Meet Andris — Inventor of the Baking Steel

Back in 2012, I was on a mission: make legendary pizza at home.

I’d spent years in professional kitchens working alongside chefs like Todd English and I knew exactly what great pizza should taste like. But in my home oven, I couldn’t recreate that pizzeria-quality crust. Something was missing.

How one idea sparked a pizza revolution

Reading Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine, a single line stopped me cold:

“Steel conducts heat better than stone.”

Lightbulb moment. My family had run Stoughton Steel Company for over 50 years. I grabbed a slab from my dad’s shop, slid it into my oven, and launched a pizza.

Boom. The crust came out crispy, airy, and perfectly blistered. That first bite told me everything: steel beats stone.

From steel shop experiment to worldwide movement

During our Kickstarter, Kenji López-Alt—whom I didn’t know at the time tested my steel, loved the results, and wrote a blog shout-out that sent readers to our campaign. It changed the game.

What started in a family steel shop has grown into a movement. Today, tens of thousands of home cooks and pros use Baking Steel to make foldable NY slices, blistered Neapolitan pies, crusty breads, naan, and more all from a regular oven or grill.

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.

Explore our pizza recipes · Shop our Steels· Join a live pizza class

FAQ

Who invented the Baking Steel?

Andris Lagsdin invented the Baking Steel in 2012 after testing steel from his family’s shop at home.

Why is steel better than a pizza stone?

Steel transfers heat 20X faster than stone, delivering rapid bottom browning for crisp, blistered crusts in a standard home oven.