For any pizza enthusiast or connoisseur, the dream is to bake traditional or authentic pizza. But how can you do that without a brick-style pizza oven available in your home? Luckily, a simple baking tool was developed to enhance the capability of conventional kitchen ovens to mimic the baking conditions of a brick-style pizza oven with the use of pizza steel, stone, or slab. However, using pizza steel is not a simple as you think it should be. You should know how to season pizza steel, how to use it, and how to properly care for it.
Types Of Pizza Slab
Generally, there are two types of baking slabs commonly used in cooking pizza – pizza stones and pizza steels. Both items are used as a tool to help bake pizza at a higher temperature and surface to create a more conducive baking environment and thus produce a better-tasting pizza. However, there are different types of pizza stone and pizza steel depending on the material used to create these tools.
Pizza Stone Vs. Pizza Steel
Arguably the most common question asked when it comes to baking slabs is not how to season pizza steel, but which is better between the pizza stone and the pizza steel. Let’s go over the topic lightly:
- Pizza stones are commonly made with ceramic or cordierite material and are known to be good conductors of heat. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are notably cheaper compared to pizza steels. Also, pizza stones are considerably more fragile than pizza steels as they are at risk of cracks and scratches.
- Pizza steels are baking slabs made with steel and are much more effective and efficient conductors of heat than pizza stones. They can be made with aluminum, cast iron, or copper material and are notably stronger and more durable than their ceramic or cordierite counterparts.
How To Use A Pizza Steel
Using a pizza steel when you’re baking bread or cooking pizza helps the oven to regulate heat better and produce a crispier crust at a faster cook time. But how do you exactly and properly use a pizza steel?
Straight-up Bake Method
- Pre-heat your oven at the highest possible temperature with the pizza steel inside for about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Carefully transfer your pizza onto the steel and cook for 4 to 5 minutes before turning the pizza 180-degrees and cook completely for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Retrieve your pizza using a pizza peel while leaving the pizza steel to cool in the oven before cleaning.
Broiled Crust Method
- Pre-heat your oven at the highest possible temperature with the pizza steel inside for about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Place your pizza steel on the top rack of the oven and carefully place your pizza to cook for 5 minutes.
- Rotate the pizza 180-degrees and change the setting to broil and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until the crust browns and crisps as desired.
- Retrieve your pizza using a pizza peel while leaving the pizza steel to cool in the oven before cleaning.
How To Season Your Pizza Steel
While most pizza steels nowadays come fresh out of the box already seasoned, seasoning or re-seasoning your pizza steel is important in order to maintain its non-stick surface. However, you would have to re-season your pizza steel anytime soon, you notice a dull gray color or when the food starts to stick onto the surface. Here’s how to season pizza steel:
- Prepare your pizza steel by washing it with hot soapy water and a stiff brush, then rinse and pat dry completely.
- With your choice of organic oil, lightly dab the pizza steel with oil evenly across the surface with a paper towel. Make sure to go over both sides and to wipe off any excess oil on the pizza steel.
- Once set, heat your oven to 375˚-400˚F and place the rack on the oven to bake for about an hour. After the hour, simply turn off the oven and let the pizza steel cool inside.
Pizza Steel Care And Maintenance
Despite being notably stronger and durable than their ceramic or cordierite counterparts, pizza steels still require care and maintenance in order to keep it in its tip-top condition. Maintenance and care do not end with knowing how to properly use and how to season pizza steel. It also includes cleaning and maintain the quality of the material. With that, here are some tips and pointers on how to properly care for your pizza steel:
- When cleaning your pizza steel, it is important to remember to let it cool completely for at least an hour first before handling it. Once cooled, you can use a bench or dough scraper to lightly scrape of any food matter left on the steel.
- After clearing off the food debris from the steel, wash your pizza steel with soap and water and scrub using material nothing harsher than the back of the sponge. Pat both sides with a towel and make sure that the pizza steel is completely dry before putting it away.
- Keep in mind not to let the pizza steel air dry as this can promote rust as well as not to leave the pizza steel outdoors or put it in a dishwasher. You can simply keep the pizza steel back in the cool oven until your next use.
Conclusion
Baking pizza requires you to also learn how to properly use the necessary tools and equipment. For pizza steels, it is important to know how to properly use, care, maintain, and season pizza steel. Considering the benefits of using pizza steel or any kind of baking slab, it is a must to put some time and effort to ensure that your tools and equipment last long as it should be. Here’s how to learn more about pizza steels.