What Temperature Should I Set My Baking Steel?
Why hotter isn't always better, and how to find the sweet spot for perfect pizza every time.
The ideal Baking Steel temperature is 500–550°F for home ovens. Preheat your oven with the steel inside for a full 60 minutes before baking. On a grill, aim for 400°F on the steel surface. In a wood-fired oven, dial back to around 600°F. Steel conducts heat 18x faster than ceramic, so it doesn't need extreme temperatures to deliver pizzeria-quality results.
It's the question we get more than almost any other: "My oven can hit 900°F. Can a Baking Steel handle that?"
The short answer is: Yes, it can. It's a solid slab of American-made carbon steel, it can handle almost any heat you throw at it. But the real question isn't "can it," but "should it?" And the answer to that is a resounding no.
I've been making pizza on steel since 2011. I've burned more bottoms than I'd like to admit. And every single time, the problem was the same: the steel was too hot. Let me save you the charred crusts and explain the science.
Why Does a Baking Steel Get So Hot?
The magic of the Baking Steel isn't about air temperature, it's about heat transfer.
- Conductivity: Steel transfers heat 18x faster than a ceramic pizza stone. When your cold dough hits that surface, it gets an instant blast of energy.
- Thermal Mass: A 15-pound slab of carbon steel stores a massive amount of heat energy. It doesn't lose temperature when the dough lands on it the way a thin stone does.
Put those two together and you get something powerful: a 500°F Baking Steel delivers more heat to your dough than a 900°F brick oven floor. That's not marketing — that's physics. It's why you get explosive oven spring, crispy leopard-spotted crust, and a perfect bake in just 5–7 minutes, all in a regular home oven.
What Happens if My Baking Steel Is Too Hot?
If you heat your Baking Steel to 800–900°F, that incredible conductivity works against you. The heat transfer is so fast and aggressive that it will burn the bottom of your pizza before the toppings even start to cook. You'll end up with a blackened disc that's raw on top.
We see it all the time in online groups: "Help! My Baking Steel is burning my pizza!" The answer is almost always the same, the steel was too hot.
What Is the Best Temperature for a Baking Steel?
Through thousands of tests, we've found the optimal temperature range for a Baking Steel in a home oven is 500–550°F (260–288°C).
At this temperature, you get the best of both worlds:
- Fast enough to create incredible oven spring and a crispy, leopard-spotted crust.
- Balanced enough to let the toppings cook perfectly in the 5–7 minutes it takes to bake.
- Consistent enough to bake multiple pizzas back-to-back without losing heat.
This is the temperature that lets your home oven punch way above its weight class, delivering pizzeria-quality results every single time.
How Long Should I Preheat My Baking Steel?
Preheat your Baking Steel for a full 60 minutes at 500–550°F. This is the single most important step. The surface might reach temperature in 20 minutes, but the core of that 1/4" slab needs the full hour to fully saturate with heat.
Think of it like charging a battery. A half-charged battery gives you a half-charged pizza. Give it the full hour and you'll feel the difference the second you launch your first pie.
If you have convection mode, turn it on during preheat, it helps distribute heat more evenly across the steel surface.
What Temperature Should I Use on a Grill?
If you're using your Baking Steel on a grill or in an outdoor pizza oven, the rules change. Outdoor cooking environments convect heat very differently than a home oven. The open flame, airflow, and radiant heat from above create a much more aggressive cooking environment.
For grills and outdoor setups, we recommend starting at 400°F as measured on the steel surface. This might sound low compared to indoor baking, but the combination of bottom heat from the steel and top heat from the grill will cook your pizza perfectly in 4–6 minutes.
If you go straight to 500–600°F on a grill like you would indoors, you'll almost certainly burn the bottom before the top is done. Start at 400°F, and adjust from there based on your results.
Can I Use a Baking Steel in a Wood-Fired Oven?
Wood-fired ovens are a different beast entirely. These ovens are designed to reach 800–900°F, which is perfect for cooking pizza directly on the oven floor. But when you add a Baking Steel into the equation, you need to be mindful of the setup.
The key rule: Aim for around 600°F, not 900°F.
Here's why: A wood-fired oven at 900°F is already delivering intense radiant heat from the dome and walls. When you place a Baking Steel on the floor of that oven, you're adding an additional layer of extreme conductive heat. At 900°F, the steel will transfer heat so aggressively that your pizza will burn on the bottom in seconds — long before the top has a chance to cook.
Using the steel on the floor of a wood-fired oven is perfectly fine, but remember you have a steel inside. That steel is amplifying the heat transfer, so you need to dial back the oven temperature to compensate. Target around 600°F for the oven chamber, and you'll get a beautifully balanced bake with a crispy bottom and perfectly cooked toppings.
If you're used to cooking at 900°F without a steel, think of the Baking Steel as your shortcut to that same result at a lower temperature. The steel is doing the heavy lifting for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum temperature a Baking Steel can handle?
A Baking Steel is solid carbon steel and can withstand temperatures well over 1,000°F. For cooking, you'll never need to go above 550°F in a home oven.
How do I know if my Baking Steel is hot enough?
Preheat your oven with the steel inside for a full 60 minutes at 500–550°F. You can verify with an infrared thermometer — the surface should read close to your oven's set temperature.
Why is the bottom of my pizza burning on the Baking Steel?
A burnt bottom means your steel is too hot. Lower your oven to 500–550°F and make sure you're preheating for at least one hour. If you're using the broiler method, keep a few inches of clearance between the steel and the broiler element.
Can I use a Baking Steel on a grill or in a wood-fired oven?
Yes! For grills, start with a steel surface temperature around 400°F. For wood-fired ovens, aim for about 600°F in the oven chamber. The steel amplifies heat transfer, so you need lower temperatures than you would without one.
Do I really need to preheat for a full hour?
Yes. The surface heats up quickly, but the core of the steel needs 60 minutes to fully saturate with heat. Skipping this step is the most common reason for underwhelming results.
Should I use convection or standard bake mode?
Use convection if you have it — it distributes heat more evenly across the steel during preheat. Switch to the broiler for the final 1–2 minutes of your pizza bake for a blistered top.
About the Author
Andris Lagsdin is the founder of Baking Steel. A former restaurant cook turned steel nerd, he invented the Baking Steel in 2011 to help people make better pizza and bread at home. He teaches simple, repeatable techniques focused on heat, timing, and confidence in the home kitchen.
