Pizza on a Baking Steel
After a year of our readers recommending the Baking Steel, I’ve finally given it a try. It is a little surprizing that this hadn’t happened earlier, since I have every other baking surface ever created. As you know, if you read my review of baking stones, I love my Lodge cast iron baking “stone,” but it isn’t perfect. The round shape makes it a bit hard to make baguettes and the lip around the edge makes it tough to clean. The handles on the Lodge are convenient for getting it in and out of the oven, but it means I can’t lay a baking sheet on top of it, so I have to take it out of the oven before baking anything on a baking sheet. None of those things prevented me from using it constantly, until I got the Baking Steel. The shape of the steel is more conducive to baking beyond just pizza and there is no lip or handles to work around. Just like the cast iron, the Baking Steel is virtually indestructible, heats up a bit quicker and conducts heat really well. In fact, I think the steel is the best heat conductor of any of my “stones.” The Baking Steel is a bit more expensive than my other stones. Is it worth it? For me, yes. The shape and heating properties make it worth the extra money, and I’ll use it daily and so it’s worth the investment. The fact that I don’t have to worry about it ever breaking (even on the grill) is a comfort as well.
The dimensions of the baking steel 14×16 inches.
If you’d like a chance to win a Baking Steel with carrying case and a copy of our book, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day please leave a comment below about your favorite pizza. (The package is only available to be shipped in the USA and subject to all our regular contest rules.)This giveaway is over!
I made a breakfast pizza with prosciutto, cherry tomatoes, sautéed kale, soft goat cheese and fresh thyme, baked on our olive oil dough with an egg cracked on top.
I rolled this one out a little thicker so that the crust would be nice and puffy.
This is our traditional Margherita pizza with our homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil.
Happy baking!
The good folks at Baking Steel sent this product for me to test and give away, but the opinions are all me!
The kids and I make pizza almost every Friday night and the pizza toppings most asked for are ham and pineapple.
Love onion mushroom and basil!
“Cheese, does not a pizza make” My own personal quote. A pizza is all about the crust with a little char on it, fresh toppings and great sauce. Cheese should be an after thought. But good quality.
I like really simple pizzas best- just bread, veggies & olives 🙂
I have just made my first dough from ABin5 and while waiting for it to do it’s thing, I’m researching your website…..I use a pizza stone but the pizza steel sounds interesting.
Love fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. Learned to make mozzarella so it takes pizza over the top!
My favorite pizza to make is from whatever is in the fridge at the time, which usually means thinly-sliced onions and some kind of home-concocted tomato sauce, with maybe a little cheese if we happen to have any.
I love all kinds of pizza… bit I love a simple, good quality plain cheese pizza, sometimes nothing is better.
My favorite pizza was from a place I grew up called Annabella’s in Farmindale, NY. It was a simple large pizza pie but there was something about it that was so delicious. As a family we used to go there once a week and I used to be a chubby fella… (no more) and I could eat so many slices very quickly… in my attempt to lose weight as a teen I started using a fork and knife… I know I know it’s not the best way to eat a pizza but it accomplished it’s goal to slow me down causing me to eat less, otherwise I could eat an entire pie by myself.
As time went on Annebella’s stayed the same… the black and white tile out front, dim lighting inside. It was classic old style.
I eventually moved to LA after school. 15 years ago. I loved the new warmer city but the pizza wasn’t the same. I was pining for my favorite pie. My mother, the saint that she is, went to the place and told them about her son who missed the pizza… so they helped her out and wrapped it up special for her and she shipped it to me over night.
It was amazing to eat this pizza again.
The shipping of the pie became a regular thing. Maybe it was how much trouble was made to get it to me that made it even better. Who knows.
Then one day a friend of mine who was a flight attendant was flying to LA from NY and he picked up a pie for me. He tells me when he landed one slice is missing. He cooked it. I didn’t mind of course. But on the plane as he was cooking it, one of the other flight attendants came to him and ask what that amazing smell was. He told her my story and she had to try it. She loved it. And then she realized the more he told her, that the restaurant he was talking about was owned by her brother.
He had taken it over at some point in it’s 50 year history and kept everything the same.
Not long after this I made a trip to NY with my flight attendant friend and we went to Annabella’s and her brother treated us to a wonderful dinner… the pizza of course.
A few years went by and every time I would get in to town on the train I would walk through town and pass that place with the black and white tile.
Then a few years ago on a trip home as I walked by, there was a sign up front… OUT OF BUSINESS.
I was devastated. Not only for the lost pizza but it kind of represented my youth. You know, those youthful memories you love and eventually you realize things change. The video arcade goes out of business. Your family home is sold. The park you played in is torn down for a strip mall. And now this was my first sign of things changing.
And no more pizza.
No one knew what happened either. They sort of just disappeared. No fanfare no announcement.
A few years later we tracked down the owner and found out he opened a new place. They also served pizza. I didn’t have a chance to go in just then as my trip back home was short but I was excited.
Finally when I made another trip back home we call the place and found out they no longer serve pizza there since they are trying to be more upscale and pizza is lowscale.
So now I make my own pizza from scratch. While maybe not as good as Annabella’s… it’s so much fun to do it myself. And tastes great. Simple. My own dough. I usually use NY mozzarella (polly-o)… plus other cheese sometimes including Parmesan, feta… I put sesame seeds on the crust now and then… generous oregano, basil, garlic. Sometimes when I make the dough I include oregano and other spices so it’s inside the dough. Now I’m hungry.
Life goes on…
I can’t eat cheese, so my pizzas aren’t really pizzas, but I love a deep dish style crust with white beans, tomatoes, and assorted vegetables.
My favorite is Kale, prosciutto and a drizzle of honey on the top. Yummmm
I’ve been using your Master Dough for my home-made pizza for several years! I typically make a veggie pizza with whatever is in the fridge. I have a big baking stone that I leave in the oven most of the time, but I’m very interested in the new baking steel.
i love pizza with pineapple and ham. the sweet and savory are so yummy together. thanks!
A middle weight crust made by a family owned chain in my neighborhood. I like the traditional cheese and sausage, but also spinach and onion toppings.
Mmm….white garlic sauce with parm cheese and olives. Delish with your dough!!
I like to made pizza using your olive oil whole wheat recipe. Roll out the dough, oil lightly and bake at 400-450 for about 5-7 minutes. take out of the oven and put a thin layer of fig butter, and generous amount of caramelized onions and top with goat cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and starts to turn color. There is a happy dance going on in my mouth as I enjoy this combination and the whole wheat curst is wonderful! Thank you for your recipes!! I would love a steel stone…
Anything with a white pizza base. My favorite is a mixture of ricotta, spinach, and garlic!
I like white pizza with bacon & sliced tomatoes.
I have two grandson’s that love pizza and love to help in the kitchen. One has a more adventuresome palate that the other but both are very willing to step outside the pizza box and try new things.
As to a favorite? That seems to be whatever pizza we are creating at the time.
Pizza with an olive oil base and a few veggies
I love white pizza reminiscent of Flammkuchen in Elsace France.
My favorite pizza is at Udi’s in Arvada, CO. They serve a GF/VEG pizza called Mushroom, it’s bechamel, portabella, crimini, white button, mozz, pecorino, parm, & truffle oil!
Best pizza ever………Very Simpley.. Pizza Margherita
I really only like homemade pizzas. Favorite would be your basic thin-crust pepperoni and cheese (LOTS of cheese), definitely with the corn meal sticking to the bottom. Also like veggie pizzas, with black olives, grilled onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese.
I use a cast iron “pizza pan” baking “stone” too. I like to leave it in the oven and just put things on top, i.e. bread pans, cookie sheets, etc. I just turned the cast iron “stone” over and now it is flat with no edge and works fine for everything! I had to wiggle it a little to get the slightly raised handles to balance on the oven shelf but seems stable and works!
We make all kinds of pizza but my favorite is always plain sauce and cheese – it’s the perfect combo to me!
I just stumbled upon your website while researching the art of pizza dough and bread making. I can’t say I have a favorite pizza to make yet because I am just getting started. I think something with black olives or a pesto would be lovely. I sure hope I win because this appears to be exactly like what I was looking for – but a little over my budget!
I love them all. I usually order Canadian bacon and pineapple though.
I make/order pepperoni most of the time but I like changing it up with different veggies added on to it.
I love pizza with fresh basil, mushrooms, onion, and hamburger or Italian sausage.
When we make pizza we usually use pesto instead of pizza sauce for the base and top it with mushrooms, sausage, and black olives. I usually use a large cast iron pan to make our pizza, so the idea of the pizza stone sounds interesting.
My favorite pizza is from a little shop in Santa Fe, Pizza Centro. They make a pizza named Alphabet City that is made with Flash-fried eggplant, mushroom, fresh spinach, artichoke hearts, sundried tomato, garlic, roasted red pepper, balsamic glaze, marinara, and mozzarella. It is yummy. I am saddened as we are about to move to Texas and I truly must learn to replicate this pie as it is simply scrumptious and we will no longer have it available.
Pizza—love all — especially B-que chicken—the best !
BBQ Chicken Pizza w/ lots of red onion, pineapple, cilantro, and jalapeno slices.
My favorite pizza to make has bacon, roasted red pepper, banana peppers
My favorite pizza is Bianco. No sauce, but good crust, olive oil and good ham with greens on top after baked.
Kiko
My favorite pizza would have a light, hand-shaped crust brushed with marinara, then add mushrooms, spinach and of course fresh mozzarella. I know this is simple but it’s also comfort food for me.
I love so many toppings (shrimp and pesto, wild mushrooms, and spinach and garlic are a few combinations I enjoy) but nothing compares to a simple Margherita with fresh buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and basil…unless that mozzarella is smoked. Yum!
Spinach artichoke with goat cheese
We love our pizza with calabrese,hot pepper, minced garlic and fresh mozzarella!
We have a great coal brick oven pizza place around the corner and my favorite there is fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, basil pesto and Italian sausage. Delicious! Your book looks gorgeous. Thanks for the opportunity to win 🙂
Nothing beats a fresh out of the oven homemade pizza, with some Italian sausage and carmelized onions.
My favorite pizza to make is a breakfast pizza; scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, and some sharp cheddar cheese!
Garlic oil base, cheese, spinach and anchovies! Yum!
I would love to try our local specialty, spinach and feta at home.
Pizza with any topping that is in the frig are my favorite!
My niece introduced me to broccoli and bacon a couple if years ago. I never would have imagined that broccoli would taste so sweet! The salty, crunchy bacon puts it over the top.
My favorite is homemade spinach and feta pizza, but pepperoni and cheese is always good too! Mmm, now I’m hungry…
The no-cheese Pizza Marinara for me!
Favorite Pizza – all things vegetable
fav combo
mushrooms, red onions and green olives served up with a heap of parmesian cheese and red chili flakes.