Choose a steel for a home oven if you want the crispest, fastest bake. Choose a stone for a grill or pizza oven, or if you want something lighter to lift and store.
What is the difference between a stone and a steel?
Both do the same job: they soak up heat during the preheat and pass it straight into the bottom of the dough when the pizza lands. That burst of heat is what turns a soft base into a crisp, blistered one. The difference is the material. Most pizza stones are made of cordierite, a ceramic that heats slowly and evenly and holds heat well. A baking steel is a solid plate of steel. Steel moves heat into the dough much faster than ceramic, so the base browns sooner. Steel is also heavier than a stone of the same size, and it does not crack.
Which gives a crispier crust in a home oven?
In a home oven, a steel usually wins. Most kitchen ovens top out well below the heat of a dedicated pizza oven, and the steel makes up for that by delivering its heat to the dough quickly. The result is a darker, crisper base in less time, which also means the toppings do not dry out while you wait for the bottom to cook. A stone still makes a big improvement over a baking tray in a home oven. It just bakes a little more gently, which some cooks prefer for thicker or pan style pizzas and for bread.
What works best on a grill or in a pizza oven?
When the heat is very high, as it is in a pizza oven or a hot covered grill, a stone is usually the better choice. Because steel transfers heat so fast, a very hot steel can burn the base before the top is cooked. Cordierite is more forgiving at high heat. Many outdoor pizza ovens already come with a stone floor, so you may only need a peel. On a grill, a stone placed on the grate with the lid closed turns the grill into a simple pizza oven. Keep the stone on indirect heat if the flames are strong underneath.
How long should you preheat a stone or steel?
Longer than you think. The oven may beep that it is ready after fifteen minutes, but the stone or steel is still catching up. Most cooks give it about 45 minutes to an hour at the highest setting in a home oven. A steel heats through a little faster than a thick stone. Always put a stone in a cold oven or grill and heat them up together. Dropping a cold stone onto a hot surface, or a hot stone into cold water, is the most common way stones crack. An infrared thermometer is a handy way to check the surface before you launch.
How do you clean a pizza stone or steel?
Let either one cool completely where it sits. For a stone, scrape off burnt bits with a scraper or spatula and wipe it with a barely damp cloth. Do not use soap, since the porous stone absorbs it, and do not soak it. Dark spots and stains are normal and do not affect how it bakes. For a steel, scrape it, wipe it, dry it fully and rub on a very thin layer of cooking oil, like a cast iron pan. A steel left wet can rust. If that happens, scrub the rust off, dry it and oil it again.
What size and thickness should you buy?
Measure first. In a home oven, leave about an inch of space on each side of the rack so hot air can move. On a grill, the stone must sit flat with the lid fully closed. For a pizza oven, check whether it already has a floor stone before buying another. Thicker stones and steels store more heat, which helps when you bake several pizzas in a row, but they take longer to preheat and weigh more to lift. Check the size and weight on the product page against your oven and against what you are comfortable moving.