Michael C.
I put my stove at 550 for 45 minutes. Put the steel about 5+ inches for Tom top of electric oven. It took about minutes to perfect a great pie. Thanks guys!!!!
Alyson A B.
It’s great!! Haven’t tried it on the grill yet, but makes fantastic pizza. I love the story of how you got started. Wonderful product.
Clifford G.
I am still getting all the materials and know how together and am excited to put it to use. I am learning a lot from your u-tubes and e-mails. Since we live in northern Az. it will hopefully all come together once it starts cooling off since I plan to cook the pizza's outdoors!! I am looking forward to using our steel and the best flour and making my own sauce. Cliff G.
James D.
The baking steel is just important as top ingredients when you are cooking at home with a residential oven.
James D.
The best thing next to a commercial oven. These steels completely change your home oven into a beast.
Pam S.
Family fun pizza nights
Love the on line videos.
Great kitchen addition
Carol R.
We’ve had various stones for our oven baked pizza at 550 degrees, and none seemed to efficiently achieve and retain the needed temperature for a killer crust. So pleased we switched to baking steel for both heat and elimination of of possible breakage!
Dianna K.
I have had numerous baking stones but the steel takes things to an entirely new level. It is versatile and works great. I made bagels and they were perfect! Plan on pizza soon as the breads are awesome. Easy to clean off
Lynne W.
Best, most crispy pizza crust ever!
Rares P.
Brilliant! Cannot recommend this enough! It’s a total game changer and the quality of pizza baked on this is absolutely insane. If you are pondering to buy this, don’t, just buy it.
Rachel S.
Second time I've bought a baking steel, well worth the money and great pizzas! Better than cheap baking stones that will inevitably break when you needed it most.
linda a.
Nice finish. Has really improved my gluten free pizza!
Shawn S.
After multiple difficult nights with a pizza stone, I ran across a reference to a pizza steel in a pizza book I was reading. On my first night out, my first attempt on the baking steel was beautiful (at least to me). It cant fix my mistakes, but it sure is far more forgiving when I have to go back in to fix a problem.
Charles P.
Took a while to get here but it’s a beautiful thing. Works great. Next up for tomorrow, French bread.
Brian K.
Cooks pizza like a metal should. Love it.
Marilyn G.
First use of the steel was, not optimal. Second time…..perfect. I followed the recipe for the dough and the sauce. Excellent. Great addition to my kitchen, and I look forward to making pizza!!
Vicki M.
I love the first baking steel that I purchased after "Pizza School" and decided it would be worth the investment to have a second one so that we can cook a bunch of pizzas quickly. This is a favorite way for us to entertain....home made pizzas!
William B.
I am extremely happy with the product. Much better than the ceramic I previously used. Bakes better than I expected. Excellent for pizza !
Devin S.
If you are on the fence about getting a Baking Steel, just do it. I debated between the steel and an outdoor pizza oven (Ooni) for a long time, ultimately going with the steel for several reasons.
1. Crust - The steel itself makes for a better crust than a pizza stone, commonly found in most outdoor pizza ovens. Because the steel can hold more heat energy, the temperature of the steel fluctuates far less than a pizza stone, allowing the crust to rise rapidly, and the steel to recover between pies much quicker. You can nearly remove a pie and launch a fresh one at the same time, though I usually allow for a minute or 2 between.
2. Storage - I didn't want something else to store and take up space in the garage/basement. Though the Ooni style oven is nice, it does take up quite a bit of space, not to mention the pellets or propane tank to fuel it. I leave my baking steel in the oven at all times, which cuts down on storage and also provides additional benefits, leading me to my next point.
3. More than pizza - I noticed by accident that the steel improves almost everything cooked in the oven. I keep my steel about 6in. from the top of the oven, in it's normal position to cook pizza, as well as out of the way for other dishes below it. When cooking a sheet of biscuits I had placed on the rack below the steel, I noticed that the steel cooks food from the top, allowing food to brown on top before getting too dark on the bottom. Being that ovens heat from the bottom, the steel reflects that heat back down at whatever you are cooking, which in my case, provided for the most tender and evenly cooked biscuit I have ever baked. It's also nice to reheat leftovers, as the steel provides a flat surface and I don't have to dirty another sheet pan.
4. Low maintenance - Though I am a new owner, I notice that the more you use your steel, the more it becomes seasoned. Like an old cast iron, it doesn't take must maintenance other than wiping off old food particles from cooking. That being said, it can be washed and Baking Steel does provide instructions for that.
5. Logistics - At this point, I don't have an outdoor kitchen area, so I wanted to keep everything in one place, as far as cooking and prep goes. Being that this is used in a home oven, I can prep in my kitchen and bake a few feet away...quick and easy, with less mess.
To say I am enjoying this purchase would be an understatement. Sure, it's not inexpensive for what it is, but it exceeds my expectations for quality and is already providing a fun "hobby", as well as something that has brought family together. Once my kids are old enough, I am sure they will be topping their own pizzas and and we will have many pizza nights in the future.
If you are curious to see some finished pizzas, check out @davespizzaoven on Instagram. He is the reason for my new found addiction to pursuing the perfect pizza.
John G.
This is the real deal! My pizza stone broke so I decided to try a steel. I'm not disappointed! Super crisp results.
Jennifer H.
This steel is phenomenal! It makes all the difference! Crisp, billowy and light crust. I’ve been making pizza for years, with different stones and steels too — this one by far produces the best pizza. Don’t hesitate!
Byron D.
I have only used it once since it arrived but it gave very good results. It definitely holds heat better than my ceramic pizza stone and keeps the heat between pizza's so the wait time is much reduced.
I have more to learn but so far so good!
Courtney R.
This is the very very first pizza (sausage and onion) I made on my new baking steel, and it came out incredibly well that first time. You can see my peel handling was a little messy (also the first time) and the left side slopped over a bit. Looking forward to trying next time.
I also made a rustic boule bread in my steel dutch oven. Normally you'd use a heavy cast iron dutch oven for these, but I don't have one. I thought I'd try with this one on top of the baking steel -- and it worked great.
I marked it 4/5 stars because the only thing is that it is pretty durn heavy and hard to handle. If you are, for instance, cooking multiple pizzas it would be great. I usually only do one at a time so I may have done alright with the lighter Original instead of the Modernist.
I'll also add that the company is excellent in its communications on purchase and shipping. It arrived on time (which is good, because I had already invited company for pizza the next day) and it was well packed.
Now I see why both Wirecutter and America's Test Kitchen recommend their products. (I do too.)
Kyle N.
This is a great product! It works better than I expected. So happy with it I am buying another one and will be giving a few as gifts.
Tom B.
It is a big thick piece of steel that gets hot! What more could you ask?
Peter K.
Really heavy, but great out of the box.
Katherine M.
Great
Philip Y.
More uniform crust across bottom of pizza than stone
Larry B.
Baking sheet is, of course, heavy and retains a lot of heat. My suggestion is that if you are not used to its presence, you will want to carefully check any bread that is sitting on it. The bottom may burn quicker than you imagine would be the case.
William C.
Better result with the pizza crust than a pizza stone. Still haven't mastered the perfect browning with the broiler and perfect crust on the bottom at the same time. However, very pleased with the first 2 bakes
Adrian C.
Great size, retains heat very good
Awesome pizza crusts
Angela N.
I was blown away! Never did I think a pizza like this would come out of my oven. But with my new Baking Steel, the results are AMAZING. The crust is just like out of a wood pizza oven. My husband was so impressed. Superb quality and it works! I highly recommend it.
GRAHAM K.
Works pretty good on first pizza . Couldn’t get the Webber up to 500 degrees ( with coals) so switched to gas bbq . That got to 500 and we were impressed with our first try . The online videos really helped .
Jean W.
Only used it one time so far. Got a nice crispy crust. Your guy on UTube is so great.
Kay C.
It is heavy at 16 pounds. Plenty hot for pizza / holds the heat for hours. Working on the bread method - beats a hot heavy Dutch oven so far but haven’t seen the spring or steam
I’m looking for.
Barbara K.
After preheating the first time, which smelled the house up...as expected. The steel is amazing. Never thought I'd get that kind of quality from the oven.
Ace
Just had to show how awesome this steel takes to seasoning - seasoned, cooked another pizza, & then seasoned again. I first put the pizza on a pizza tray & then onto the steel for 2 minutes, so that I can get it to come off the tray & when I did the pizza just started sliding on the steel & also now being nonstick just wiped the steel down after cooking & then seasoned again.
Ace
Was delivered yesterday, so seasoned then cooked a pizza then seasoned again - really like watching the progression of the seasoning as it goes to totally black.
Diane N.
It’s been a fun way to make pizzas! Love the quik baking time and recipes with few ingredients
yea-cheng w.
Homemade pizza is this good!
MaryLou F.
This is a gift my son asked for. He said he knows someone who has it and likes it very much. I haven’t tried the product.
Robert P.
We've cooked 8 pizzas on our Baking Steel starting almost at the moment we got it. All done to a perfection. Seven were done on our weber Spirit*; 4 finished there and 3 were slid into our oven to use the broiler. All pizzas were scarfed like we'd come off of a 3-week backpacking trip living off of Ramen noodles for the last week. Soooooooooooo good! We did source a batch of tiny pepperoni sticks from a local deli.... maybe 1/2" or 5/16" thick and sliced thing, those are the best! But my wife does a fine Margarite (sp?), meatless and those have been just as delicious. Anyway, thrilled to be starting this new adventure. Love our Baking Steel.
*The steel absorbs a ton of heat, so do not expect your grill to heat up like normal. Takes patience.
Glen M.
Really does work better than a pizza stone. First pizza I made on it was the 72 hour dough recipe (which is really easy). I think I’ve put on 5lbs from eating pizza every meal for the past week. May want to embrace moderation.
Laraine E.
Made this pizza on the 2 steels I bought. Put one on the top and on down low. Moved to the second steel halfway. Amazing crust and great steels did the work! Steels are very heavy and very well made! Awesome product.
TJ J.
This goes into the category of "How did I live without one of these?". We're still experimenting with it, but it has made a major difference in our oven use and improved just about everything we make. Of course, including Pizza. I see a future purchase of the 3/8 round when it becomes available.
Cleanup is easy. Be forewarned it is a heavy item, not to be dropped. It also holds heat for quite a while afterward far beyond stone ones. We wipe it down once a week unless something spills.
Highly recommended.
Justin C.
Mine was sticking when I first used it, so I had to season it myself. A bit messy but not too bad. Definitely makes an authentic New York style crust. I do recommend getting the wooden server if you are going to be making a lot, because the crust starts cooking as soon as it hits the steel, so there is little chance to correct any misalignment when putting it in the oven.
Edward D.
Excellent pizza steel! Tons better than a stone. So good that is makes phenomenal authentic Neapolitan pizza even without a wood-fired oven!
Stephanie T.
Finally the answer to great pizza at home!!!!!
I had to play with the broiler part-all ovens are different.
A 31/2 minute pizza at home!!!... who would have thought
I’m planning on purchasing the griddle next.
Kenneth E.
Fits very well into oven and bbq. Very sturdy. Will be a challenge for wife to pick up.
JUSTIN K.
I made the 72 hour pizza dough on the steel twice so far. It's the best pizza I every made. We used to use a pizza stone, but didn't get the same great results. The steel gets very hot and heats up pretty quickly when you make a second or third pizza at the same time. It is really heavy.
Donald S.
This item really delivers. I have had some excellent pizzas. Will be oiling, and using, often.
Lily C.
Great quality. Very heavy steel.
Craig B.
Amazing baking steel. My pizza and Naan have turned out perfectly.
Kathie M.
I was given 19th century sourdough starter from my sister. She had the steel but I didn’t think I needed one as I had a stone. Well, the stone was not ideal as it smoked up my entire kitchen something awful when we made pizza, so I ordered the steel. Unbelievable difference. No smoking, perfectly crispy crust. Amazing. I am not generally a baker, but I am now inspired to try baguettes and other baked goods other than just pizza. I highly recommend!
Jenifer W.
Ordered the baking steel so that I could improve my homemade gluten free pizzas. Now we have really reached next level as I am able to get my oven temperature much higher and a really crisp, even crust. Very happy!
jenny c.
We made 6 pizzas & 8 calzones. It was a complete miracle that we stopped long enough to take this picture because we were eating them as they came out lol
Despite having an excellent Viking oven, I couldn't get my pizza to come out like this without the steel. Though for some people it's an unnecessary expense, for my household it was a quality addition to my kitchen repertoire!
Everything was made easier by putting the pizza on parchment paper and building it there. Then we transferred it to the steel. It was very simple to get the tongs and rotate the pizza in the oven and even easier to pull it on to the pizza peel.
Some bakers recommend you turn on the broiler as soon as you put your pizza in. We did not do that. We turn the broiler on after the pizza was on the steel for 3 minutes. Then my broiler, which lights up in a minute, was turned on for 90 seconds and did the job beautifully! Total cooking time was about 6 to 7 minutes in an oven that was 550°
If you cook and bake as I do, every single day of the week, this is a must-have.
I like quality purchases made in the USA! This is that type of purchase!
J R.
Great piece of cooking equipment. Does a wonderful job with pizzas, bread….whatever you put on the thing.
However, the special edition is a beast. 20# of steel in and out of the oven for cleaning is work. I cook 4 or more pizzas in a row but my next one will likely be the standard 10 pounder.
Michael H.
This is HEAVY. Impressive piece of equipment and I can’t wait to try out more uses for it, including on my Big Green Egg. Wood-fired pizza, here we come!
Fern S.
I keep it in the oven always even baked potatoes have a nice crunch on the bottom of the potato I have not made pizza yet but I am looking forward to it
Lauri H.
We had a family pizza night and it was so much fun. We’re still learning how to transfer the uncooked pizza from the peel to the hot oven. The resulting pizza wasn’t pretty…but oh, so delicious!
Joey R.
I absolutely love my new baking steel. So happy I made the purchase! Highly recommend this to anyone that is serious about making pizza.
Matt M.
It’s hard to oversell how incredible the Baking Steel is at turning the average home oven into an apt replacement for a commercial pizza oven—pulling pies with a beautiful, crisp, brown bottom in just a few minutes’ time.
Deborah P.
NO more burned smells, fire alarms and burned cheese on my oven! Simply the BEST pizza stone around. It also helps me cook items more quickly, or thoroughly as I leave it in the oven. It retains the heat and transfers it to my sheet pan or casserole pan.
Trevor H.
I really do love my baking steel. I've only used it for pizza so far and it's fantastic. I ruined a stone before I got this because I couldn't get the raw pizza off the peel I had and then it got flipped topping side down and led to a bunch of smoke and frustration especially because the oil soaked into the stone and would continue to smoke for subsequent uses.
The steel is awesome though. I get beautiful leoparding on the underside of the crust and it's more durable, albeit quite a bit heavier, than a stone especially since I got the modernist cuisine version. It only took a couple times for the patina to set in and now it's perfect.
After talking to someone in support, I found out the thicker steel is really only an advantage when baking multiple pizzas in succession. With how heavy it is, I would recommend the original over the Modernist Cuisine unless you plan on making several in succession.
I'm still working on finding the perfect sauce and cheese ratio and which crust recipe I like the most but it always turns out really good.
If you like making pizza or artisan breads, get the steel and stop worrying. You'll love it and it will last forever.
Jamie C.
We use the steel primarily for pizza making on the grill and it is fabulous. The crust comes out perfect and radiate the perfect amount of heat to melt all toppings and cheese into one outrageous delicious pizza.
Joseph L.
Wonderful product, works much better than a baking stone. The steel holds the heat better and transfers the heat faster than other baking products. This steel makes it very easy to turn perfect pizza.
Christopher C.
The baking steel works great. It took a little fine-tuning to figure out how long to preheat it and the best oven rack to use but it makes great pizzas. I would recommend it.
Kevin S.
The Baking Steel is a great combination of serious quality/durability with so many great uses. In the short time we've had it, we've made pizza and bread several times. Each time was perfection. The way it retains heat and keeps the oven hot while making other dishes is a serious plus. We're looking forward to many many meals together going forward. The design of the Modernist Cuisine is also very, very sleek with a great surface. On a scale of 1 to 5 we give it a 6.
Jorge C.
I’ve been using a baking stone for years but once I heard about the baking steel I was sold. Great job on this product. I used your 72 hour dough for this pie along with the baking steel. The dough plus the crust was amazing. I also baked that same type of pie but round directly on the baking steel same excellent results.
Clayton J.
I am very pleased with the baking steel. I used to use a cast iron pizza pan, but the baking steel cooks the pizza faster, more even, and puffier than the cast iron.
Craig
The pizzas that I am able to make now!