Pizza steel

Pizza steel, advantages, disadvantages, comparison, properties.

The most important data on pizza steel and its properties compared to various types of pizza stones and trays are summarized below.

What is pizza steel?

It is unalloyed steel, otherwise known as carbon steel. This name is due to the high carbon content (about 0.2%) in the composition compared to other steel grades. This grade shows good mechanical properties and at the same time conducts heat very well, which is crucial for obtaining a perfect pizza base. Continuing, pizza steel is a laser cut and mechanically cleaned sheet that is sized to fit most home ovens. Available in different thicknesses depending on the needs of the user.

How to bake pizza on steel?

Pizza steel is undoubtedly revolutionizing pizza baking at home. However, to achieve satisfactory results, you must follow a few simple rules. First of all, the pizza steel should be placed as high as possible on the upper heater of the oven, remembering that the sides of the pizza can grow a lot and we must leave space to operate the pizza shovel. After gaining practice, the distance between the pizza steel and the upper oven heater can be only 5-7 cm. Another important aspect is the heating time of the pizza steel before baking. Typical domestic ovens reach a maximum temperature of 250°C, which, when heated for 30 minutes, allows reaching 330°C on the surface of the steel. The difference in temperatures results from the fact that the heaters have to heat up much more to heat the oven to the set temperature. Having already heated the pizza steel, we proceed to prepare the pizza for baking and put it on the shovel. Remembering that the best results will be obtained when the pizza is under the red-hot upper heater during the entire baking process, so set the appropriate heating mode. Most often it is the turbo-grill option, the grill with the greatest power, sometimes it is necessary to turn the oven off and on, the main thing is to know your oven. When the upper heater is already red, we drop the pizza from the shovel onto the steel and observe. Most often, the ovens do not heat evenly and the temperature on the side of the door is lower than inside. Therefore, after about 1:15 minutes of baking, it is recommended to turn the pizza by 180°. This will allow the ingredients and dough to bake evenly. After turning, bake another 1:15 minutes. The pizza should be ready and the bottom baked, if necessary, it can stay in the oven a little longer.

What shape and thickness of steel to choose?

Pizza steel comes in many different sizes, shapes and thicknesses. The most popular is a rectangular shaped pizza steel with rounded corners and a thickness of 6mm. This does not mean that this type will meet the expectations of all future owners. The variety of shapes, sizes and thicknesses results from very different customer needs. The main difference is the shape. The advantage of round steel is its faster heating, which is due to the much lower weight than the offered rectangular steel. However, it also has its drawbacks, such as the need to be much more precise when dropping pizzas on steel or preparing a ball for a smaller pizza to keep the margin for error. Another difference between the different types of steel is the thickness. If you opt for the 8mm version, keep in mind that it weighs over 8kg and will take a little longer to heat up to the right temperature than 6mm pizza steel. However, it will allow you to bake several pizzas in a row, without unnecessary downtime between successive baking.