Are you craving that crust from your favorite pizza place? And no matter what you do at your home and after hundreds of different pizza recipes, you can’t seem to get the outcome at least resembling the desired result? Well, we have a solution for you right here, so make sure you get all the necessary ingredients, and let’s get baking!
For years now, there has been an ongoing battle between two main materials used for pizza baking – pizza steel vs. stone. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but we’re here to set the record straight. With new and innovative baking steel design and properties, more and more people lean towards this option to create delightful home-made pizzas.
So, keep reading to find out why baking steel makes the perfect pizza and crust all in the comfort of your own home.
1. Heat
While professional ovens can get very hot, home ovens can’t get hot enough to produce the same results by using any material. No, this doesn’t mean you have to get a new oven only because of the pizzas. In reality, using a stainless steel product is a great material for this. It transfers the heat like no other material, making even home ovens hot enough for the perfect pizza crust.
Because it transfers the heat better, it can cook more evenly and faster, resulting in the perfectly baked pizzas over and over again. So, it’s time to say goodbye to the burned pizza bottom and say hello to the crispy crust!
2. Moisture
You’ve probably had some pizza disasters ending with soggy dough and crust while burning the bottom layer. You can easily avoid this in the future by using stainless steel products for pizza baking. As previously mentioned, steel transfers the heat like no other baking material, making the baking process shorter while baking the entire surface evenly.
With faster and more consistent results, even at lower temperatures, you can get the crust you craved for the longest time – crispy, thin, as moisture won’t remain in the dough and steam it.
3. Weight
Another great advantage of stainless steel baking products is their weight. Unlike stone, ceramic, or other heavy-duty materials, steel is very light. Maneuvering bulky pans can be quite tricky when they’re hot from the oven, especially if they’re also heavy.
That’s where steel has a big advantage. Its feathery weight can make the entire process look like a piece of a cake, and you’ll no longer need to use all your strength to lift a heavy pizza pan.
4. Durability
Even though it’s light, it doesn’t mean baking steel is any less durable. Quite the contrary, steel is among the most durable materials out there. While stone and ceramic pans can crack and break, especially when exposed to sudden changes in hot and cold temperatures, steel can endure almost anything.
In this regard, steel is virtually indestructible, making it a great piece of cooking equipment. Whether you’re a beginner cook or a professional chef, a pizza baking steel can last you a lifetime.
5. Maintenance
Maintaining baking steel is fairly easy. The only rule is to keep it away from any water or moisture, as the steel is prone to corrosion.
When it comes to keeping your baking steel clean, you don’t need any special products. Soapy water and a kitchen sponge are enough to thoroughly clean the steel and make it spotless. Always pat dry your baking steel so that it doesn’t rust.
What will make your baking steel last a lifetime is occasional seasoning, which involves applying a thin coat of any organic oil to your baking steel and baking it for an hour. Not only does this serve as a protective coating, making the steel last longer, but it also makes the pizza less sticky.
6. Price
Another great advantage of baking steel is its price. Steel is a relatively cheap material, so products made out of it are reasonably priced as well. When compared to some ceramic or stone products, the price gap is almost unbelievable.
So, not only can you get the perfect pizza crust you’ve been craving forever, but you can get a great deal on it too!
Facts You Didn’t Know About Pizza
The First Pizza
While it was a common notion that pizza originated and became popular in Italy, the first pizza-making goes back to ancient times of Greeks and Egyptians who cooked flatbread-like pizzas and topped them with olive oil and spices. The “modern pizza” as we know it originated in Naples, Italy, when tomatoes were added in the late 1800s.
The Most Expensive Pizza
World’s most expensive pizza costs a jaw-dropping prize of $12,000. Created by master pizza chef Renato Viola, Pizza Louis XIII is currently the most expensive pizza in the world. For $12,000, Viola will personally come to your home with a chef and sommelier to prepare your pizza. Crusts made with organic Arabic flour are ready 72 hours in advance, shaped into pizzas approximately 8 inches in diameter, and topped with three types of caviar, lobster, and seven types of cheese.
The Biggest Pizza
Last December 2012, famous chefs in Rome, Italy, prepared a pizza with a total surface area of 13,580.28 ft². However, the Guinness record set a new page for the largest pizza. When Pizza Hut decided to revive “Big New York” pizza, it was a cheese and pepperoni pie with foldable slices. The company wanted to find a way to celebrate this news, and the most effective method was bringing the mark into the Guinness book of world records. The newly recorded largest pizza is made with 13,653 pounds of dough, 4,948 pounds of pizza sauce, 8,800 pounds of cheese, and 630,496 pepperonis. The World’s Largest Pizza is a 14,000 square foot pepperoni pie that YouTuber Eric Decker calls Hut Pizza, created in partnership with to promote the revival of Big New Yorker-style pizza.
First Pizza in Space
In 2001, the Russian space agency received over $1 million to transport a six-inch pizza to the International Space Station. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachov was honored to be the first person to receive a pizza delivery in orbit. Pizza was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a supply rocket, with Pizza Hut becoming the first restaurant chain to deliver to space.
Conclusion
All in all, baking steel is the most modern invention bringing professional cooking closer to your kitchen. Because of its numerous advantages, you can now enjoy the perfect crispy crust from the comfort of your home for a reasonable price.
Blending the highest levels of heat transfer, lack of moist and soggy dough, feathery weight, long durability, easy maintenance, and low price are all that make the baking steel the future of delicious home-made pizzas!