NerdChef Steel Pizza Stone

Product Description

Making great crusts (like you find on Neapolitan-style pizza) traditionally requires a 700-1000F wood-fired oven. Nerdchef Steel Stone replicates that performance in a home oven with its super-high heat transfer ability - transfering heat energy 20 times faster than ceramic. It creates beautiful and crispier crusts, gorgeous blistering throughout, and it cooks faster.

The top and bottom are bead-blasted for texture, sanded smooth by hand, then seasoned with organic flaxseed oil - pizza slides easily when you want to take it off. Finger holes make it much easier to move and reposition, plus you can hang it on a wall. And it's made in USA with solid premium steel.

Steel Stone is unbreakable and we guaranteed it for life. It will develop a darker patina as you use it and it gets more seasoned. Burnt cheese and spilled tomato sauce will give it character. You can also try using it cold - put some dry ice underneath and make ice cream directly on top.

Care. Treat the steel like you just like would a cast iron pan. Make sure it is dry after use, and don't store it in a humid environment, or it will rust. If any rust does develop, you can get rid of it with some wet steel wool or a scouring pad. To re-season the steel, clean it first and scrap of anything stuck to it with a metal spatula or scraper, then wipe on some oil (we recommend fresh flaxseed oil because of it's high smoke point). Wipe the oil off with a paper towel (enough will be left behind in the pores of the metal) and let it bake at 400F for an hour.

Features

• 20x higher conductivity than ceramic baking stones and twice the heat capacity. This lets it send much more heat energy to your crust so you can get the great performance of a 1000F oven in a home oven at 450F.
• Creates gorgeous crusts, better blistering, and faster cook times. "The ultimate pizza stone" - LifeHacker
• Low-friction surface: textured, sanded smooth, seasoned with flaxseed oil.
• Solid steel, unbreakable, guaranteed for life.
• 16" x 14.25" x .375" - 23lbs (Warning: It's heavy!) Made in USA.

Top Reviews

it will do as fine of a job as any other steel the same ...
by M_D (5 out of 5 stars)
December 9, 2016

I have the .5" version. I feel the quality is more than sufficient, it will do as fine of a job as any other steel the same thickness, regardless of price. The only improvements I could think of to be made (necessitating higher prices) would be to round all of the outside profile edges over. The edges aren't sharp like a knife, but since this is a fairly heavy piece of metal it is capable of doing some serious damage to whatever it hits if it is dropped or banged against something. The best best, whether the edges are rounded or 90 degrees is to be very careful when handling it. For most fit men and many women, the weight should not be a problem. Since the open oven door requires one to stoop over and reach to put it in the oven, the weight become a little more unwieldy though. If you have help available and question your own ability then two people should make it manageable.

If you desire to make pizzas that have puffed up crusts with a thin crispy outside and soft chewy inside, and do it in your home oven, a baking steel or a conventional pizza/baking stone is absolutely essential to get the best possible results. Both types of material have their place, in some ways steel is best, and in other ways the stones are as good or better.

To explain the need for baking steels and stones: the faster you can heat the dough in the oven, the more it puffs up before taking a set. Air bubbles in the dough are expanded by heated air and moisture, and "pump" up the crust. This is often called "oven spring". It is like a race and it needs to happen quickly because as the dough begins to cook it will not expand any more.

Like most tools, you need to use it properly or it won't perform to it's full potential. The steel and various stone type materials transfer heat to the dough faster than air can, that is the principle of operation. It takes longer to preheat the steel or stone than normal, it needs to be saturated with heat to perform best, think of it as having to cook your stone until it's done, before it can cook your pizza of other bread item. So planning ahead and using patience is a virtue here, but the reward is well worth it.

There are certain techniques that can employed, such as placing it on one the higher rack positions and using the top broiler to get the steel or stone to 600 degrees F or higher, measured with a IR temperature gun. If you do not let a baking steel or stone reach the optimum temperature range it will do little or no good at best or even slow down the cooking and make it worse. Until you get the hang of it, and perhaps even afterward, it's best to confirm temperatures of the steel or stone. If you don't have a temperature gun and are not able to get one, allow plenty of preheating time.

If you plan to use this to cook frozen pizza on, are impatient, or aren't willing to take the time to make good dough and fiddle around with techniques this item probably will not be very useful to you. Otherwise, I believe you would be very pleased with it.

While steel is superior to stone (or fire brick, and etc) in transferring heat faster, it has one draw back. It doesn't absorb moisture like natural porous materials, and while the crust might puff up more and cook faster, the very outside layer will usually not be as crisp as a stone and a little longer cook time. The longer cook time will also give a little more even browning because being a little more crisp. So, there are instances where each material has pros and cons. If you are serious about pizza you might want one made from each material, otherwise choose according to what kind of crust you like the best.
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I have a feeling the thinner unit is a better buy than the thicker option
by Amazon Customer (4 out of 5 stars)
August 14, 2017

Works as described, but do not underestimate the weight of this - you could seriously damage your floor, counters, or even feet if you drop it. Also carefully measure the size of your pizzas, this is smaller than my normal pizzas, so now I have to make multiple smaller ones. I have a feeling the thinner unit is a better buy than the thicker option.

The only reason why this is 4 star instead of 5 star is because of the price and size. I don't know what the going price is for steel, but for the cost I'd have liked to see it a few inches larger. It does work well, and I'm certain it will outlast all of my previous baking stones.
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No More Broken Pizza Stones!
by Chrlycor (5 out of 5 stars)
May 27, 2016

I've recently drunk the sourdough kool aid, and pizza has been an amazing byproduct!! I had a traditional pizza stone break mid-bake and went in search of an alternative. How could I go wrong with a name like Nerd Chef? My steel arrived ASAP and tonight I broke it in. Amazing!! I make a 12" pizza using the Ken Forkish levain pizza dough recipe, tonight I made 3 pizzas, a pepperoni for my 3 year old granddaughter, a zucchini and yellow squash with manchego for me and a Hawaiian for my husband. Each pizza cooked to perfection o

In 6-1/2 minutes at 550. The bottoms got a perfect wood oven looking char and the pizzas cooked perfectly even. I'm a happy customer!
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Stellar results!
by SP (5 out of 5 stars)
January 16, 2017

I have always had a keen interest in Neapolitan style pizzas, but was troubled with the fact that I wasn't able to recreate what I tasted at a pizzeria in my own home due to the lack of a traditional wood fire oven. However, the pizza steel from nerd chef changed that! It was easy to use, had clear instructions, and seems to be very well made. Although I have only used it once so far, my results were unbelievably amazing. I was shocked to see that I had finally mastered the pizza crust I had been striving towards for years! This product is worth every penny and I cannot wait to find other uses for it as well. If you enjoy pizza crusts with real color along with crust formation, be sure to buy this pizza steel! In no time at all, I assure that you will be whipping up pizzas even better than those that you find at your towns best pizzerias. I was not disappointed and am excited to continue using my pizza steel for many years to come!
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Perfect Pizza
by Steve (5 out of 5 stars)
January 5, 2016

I purchased the 3/8" thick version. I've had it for awhile now. I've seasoned it several times, just like I do with a cast iron skillet.

I love it. I've found the best results to be as followes using a Pappa Murphys medium crust take & bake pizza as the standard test pizza.

Preheat the oven to 450°F for 45 minutes, with the nerd chef on a rack that is in the second slot down from the highest position available.

Using a pizza peel floured with Semolina or corn meal, I slide the pizza onto the steel. After 4 minutes I rotate the pizza 180° on the steel, then switch the oven to broil. At about the 2 minute mark, I closely monitor the toppings so as to crisp up the toppings but not burn them.

At about the 3 minute mark, the pizza is done to perfection. At least for me.

Hope this review helps.
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Word of Caution
by gjam (3 out of 5 stars)
September 13, 2019

Just a word of caution, and hind site. If I had this to do over again, I never would have bought the 3/8" thick professional model. Why?? this one is totally on me, because I always want the best, so if a 1/4 " steel is good, then the 3/8" must be twice as good, and perhaps it is. My only problem is that it is so heavy, I am seriously afraid that it;'s going to break my oven racks, it's so heavy, that it takes two people to open and close the oven and pull out the shelf, or risk breaking your oven. or that;'s how it feels anyway. You can't leave it in your oven, because then you can't move your racks up; and down, so unless pizza is the only thing you use your oven for, I would recommend that you choose a lighter model. yup, bummer, so there is sits In my utility room, used it once,

If you don; t believe me, go find a 25 pound barbell and put it on your oven rack and see if you can handle the weight.
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Best quality - best pizza tool EVER!
by dmv2 (5 out of 5 stars)
July 21, 2019

Hands down the best tool ever to make pizza with. I've used every kind of stone/tool on the planet and NOTHING comes even close to making pizza on this steel. It comes out EXACTLY like a NYC pizzeria style pizza made in a 1000 degree wood fired pizza oven! Seriously! It is so heavy and retains the heat without variation even when firing one pizza after another! Top quality and Made in the USA! I've also baked bread on this with excellent results. This stays in my gas oven all the time because it helps maintain a perfectly consistent temperature. I highly recommend this product.
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If you're serious about homemade pizza this steel is essential
by Nick Congelossi (5 out of 5 stars)
March 2, 2016

I've been working on the perfect homemade pizza for a long time, this is hands down the biggest game changer in homemade pizza that I've ever used. Absolutely outstanding results with store bought as well as homemade dough. You'll never get a classic Neapolitan pie in a home oven, there simply is not enough heat. This steel makes an incredible New York style thin crust that I've been aiming for for years!
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Use proper lifting technique! ;)
by Jack R. Raine (5 out of 5 stars)
March 22, 2019

This thing is as awesome as it is heavy! Seems to retain/regain energy much better than a stone - I cooked a calzone and two pizzas sequentially with only enough time between to prep and top the dough...that third crust still had excellent crunch and blistering!

Seriously though, this thing is heavy AF! I legit almost threw my back out lifting it off the porch when it was delivered because I was not prepared. Those finger hooks COULD be used to hang it on the wall, but the hanging fixtures need to be industrial. The description says "(Warning: It's heavy!) " and lists it as "23lbs" but.....I think that might be conservative haha. Or maybe I just need to hit the gym.

Anyway, this thing is awesome and if you like cooking pizzas, or bread (haven't tried it yet) probably worth it!
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It REALLY works
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
April 22, 2019

This purchase was the result of considerable research as well as experience with a small number of pizza stones in the past. Pizza stones are porous and permeable and, as a result, once cheese, tomato or whatever is spilled on them, there is potential for unpleasant burning smells at each subsequent use - especially at the high temperatures stones and steels are used at. Then there is the risk of breakage. My short experience with the Nerd Chef standard 1/4" thick steel has been game-changing. I've used it six times now and have had the best pizzas I've ever cooked at home. I can't comment on the ease of cleaning as I haven't tried that yet. My only suggested improvement would be to mill "Nerd Chef, Made in the USA" on both sides so that you can use on and show off the other one when the steel rests up against the wall like a chopping board.

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