The two things in life I know best are steel and pizza.
My dad's a steel man. My brother's a steel man. And I suppose somewhere deep inside I'm a steel man, too. My family owns the Stoughton Steel Company in the South Shore of Boston, where we've made industrial steel products for over 40 years.
But when I was young, I didn't want much to do with the family business. I left to see the world, became a tennis instructor, and held every service job imaginable. Along the way I learned that I loved working in the kitchens of restaurants. There's something about the energy, the hustle and of course, the food.
In my twenties I landed a cooking job with the celebrated chef Todd English, slinging pizza at his restaurant Figs in Boston. Todd was at the head of the artisan pizza trend: he sourced local ingredients and championed the now-trendy airy, thin crust pizza long before anyone said the phrase "farm to table." My time at Figs offered an education that I couldn't have bought.
I already liked pizza, but after working for Todd, I lived for it. There's the quiet, meditative process of prepping: the feel of dough in your hands, the comforting repetition of chopping and stirring. There's the sweet aroma of rising dough and the acidic zing of fresh tomato sauce. And the most fulfilling part of making pizza is the sense of connection and creativity that comes with the process. It is most fun as a family, friend, or party activity.
But although homemade pizza is fun to make, the pie never quite measures up to the airy, perfectly crispy crust you get straight out of a restaurant's screaming-hot brick oven. For years I (and every serious home cook I knew) had used a baking stone in our ovens, thinking that they were the best way to approximate the charred, blistered crusts we love. Even with my training, though, I never thought I could make restaurant-quality pizza at home.
A few years after I transitioned from Todd's kitchen to working on his management team, the hectic pace and unforgiving hours burned me out. My dad asked if I'd come back to the family business, and I said yes. I gave it my all—but part of me dreamed about starting a new business, one related to food.
One day I read an article about Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine. That hallowed encyclopedia of food science makes a key observation about the physics of baking. It essentially says, "Did you know the best conductor for making a perfect pizza crust is not a stone, but steel?" If I were anyone else, I might have nodded, thought about it for a second, and moved on with my life. But not everyone is a steel man with a passion for pizza. This felt like fate.
I sprinted into the plant to hunt for the thinnest piece of metal I could find to test the idea out. I found a rusty scrap that had been once been a Caterpillar part. It wasn't pretty, but it looked like just the right size for my experiment.
When I brought it home and told my wife it was my new pizza stone, she looked at me like I was crazy. But actions speak louder than words. That first pizza I made was revelatory: it baked in half the time of my traditional pizza stone, and perfect, airy crispness of the crust brought me back to the days of working with a 900-degree wood-fired oven.
Encouraged by my first test run, I cautiously mentioned my experiment to my brother and father, who run Stoughton Steel, gently suggesting it could be a new product for us. Their reaction was…. skeptical. We produced stabilizer pads for backhoes, not kitchenware. How on earth were a bunch of steel guys going to bring a home pizza product to market?
I didn't trust my intuition and decided to shelve the project. Still, the idea stuck with me. I woke up every morning for six months thinking about the pizza steel. Then, one day I found the confidence to take the leap and do everything I could to bring it to life. I had been working hard for the past 15 years, but I hadn't been pursuing my passion. I had two young boys—and I thought of the example I was setting for them. Sure, I was in a comfortable spot in my career, but comfort is not the same as fulfillment. I wanted to show them you can get up every day and do what you love.
I already knew the steel worked. I resumed talking about my idea for a steel baking surface with my father and brother, less cautiously now—and they began to come around. Perhaps it was my confidence in the product, or maybe they were convinced by the amazing pizza I was making. I refined the prototype and they began to see how my passion project could become a source of income.
Launching a new product isn't as simple as putting a piece of steel in a box with a logo and shipping it. In developing the baking steel, I had to consider its size, shape, and weight—what would work without being too cumbersome? I obsessively measured the heat and sizes of ovens (probably making myself a person of interest at Home Depot in the process). I practically wore ruts in the pavement going between our production facility and my parents' kitchen with the latest versions, testing the seasoning process to make the Steel food-safe.
The more I tested the steel, the more versatile I realized it was. It could be used for roasting meat and vegetables, baking bread, and even frozen and used to make slab-style ice cream creations. But what would we call it? I have my brilliant wife to thank for the name: Baking Steel. It was perfect: factual, simple, and, like the steel, not just for pizza
In the beginning, I was so focused on making the product work that I did not have any sales goals. Selling even one seemed like the best place to start. After seeing other small businesses find success with crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, I decided that was what we needed to prove that the steel was a viable product. I set a modest goal of $3,000, just enough to cover the first production run. I had the support of my friends and family, and I knew the Baking Steel made the best homemade pizza I'd ever tasted, but would anyone else care? After all, nearly two-thirds of Kickstarter projects never get fully funded.
As soon as the site went live, I reached out to everyone I'd ever known, talked to, dated, or bought a latte from. A day later, we made our goal. It was really happening!
Before the campaign closed, something incredible happened. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the managing culinary director of the popular food website Serious Eats, emailed to ask if he could try one out. A couple of days later he posted a review stating that the Baking Steel blew his favorite pizza stone out of the water: Things snowballed and the number of Kickstarter backers had doubled.
Our first Steel shipped in 2012. Since then, we've brought pizza and restaurant-quality baking projects to thousands of homes. I've opened a test kitchen near my Boston area home, and work with an amazing chef, Craig Hastings, who helps develop recipes. The Steel has inspired a new generation of pizza-makers. And with our new griddle-surface baking steel, we've brought the cooking power of steel to a wider range of applications. Baking Steel enthusiasts are dreaming up new recipes for it all the time, from whoopie pies to roasted vegetables to perfect steaks and yes, even English muffins, some of which were kindly provided for this book. (If you come up with a new Baking Steel recipe, share it with me at andris@bakingsteel.com.)
It's amazing what a piece of steel has done for my life. Let me show you what it can do in your kitchen.
The Baking Steel Timeline
2012 - Andris Lagsdin reads Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine and discovers steel's superior heat conductivity
2012 - First prototype tested using rusty Caterpillar part from Stoughton Steel Company facility
2012 - After six months of hesitation, Andris commits to bringing the product to market
2012 - Refined prototype developed with family's 40+ years of steel manufacturing expertise
2012 - Wife suggests the name "Baking Steel" - factual, simple, and not just for pizza
2012 - Baking Steel launches on Kickstarter with modest $3,000 goal
2012 - Goal reached in one day with support from friends and family
2012 - Kenji López-Alt (Serious Eats managing culinary director) requests to test the Baking Steel
2012 - Kenji López-Alt posts review stating Baking Steel "blew his favorite pizza stone out of the water"
2012 - Kickstarter backers double after Kenji's endorsement
2012 - First Baking Steels ship to customers
2013 - Featured in Bon Appétit, The Wall Street Journal, and Food & Wine magazine
2013-2014 - Production scales as demand grows from home cooks and professional chefs
2015 - Baking Steel Griddle launched, expanding cooking applications beyond pizza
2018 - Andris spins off Baking Steel from Stoughton Steel to become its own independent company
2019 - Nominated Amazon Small Business of the Year, finishing in Top 6 out of millions of sellers nationwide
2023 - "Baking Steel" officially registered as U.S. trademark (Reg. No. 7,118,479)
Today - Tens of thousands of home cooks worldwide use Baking Steel for pizza, bread, naan, and more
Press & Recognition
The Baking Steel has been featured in:
- Serious Eats (2012, 2015) - Kenji López-Alt's review stated the Baking Steel "blew his favorite pizza stone out of the water," launching the Kickstarter campaign to viral success
- Bon Appétit (2013) - Featured as a game-changing pizza tool for home cooks
- Bon Appetit (2021) Baking Steel Griddle turns your crappy stove into a Diner at home.
- Bon Appetit (2025) The best pizza stones and steels for crispy pies.
- The Wall Street Journal (2013) - Profiled the innovation and family business story behind Baking Steel
- Food & Wine (2013) - Recommended as essential equipment for home pizza making
- Food & Wine (2021) - Why the Baking Steel will transform your cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the Baking Steel?
Andris Lagsdin invented the Baking Steel in 2012. After reading about steel's superior heat conductivity in Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine, Lagsdin used his family's 40+ year steel manufacturing expertise at Stoughton Steel Company to create the first prototype from a rusty Caterpillar part.
What inspired the invention of the Baking Steel?
The invention was inspired by a single line in Modernist Cuisine: "The best conductor for making a perfect pizza crust is not a stone, but steel." As someone with both professional pizza-making experience (working with chef Todd English at Figs in Boston) and access to a family steel manufacturing business, Andris was uniquely positioned to test this idea.
When was the Baking Steel launched?
The Baking Steel launched on Kickstarter in 2012 with a modest goal of $3,000 to cover the first production run. The goal was reached in one day. After food scientist Kenji López-Alt reviewed it positively on Serious Eats, the campaign doubled its backers. The first Baking Steels shipped to customers in 2012.
Why is steel better than a pizza stone?
Steel conducts heat 20 times faster than stone, delivering rapid bottom browning for crisp, blistered crusts in a standard home oven. The first test pizza Andris made baked in half the time of a traditional pizza stone, with results comparable to a 900-degree wood-fired oven—the kind he used while working at chef Todd English's restaurant.
What was the first Baking Steel prototype made from?
The first prototype was made from a rusty scrap piece of steel that had once been a Caterpillar part. Andris found it at his family's Stoughton Steel Company facility and tested it at home. Despite its humble origins, that first pizza was "revelatory"—proving the concept worked and launching what would become a pizza revolution.
How did Kenji López-Alt discover the Baking Steel?
During the Kickstarter campaign, Kenji López-Alt, the managing culinary director of Serious Eats, emailed Andris to ask if he could try one out. A couple of days after testing it, Kenji posted a review stating that the Baking Steel blew his favorite pizza stone out of the water. His endorsement caused the number of Kickstarter backers to double and helped launch the Baking Steel to widespread success.
What else can you use a Baking Steel for?
Beyond pizza, the Baking Steel is incredibly versatile. It can be used for roasting meat and vegetables, baking crusty artisan bread, making naan, cooking English muffins, and even frozen and used to make slab-style ice cream creations. Baking Steel enthusiasts continue to dream up new recipes, from whoopie pies to perfect steaks.
Why We Do This
It's never just been about steel. It's about helping people make pizza they're proud of—pizza that sparks memories and makes people say, "Wow." And we're just getting started.
Want to learn more about Andris? Meet the inventor and discover his journey from working with chef Todd English to revolutionizing home pizza making.
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Click here to view more recipes from Baking Steel!
About the Author
Andris Lagsdin is the inventor of the Baking Steel and founder of Baking Steel Company. After working in professional kitchens with celebrated chef Todd English at Figs in Boston, Andris combined his pizza-making expertise with his family's 40+ years of steel manufacturing experience at Stoughton Steel Company to create the Baking Steel in 2012.
Inspired by a single line in Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine about steel's superior heat conductivity, Andris tested the first prototype using a rusty Caterpillar part from his family's steel shop. The success of that first pizza led to a Kickstarter campaign that was endorsed by food scientist Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats, launching the Baking Steel to worldwide recognition.
Today, Andris runs a test kitchen in Grand Rapids, MI. where he develops recipes and teaches classes. The Baking Steel has been featured in Bon Appétit, The Wall Street Journal, and Food & Wine magazine, and is used by tens of thousands of home cooks worldwide.
