Ever cook bacon over a campfire on the same tool you made pizza with the night before?
Most kitchen tools do one thing. The Baking Steel does everything.
I invented the Baking Steel back in 2012 to make better pizza at home. What I didn't fully realize at the time was that I was creating something way bigger than a pizza tool. Over the years I've cooked on this thing in ways I never imagined and it's never let me down. Not once.
Here's every place I've used mine. And why it works.
In the Home Oven
This is where most people start, and for good reason. Crank your oven to 500-550°F, slide the Baking Steel onto the top rack, and let it preheat for 45 minutes. When your dough hits that steel, something magic happens instant heat transfer, explosive oven spring, a bottom crust that's crispy and charred the way it should be.
I made a ricotta and arugula pizza this week with hot honey that reminded me of a pie I had at Bianco in Scottsdale. No wood fire. No special equipment. Just my home oven and a Baking Steel.
That's the whole point.
The science is simple: a Baking Steel conducts heat roughly 18 times better than ceramic or stone. When cold dough hits a hot Baking Steel, the heat transfers instantly giving you that char on the bottom and a puff on the crust that you just can't get any other way.
On the Stovetop
Lay it across two burners on medium-high and let it heat up for 10 minutes. Now you have a massive flat cooking surface that holds heat evenly across the entire thing.
Smash burgers. Flatbreads. Searing a thick steak. I've made smash burgers on this thing that people still talk about that crust you get from steel-to-steel contact is something a regular pan just can't touch. Cooking for a crowd without juggling three pans. The Baking Steel on a stovetop is one of my favorite moves, and most people haven't tried it.
Works on gas. Works on electric. And yes, it works on induction too. Steel is magnetic, so it's fully compatible. If you've got an induction cooktop, your Baking Steel is ready to go.
On the Campfire
This is where it gets fun.
I've taken my Baking Steel camping more times than I can count. Set it right on the grate over an open fire and you've got the best camp griddle you've ever used. I've made bacon, English muffins, whole fish, grilled vegetables all over an open flame on a Baking Steel.
The steel doesn't care that you're in the woods. It gets hot, it stays hot, and it cooks everything evenly. No hot spots, no sticking, no mess. Just incredible food outdoors.
Cast iron is great but it's heavy and fragile. The Baking Steel is tougher, lighter, and cleans up easier. It's become a non-negotiable piece of camping gear for me.
In a Wood-Fired Oven
If you're lucky enough to have a wood-fired oven, the Baking Steel takes it to another level. Wood-fired ovens get screaming hot 700, 800, even 900°F and the steel absorbs all of that energy and delivers it directly into your crust.
The result is the fastest, most intense pizza bake you can achieve at home. We're talking 60-90 seconds. Full leopard char. Incredible puff. The kind of pizza that makes people stop mid-bite.
Why It Works Everywhere
The reason the Baking Steel works on every heat source comes down to one thing: thermal conductivity. Steel absorbs heat faster, holds it longer, and transfers it more efficiently than virtually any other material you can cook on.
It doesn't matter if the heat is coming from an electric coil, a gas flame, a wood fire, or an induction coil the steel responds the same way every time. It gets hot. It stays hot. It cooks your food perfectly.
And it's essentially indestructible. This thing will outlast every other piece of cookware in your kitchen. Probably by decades.
One Tool. Every Kitchen.
I've been cooking on Baking Steels for over a decade and I'm still finding new ways to use them. That's what happens when you build something right.
Whether you're making pizza on a Tuesday night, flipping bacon over a campfire, or cooking a feast on your stovetop your Baking Steel is ready.
It's the most versatile tool in your kitchen. And once you own one, you'll wonder how you cooked without it.
About Andris Lagsdin
In 2012 I walked into my family's steel shop in Hanover, Massachusetts with one idea: I wanted to make a piece of steel feel alive.
What started as a Kickstarter project became the Baking Steel®, the original pizza steel for home ovens, now used by hundreds of thousands of home cooks around the world. Every steel still leaves my family's shop. Every one arrives pre-seasoned and ready to cook.
I've been making pizza on steel for 14 years. I teach free weekly pizza classes. I created the 72-Hour Pizza Dough Mix because great dough shouldn't require a culinary degree.
But the mission hasn't changed since 2012. I still just want to make a piece of steel feel alive.
Ready to cook on everything? Make Pizza and Everything Else Magic
