Baking Steel Griddle

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I will admit that I 'don't get it'. How is this any better than the $35 one from Lodge, other than being a little wider?
 
Zwiefel said:
Same question from me...I've been using this for about 10 years:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00062WTQU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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Yours has not been endorsed by the Serious Eats staff.

Also

Traditional cookware, such as a pizza stone or an aluminum griddle heat up just as quickly as steel, but do not conduct heat as efficiently. Baking Steel differentiates from other kitchen products due to its ability to distribute heat more evenly, providing an overall hotter surface.
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They obviously have broken some physics laws to be able to make steel that conducts heat better than aluminium. I suppose it is the cost of R&D that you pay for. /sarcasm
 
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Lizzardborn said:
Yours has not been endorsed by the Serious Eats staff.
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Ooops....my bad....? :)

Lizzardborn said:
They obviously have broken some physics laws to be able to make steel that conducts heat better than aluminium. I suppose it is the cost of R&D that you pay for. /sarcasm
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Uhhhh...yeah. I mean no. I mean no to them not to you!

I think steel has a higher specific heat, but certainly does not conduct heat better than aluminum.
 
If you are contemplating spending $195 on that, I have some magic beans that may interest you.
 
I enjoy the 'simple' version I got for $94 shipped to HI (not the SE endorsed one) and was contemplating the reversible one, but at that price I will also pass.

Stefan
 
Lizzardborn said:
Yours has not been endorsed by the Serious Eats staff.

Also



They obviously have broken some physics laws to be able to make steel that conducts heat better than aluminium. I suppose it is the cost of R&D that you pay for. /sarcasm
Click to expand...

So...it could of been phrased better by the Serious Eats people, but I think you are missing the point. By focusing in on the fact that aluminum conducts heat better (which it does) you are forgetting that the steel (or for that matter cast iron) has a much higher thermal mass, which is what you need for any cooking when you are trying to develop a crust quickly. The problem aluminum has is because it has so little mass it has little stored heat. Sure it can pass it along to the pie quickly, but even though it is a great conductor by the time it is hot again it's too late.

This is why the thicker the steel the quicker to cook times; the thermal mass is increased so the amount of stored heat is increased - to the point that the 1/2 steel can cook a pizza in around 2 minutes, and can due multiple pies on after another. The trade off is weight, and cost, which is why I opted for the 3/8" here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LBKWSGC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
I also liked the idea it will fit my 22.5 inch Weber. Pre heating the oven for 45 minutes in the summertime maked the kitchen too damn hot:fanning:.

Serious eats does a good write up comparing the .25 and the .5 steel and the Lodge here: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/10/the-pizza-lab-baking-steel-lodge-cast-iron-pizza.html

I would also recommend to pizza lovers this site: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?wwwRedirect I would say they take their pizza making as serious as we do knives:biggrin:. This was the site that got me interested in steels to start, then I received MC which sealed the deal.

So no, they are not breaking any laws of physics, and yes the wording is poor. Some marketing guru probably wrote it:laugh:.

Zwiefel and Wildboar, I believe the cast iron would be just as good if the thickness is the same. Cast Iron has a small advantage in heat conductivity, I don't know how the two compare regarding thermal mass.
 
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Bill13 said:
So...it could of been phrased better by the Serious Eats people, but I think you are missing the point. By focusing in on the fact that aluminum conducts heat better (which it does) you are forgetting that the steel (or for that matter cast iron) has a much higher thermal mass,
Click to expand...

Aluminium has almost twice higher specific heat than carbon steel or cast iron.

(kJ/kg K)

Aluminum 0.91
Cast Iron 0.46
Carbon Steel 0.49

But because the aluminium is less denser (by a lot) than the second and easier to work with, aluminium stuff tends to be lighter in the same volume.

The perfect pizza stone is big slab of aluminium that is inch and more thick. But that thing will be harder to operate that almost the twice thinner piece of steel to get the same mass.
 
Well this is interesting, following Lizardborn's insight i priced out a 1" slab of aluminum from one of th eon-line cut to order suppliers in the 16x14 dimension of the original baking steel, got a price of about $185 shipped ($144 unshipped) it would weigh about 22lbs I calculate

So would aluminum really work better for pizza??
 
Also. Ease of use plays a pretty large factor.

My cast iron griddle is rusted up cause I accidentally left it outside in the rain after a pizza session.

My cast iron pan, flaked up, cause I stored it on my oven. And sometimes crank it 500-600+

Aluminum will scratch up.


If I had a steel slab, I could just take my steel scrubbing pad to it,
2 mins scrubbing away and a quick rinse and I'd be ready to rock.


Now I have to use a scouring brush to clean my cast irons.
And start them all over again.



THE "ideal" baking stone would probably be something like an aluminum core encapsulated in stainless.
Like your standard tri-ply, pan.
Just 1" thick :hungry:
 
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