at home with 5 different brands of stone.
@@lisamcmanus6656 this was years ago. Sounds like they’ve gotten better. But based on your wonderful review/test, I’ll be on the lookout for a steel one (maybe in the fall since grilling season is upon us in the Northeast).
Ooni Koda gas fired... takes about a minute to produce a Margarita of wood fired brick oven quality.
We're fans of those, too: www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2141-portable-outdoor-pizza-ovens
I like to go to Lima
$100+ for a pizza steel?! Dang, son!
but it gives better pizzas and NEVER breaks
Not many of the tools I use... guess I'm too old fashion... been making pizza at home for 40 years.
Anyone who pays $30 for pizza stones is nuts. It's an unglazed tile! 4 6X6 unglazed tiles will cost you maybe, maybe, $10.
Why would anyone buy something marketed as "for cooking" at 3x the price over the exact same product without the marketing markup?
Por 300€ te compras un horno de Pizzas.....(hasta 500°C....😂😂😂😂😂
Why was no natural stone tested?
I didn't see any on the market.
Rust....Seasoning constantly burns off at pizza temps. Want even better pizza? Buy an Ooni Koda.
Love to see Lisa M....
Your best buy option isn't even available on Amazon.
If you use the link and scroll down on the product page, you'll see the set of 4 tiles.
Maybe prioritizing whatever results in the least work for you is why you don't own a wildly successful pizza joint.
Why should anybody pay for one of these steels instead of just buying literally any piece of steel in the right dimensions?
These steels featured here are carbon steel, with known materials in the alloy. If you go out and just buy any old steel, or alloy of steel, you may be getting metals in the mix that you do not want in contact with your food, or that will impart a funny taste. Also many alloys, including most of the stainless ones will have very different conductive properties, which will alter the way the food cooks... IIRC, there was a flood of cheap cast iron skillets that arrived in North America a few years ago that literally had toxic elements in them. They were likely made from random scrap, smelted down and recast. .. Don't guess or make risky decisions when it comes to your health , and food quality.
Preheating a stone for 1 hour....for 8 minutes worth of cooking?
Pizza
Very observant!