Baking Steel for Pizza

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on a second thought, I think you are right, as rectangular gives more surface.

What peel are you using? Any preferences on what wood the peel is made of?


M
 
Marko, I'm a wood peel (cheap pine) kinda guy. I like to be able to sand them to make them smooth.

gic, I know that so many time in life a little must be good so over kill must be even better--right. Not always. Their is no real advantage to getting a plate thicker than 1/4 inch. It will only take longer to heat (specific heat over time), heavier to move and more expensive. Just becuase its thicker doesn't mean its going to perform any better?

I heat my oven on convection to 550 for 30 minutes w/ infrared thermo. temp gets between 650 and 630. Like Mike Lee said, I cook my pizza's in the top third of the oven. Before I put the pizza in, I shut off convection. Also, I don't do the broilier thing, and with the thickness of my pizzas (very very thin), even with generous topings, they cook in about 2 minutes.
 
3/8" thick might be an alternative for those who are dead-set on the heavier one. It will add 50% to the weight of 1/4" thick, so 14x16" will be approximately 22lb, 15.75x18" ~ 30LB. I think the rack should handle the weight fine, as long as you keep it static with the plate on and load your pizza with a peel. Pulling it out to load or remove the pizza might put a strain on it.

The advantage of a thicker plate is that it will keep the temperate better once it got up to the temperature. I don't think it will make that much of a difference over 1/4, but even a small difference is a difference nevertheless. Thicker stock is also less prone to warping.

I have seen adler used for wood peels. Any other species?

M
 
Don, Sounds like you got the Work Horse steel plate. If thats the case, I guess you could call my Steel Plate a LASER ;-)

Works for me cause thats exactly how I like my knives. Thin, nimble but perform like a mofo.



don said:
I have the 1/2" Baking Steel and should have gotten a thinner one. At 30#s, it's quite unwieldy getting in and out of the oven. However, I'm happy with the performance.
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Mucho Bocho said:
Don, Sounds like you got the Work Horse steel plate. If thats the case, I guess you could call my Steel Plate a LASER ;-)

Works for me cause thats exactly how I like my knives. Thin, nimble but perform like a mofo.
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Can you observe any warpage from all this time you have been using it?
 
Lol. I thought I needed a workhorse steel, but a laser would indeed have been more fitting. In knives, I also gravitate towards thinner knives.
 
Marko, Warpage? The thing is a 1/4 thick X 19 X 14. Its a bohemith, plus my oven only goes to 550 degree. Its flat, flat, flat. I'm going to take some pics tonight. this post need more pics.

As of note, I do remove the plate when I'm using the oven unless I'm cooking something long and slow, which I never do anymore cause I'm into sous Vide now. I realise that it increases the thermal mass of the oven but it like I said earlier, takes days to cool the plate down.

Marko Tsourkan said:
Can you observe any warpage from all this time you have been using it?
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Mucho Bocho said:
Its flat, flat, flat. I'm going to take some pics tonight. this post need more pics.
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More pics can never hurt :thumbsup:

To those knowledgeable: is A36 structured steel the best option, or is there any point in using something else like say pure iron as used in the Debuyer mineral pans? Or anything else for that matter?
 
Pics as promised

oven steel photo_2.jpgoven steel photo_3.jpg

I have other files but the uploader sucks. Does anybody else have problems uploading files? Sometime it works sometime it doesn't. I had a pic of the steel in the oven but it wont upload.
 
Just priced a carbon steel 1/2", 18" diameter from my local metal supply shop-$48
 
I spoke to Aldo at NJ Steel Baron. He has 1018 in 1/4 with 15.75" width. I will call him on Monday for the price. 1018 has better surface finish than A36 steel and he said he would finish the steel to 320 grit I think.

A36, followed by 1018 are the least expensive options. Everything up from there will be more money without much advantage.

M
 
Just reviving this old corpse because I finally got around to getting a local estimate for a baking steel 16x16x3/8: $220 - everything is a little more expensive in Hawaii. Seeing that I get a 15x15x1 on Amazon for $100ish shipped they told me to buy it there...

Stefan
 
apicius9 said:
Just reviving this old corpse because I finally got around to getting a local estimate for a baking steel 16x16x3/8: $220 - everything is a little more expensive in Hawaii. Seeing that I get a 15x15x1 on Amazon for $100ish shipped they told me to buy it there...

Stefan
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Did you see that the co making these are coming out with a 3/8 version with a juice groove? See serious eats. I called them and they promised it would be out 1st qtr.
 
I have the regular Modernist Cuisine baking steel, and I love it. I'm planning on also getting the griddle version, that Bill13 mentions, as I do think it will be kickass for steak. Between my BellaCopper 10" copper plates and the putative Baking Steel Griddle, I think I'll have about maxed out my plain Jane home gas range.
 
Cheapest shipping on the Modernist steel is $58, so I will probably go for the one on Amazon. Reg. the juice groove: Does that mean I could use it in or on the stove for steaks and turn it around to a smooth surface to be used for pizza? I guess nobody knows at this time, but that would make it even more attractive. I hesitate to order in a stone, because the way out here is long and chances are it arrives in pieces. BTW, as opposed to many other companies, Amazon includes Hawaii in their free shipping policy for most things, so being a prime member there easily pays off for us. I buy local if I can, but if not, Amazon is the first place to look because of that.

Stefan
 
The cost in the article was 160. In the email to me it was mentioned that the price is not firm. I am hoping it will be less as there was a lot of complaining in the comments section that the cost increase did not seem proportional to the additional (assumed) manufacturing costs. I think it will come in at 149.99.
 
No real news, but this is the info I got:

"The Baking Steel griddle 2.0 is set to be released sometime in the first quarter of 2015! It will be 18"x14" with a 3/8" thickness."

I ordered a 3/8" x 14" x 16" from a competitor (saves $50 in shipping...) but only because patience is not one of my virtues... Will be my parents' christmas present. But I definitely plan ro keep an eye on the griddle steel, sounds like the perfect allround solution for lots of different things.

Quick question on wooden peels - do you treat them with oil or board butter? I assume that would lower the risk of them splitting? I added the JK Adams one to my order since I have not made it to the local restaurant supply place within the past year to pick one up. What ever did we do before Amazon?

Stefan
 
apicius9 said:
What ever did we do before Amazon?
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wasted vast amounts of time on menial activities, using sub-par products, with sub-par knowledge, getting 3rd order results...?

Or maybe we just had better relationships with people in our communities.
 
Zwiefel said:
wasted vast amounts of time on menial activities, using sub-par products, with sub-par knowledge, getting 3rd order results...?

Or maybe we just had better relationships with people in our communities.
Click to expand...

Maybe. But I tried. I am more than happy to pay a bit more to buy locally, but locally made by people who do it the first time for $220 versus positively rated on Amazon for $94 shipped? Sorry, that's a difference I have to pass on... We'll see.

Stefan
 
apicius9 said:
...Quick question on wooden peels - do you treat them with oil or board butter? I assume that would lower the risk of them splitting? I added the JK Adams one to my order since I have not made it to the local restaurant supply place within the past year to pick one up. What ever did we do before Amazon? Stefan
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Currently I have two peels (no-name, restaurant supply bought) and pretty sure one is over 10 years old. Never treated, and never had/seen a splitting or cracking issue. They live in L.A., which is hot dry desert, and spent some time in the high desert. They get used between 10- 15 times a year. Hope that helps
 
mikemac said:
Currently I have two peels (no-name, restaurant supply bought) and pretty sure one is over 10 years old. Never treated, and never had/seen a splitting or cracking issue. They live in L.A., which is hot dry desert, and spent some time in the high desert. They get used between 10- 15 times a year. Hope that helps
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I live in DC where it can be pretty dry in the winter and swamp like in the summer. Our wooden peel has been great with no special treatment except drying after washing it (we serve and cut the pizza on it). Used every Friday night for about 12 years:biggrin:

The Pizza Bible book was my wife's Christmas gift. Outstanding book!
 
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