Why the Baking Steel? It’s a valid question. It may be tempting to think of the Baking Steel as a novelty gadget for kitchen geeks. But this is far from a foodie fad. As this book will show you, the Baking Steel is a culinary powerhouse: a kitchen tool for chefs of all levels that can revolutionize the way you cook and bake.

Let’s start out simple. Say you put a pizza on an aluminum baking sheet and put it in the oven. Your pizza will cook, but it will never attain the crispy crust that you’d get at a pizzeria. Without a superheated surface, you won’t get the right balance of fully cooked toppings and crispy crust.

You might own a baking stone, which is a step in the right direction. A baking stone simulates the conditions of a commercial oven, but it’s a poor substitute for it. That’s not the case with the Baking Steel, which has a thermal conductivity eighteen times greater than a ceramic pizza stone’s. The Baking Steel retains heat more evenly and for longer than a baking stone does, so it cooks pizzas faster and more effectively.

But perhaps the biggest advantage of the Baking Steel is that it has so many applications. The Baking Steel doesn’t need to be relegated to the oven. It can be put on the stovetop—on both gas and electric burners—and used as a griddle or as a stand-in for a cast-iron skillet. It retains heat and allows for perfect griddling, stovetop cooking, and even searing. It can be placed directly on the grate of an outdoor grill or atop cans of Sterno to provide a hot surface on the fly. It can also be chilled, which means it’s an invaluable tool for making pastry and confections and for serving and keeping cold dishes, well, cold.

The Baking Steel is also virtually indestructible. Many avid bakers have horror stories about their pizza stones shattering. With proper care, your steel will join you for a lifetime of culinary adventures. This unique yet simple slab of steel presents a whole new way to cook and bake. Enjoy the adventure.

BAKING STEEL 411

Every good chef knows that to get the most out of kitchen equipment, you must treat it with respect. The Baking Steel is built to last, but only if you take good care of it. Here’s what you need to know.

YOUR FIRST TIME

The Baking Steel is pre-seasoned, so when you remove it from its packaging, it is ready for use. Wipe it off with a dry cloth, if you like, and remember to lift with your knees, not your back. There are many different Baking Steel models, but they’re all heavy!

HEATING AND COOLING YOUR STEEL

Part of the magic of the Baking Steel is that the even heat distribution ensures even cooking and baking. To help the steel do its best work, you’ll need to allow it to heat up properly. The steel is equally effective for cold tasks, like mixing cold slab ice cream or serving sushi. Follow these instructions to preheat or precool the steel.

Pizza: Place the Baking Steel in the top rack of your oven (or about six inches from the broiler). Set the oven to its highest temperature; this is often 500 degrees, though some ovens can go higher. If your oven has a convection setting, use it, though it’s not vital for success. Let your Baking Steel preheat in the oven for forty-five minutes to an hour to allow it to absorb the heat. Always use a pizza peel to launch your pie onto the steel and to remove it; never touch the hot steel directly. For more detailed information on the process of baking pizza with your Baking Steel, see here.

Bread and Other Baked Goods: Place the Baking Steel in the oven; you will usually put it on the middle rack unless otherwise noted. Let it preheat for forty-five minutes to an hour at the temperature called for in the recipe—this allows the steel to completely absorb the heat required for those perfectly crispy edges. As always, do not touch the Baking Steel at any time; put your baked goods on a sheet of parchment paper and use a pizza peel to launch them onto the steel, or place a baking sheet on top of the steel and take care to avoid contact with the steel when removing it, as it can burn you even through oven mitts.

Roasting / Cooking: Preheat your Baking Steel as recommended for bread and baking, above. Often, these recipes employ a rimmed sheet tray positioned on top of the steel to prevent drips.

Griddle-Top Cooking: Several of the recipes in this book are cooked using the Baking Steel Griddle directly on top of your stove. Here’s how to successfully heat your Baking Steel Griddle on the stovetop for even cooking.

1. Mise en place. Make sure that you have all of your cooking materials close at hand and remove anything near the stovetop that may be sensitive to heat.

2. Place the steel directly on top of your stove burners. Position it carefully, as you won’t want to move or touch it directly once it gets hot.

3. Turn on the heat. Start high; I like to start heating on medium-high, even if I need a fairly low temperature for whatever I’m making. Let your Baking Steel heat for ten to fifteen minutes. An instant-read infrared thermometer (easily obtained at better cookware stores and online) is handy for determining the heat of the surface before you cook. Without one, you might find it difficult to monitor and maintain a steady temperature. As you’ll see, each griddle recipe has a suggested temperature range. As you become more adept at cooking on the surface, you will learn how long it takes to reach the appropriate level of heat, and you can adjust accordingly in the recipes.

4. Lower the heat. Right before you put whatever you’re cooking on the surface, lower the heat to medium. In general, this will keep the temperature from continuing to rise and will allow you to maintain the suggested cooking temperature. Keep track of the temperature using that infrared thermometer.

5. Get cooking! Place your food on the steel and let it do its magic.

6. Let the Baking Steel cool down. Once you’re done, turn off the heat and let the steel sit on the stovetop until cool enough to handle. Don’t attempt to move it right after cooking, as you could burn yourself.

Ice Cream: Put the steel in the freezer and leave it there overnight (as you would an ice cream maker drum).

Sushi and Other Chilled Foods: To keep your cold foods cold at a party or cookout, put the steel in the freezer for at least twenty minutes and up to several hours before you use it.

HANDLING YOUR STEEL

Your Baking Steel might not look hot in the oven, but trust me—it is very, very hot. Once you’ve heated your Baking Steel in your oven or on your stovetop, you should never touch it; it can burn you even through oven mitts.

If you’ve chilled your Baking Steel in the refrigerator or freezer, wear oven mitts when removing it.

After baking or cooking on it, allow it ample time to cool down before handling. While exact times will vary, it can take up to an hour to become cool enough to handle.

CLEANING YOUR BAKING STEEL

As your Baking Steel ages, you’ll notice some changes. The color will darken with each use, and the steel will eventually develop a very dark or black patina. Just as with cast-iron cookware, this isn’t a bad thing, nor is it a sign that your Baking Steel is on its last legs. As long as you keep your Baking Steel clean and re-season it occasionally, it will last a lifetime.

BEFORE YOU BAKE

Get the Most Out of Your Baking Steel

WHY IT WORKS

BAKING STEEL 411

YOUR FIRST TIME

Sometimes, the proof is in the pudding (or, in this case, the crust). Let’s look at the differences in pizza crusts baked on various surfaces.

HEATING AND COOLING YOUR STEEL

HANDLING YOUR STEEL

CLEANING YOUR BAKING STEEL