Pizza Stone Bricks VS Steel (15% Cooking difference) 

After working in pizza places that had gas 4 steel shelve revolving ovens and ones that had the standard gas pizza ovens with stone, the steel recouped heat much quicker and was able to make comparable pies one after each other. The stone ovens couldn't as the stones couldn't recoup the heat. Almost 10 years as the leading pie maker in NY.

I was watching another video and the chef suggested that if you already have a pizza stone and want to switch to a steel, you can, even better, put the steel on top of your stone. The stone is like a battery back up to the steel.

1) "let's leave the steel pizza a bit longer in the oven, so the crust is nicer" 2) "The steel pizza bottom is more cooked than the stone one" Scientific test Italian style --- :-)

For those of us who are trying to perfect our pizza, nobody shows us the way like Vito. So thankful for these valuable lessons in the beautiful art of pizza-making

Steel has a higher thermal conductivity than stone. So no surprises there. In a wood burning oven steel would probably become too hot, and burn the underside. For a domestic oven however, steel is great.

These videos make my whole day better.

"Cannot eat two pizzas by myself"... You don't even need to hold my beer.

The bigger difference would be the second or third pizza you make on the same sone/steel. The steel will make them all the same whereas the ones from the stone would be less and less crispy as you continue to make pizzas. This is because the heat in the steel is replenished much quicker due to higher conductivity.

i found this as soon as i bought a pizza stone!!!! I cooked one in a skillet one on the stone the base was so much crunchier, now I'm going to make a pizza steel that fits perfect. thank you for putting your time and effort into these videos Vito much appreciated!!!! my pizzas are getting better every time.

I went from stone, to cast iron to steel. Each improved the cooking finish better. The steel cut the time down from 10 on stone to 8 on cast iron to 5 minutes on steel with a better bottom finish with the steel. Steel for regular oven is the best outcome

I have a steel plate in my (home) gas oven. its a game changer for baking pretty much anything. I couldn't see myself ever going without it.

Glad I found this. My pizza stone cracked on the grill yesterday. I think I’ll try switching to steel.

I'm fortunate to have made a wood fired pizza oven and love it. I learnt over the years that for the pizza base to get the crunch it deserves , the temp on the pizza stones needed to be around 350C (660F)...which seems crazy hot, so I guess that is why fire based ovens work so well..and why the steel would be better for consumer ovens. It's not really about the stone vs steel as much as it;s about the fact the normal ovens can't get the heat like the real thing.

You're a beast with the peels baby yea!!

I'm so glad that I find this video this morning because I am about to order the pizza stone from Amazon. Thanks Vito. Be safe and healthy. Looking forward to see more videos from you.

Vito, I adore your videos. If you don’t do it already you should host pizza sampling events demonstrating the difference between different doughs etc.

Thank you so much for your videos! Your lessons made me love neapolitan pizza and I bought a little pizza oven to make a good pizza - love it!

Great comparison, Vito. Thank you!!!

I'm learning so much from your channel! My husband loves pizza and I'm enjoying trying to improve the art of making pizza. I've tried the poolish method and will soon try the biga method so I can compare which is better. I've purchased the stone bricks as you recommended. Question: how do I clean them, and is there anything I need to do before I start making pizza on them. Thanking you in advance for your response.

Love all your videos, homie. Thank you!!!

Yes, just subscribed! Love cooking and love pizza!

Interesting and entertaining. Thank you.

Thanks Vito, you are the best.

4:44 a little bit of the mozzarella... A little bit of olive oil on the chees... on the mozzarell... on the pizza

I love your channel :) Thank you for so many tips ;)

Thank you for testing the steel vs stone. I have used both and also found the steel cooked the pizza better.

I'm going to cook the pizza tomorrow, and I didn't have a stone. I found two in my backyard and they look like the ones you have. Thank you for showing us this tip.

I just cut me a 14'' round by 1/4 '' thick steel plate. I still need to season it but can't wait to try it. This video came along at the right time for me. Thanks' Vito.

We bought the BakingSteel in 3/8" and it has changed the game for home cooked pizzas. We are going to try it on our cowboy grill this weekend. Best purchase

Thanks again Vito, for great tutorials your an inspiration buddy.

This guy has such passion i love it

Bravo Vito! Once again, solving my pizza related conundrums... Steel vs Stone. My stone cracked recently but now I know what to replace it with. Steel is Real!

my grandpa was a tiger-ace in italy during WW2, after the tiger was hit by an aircraft, it blew out the entry hatch where the crew entered and exit the tank. He took it with him and since then our family is making pizza on this german tiger steel. Bellissimo

Thanks Vito !!👍

Maestro! Thank you for your videos! I have learned more about making pizzas from two of your videos then I have ever even known was possible! Please, could you list the equipment you use at your restaurant, and your home kitchen? What type of dough machine do you use? What types of ovens do you use? Wonderful videos!

Thx for not being afraid to share your knowledge about pizza, you're the best! Greetings from germany.

He handles the pizzas like an artist making a masterpiece! ** Arrivederci to my pizza stone! Hello to a new steel !

Another very important thing the steel has over the stone is how quickly it pre-heats. I've used both and the stone usually takes about an hour to get to a working temperature whereas the steel takes at most 45 minutes.

Very helpful experiment, I was wondering about this myself recently. Will have to mess around with a metal sheet

Yes very good test,I have a metal one and it’s good. Thanks for video sir

Well done Vito on showing the difference in cooking surfaces.. Bon Appetite 👍🤓🍷🍷

Great test!

I love your passion for pizza.

Surprising outcome! Thought stone would turn out better. Thanks for this experiment 🙏

A very useful video, many thanks.

PIZZA STEEL OR STONE?

Omg it's so helpful to me

grande Vito! grazie per questi fantastici video!

The stone pizza was taken out sooner than the steel one.. Thats why the difference.

I have a Gorenje oven. I turn on the top grill to the maximum (275 C) and convection. An hour later, the stone has a temperature of 320-340 ° C. I put the stone on the second shelf from above. I can send a photo)

Dude you have drunk too much coffee, so much energy😂, love it

My Pizza Steel is amazing! it made a huge difference in my quality of pizza making.

Hi Vito! Awesome content. When i cook pizza on a stone in a normal oven, should i place the stone on the bottom og at the top? Have seen you do both

Hello Vito. I have a Ooni Koda 16 Gas Oven. Do you recommend using the Pizza Steel in that rather than the Pizza Stone? I've learned a lot from you thru the years. Big ups!

@vito iacopelli: Thank you so much for posting these on youtube. You have inspired me and helped me to be a better pizza maker (for my own benefit). I am German and live in the United States and for about 6 years now, I've made my own bread and feel I've gotten quite good at the craft. I love traditional Margherita Pizza and through your videos am learning every day and really enjoying the craft of making good pizza. So, thank you so much for showing your craft and expertise to the world. Something I found... using a pizza pan with the holes works much better if some semolina flour is spread on it before the pizza is put on the pan. It seems to really help the crispiness even more. Made my best pizza a couple of days ago. So proud. :)

If anyone is interested in a pizza steel I made mine buying steel plates at a local shop for 30$ and a bit of work (sanding and seasoning). For this price I got 2 8*16*3/8" giving me 16*16*3/8" (40*40*1cm) So much cheaper than most options online and you can get the size and thickness you want! I found a guide about homemade pizza steel on a forum called pizza making, and I really recommend it, I'm happy with my pizza steel plates!

I love your vids best pizza maker ever

one other thing to mention, im unsure if it was because of improper use but my father went through like 4 pizza stones, they kept cracking. the durability of pizza steels is better for domestic ovens

Hi thanks for everything. Karl from Malta

that is science here...thanks again!

Leaves the one on the steels longer and says "we do them the same time" but steel is better for the bottom xd

Good tips for cooking in home oven.

I never expected Borat to teach me how to cook pizza! Great success!!

Thanks for this test. I hoped for clear challenge results but it doesn't seem to matter.

You have to take into account that IR thermometers don't measure well the temperature of shiny surfaces such as metals. You need use different settings for the emissivity.

hi vito, how are you? what do you recommend if doing this on a charcoal bbq, wsm 22" to be exact?

What temp & fan setting do you use on that oven? How long did you pre-bake that crust? Just curious for a starting point as I have the same oven.

I have a pizza steel and I use it for all my baking, I get perfect bread and no more soggy bottom pies for me :) A kitchen essential.

Vito you are amazing . We love you

In the end it boils down to heat conductivity and and heat capacity. While both depend on on the type of material, the latter also depends on the mass

Nice ! Thank za porównanie !!! Lubię chrupiąca i wlasnie zamówiłem blachę 😀 teraz wiem że to dobry wybór 🤩🙂

I'd like to suggest that all these great pizzas you make for these videos could be donated to the homeless. It's a great feeling. Love your videos. Thanks for the help.

I have recently subscribed to your channel and am enjoying it a ton. For folks seeing you for the first time, let me say this guy knows his pizza. POOLISH!!! If you don't know what it is--listen to Vito. Also--great tip I have not heard from ANY other pizza vid--precook your pizza a little before adding toppings. That gives the very best result. Point 3--pizza steel is the way to go. I had a stone. Now have a steel. Much prefer the steel, especially with an in-home electric oven. A real pizza oven gets 6-700 degrees or more. My electric tops out at 525. The steel gives that little extra heat transfer that gives an excellent crust. Thanks Vito

Thank you ,vito I have just realized the most important thing in pizza preparation is a wood oven

Cocina Perfecta

First of all, after 2 hours in a oven 2 objects will have the same temperature no matter their material. What changes is the speed at which they get there and the speed with which they lose heat. Stones have a lower thermal conduction, so they will heat and cool slowly, whilst steel has a high thermal conduction hence it will heat and cool way faster (as you noticed). For the same reason steel will also transfer heat to the pizza faster than the stone, so theoretically it should cook faster on the steel, but the stone is a porous material, therefore it draws and absorb moisture from the dough. The 2 things kinda balance each other out, so there really is not that much difference. The advantage with the stone is that you can open and close the oven door many times without affecting its temperature, while the steel slab will cool and drop a few degrees (not that it really makes a difference for the average Joe). By the way you cannot use an infrared themometer to measure the temperature of different materials, because of the physical principal it uses to calculate the temperature. You must use a contact thermometer, or just not use it at all because in this case it is in fact useless (again: after 2 hours they have the same temperature).

Vito, where can I find the pizza dough recipe? In the video you said i can find the link in the video description, but there is no link for it. I am interested for exactly this dough recipe, not any other (you have a lot pizza dough recipes in your videos).

You are awesome man. You made me, for the first time in my life to make pizza dough and make pizzas. I want to open my pizza restaurant hahahahaha. love it. Regarding the home oven, do you use it with the ventilator on or off? Thank you

technique, science, you got it all bud. Sub

Steel is hands down better than stone. Aside from the South dead it is virtually indestructible it retains heat just so much better. I've been using a quarter-inch thick baking Steel since 2013 and I've never gone back since.

Metal will always win at home, at lower temperatures around 250-350°C. Another important aspect is that you use much less energy to preheat, you basically only need to preheat the oven, not the oven + stone (20-25 mins vs 40-45). A regular metal grease-catcher that is included with every oven is perfect. Turning it upside down helps with sliding the pizza, and using a baking paper makes it even more managable and therefore the pizza requires less flour to move around (you slide the paper not the pizza).

thanks for the video boss. i never realized that i had to precook the pizza before i put the cheese and other stuff. My siemens oven has a pizza setting to 300C...don't know if it reaches that temperature though?

So, thoughts on how to get that smooth a sauce at home, without needing a hand blender or a food mill?

My biggest question is did you temp the stone and steel after the cooking to see the temps of each? My stone drops a good 25% after a cook and needs a lot of recovery time.

Thanke you so much bro

You mentioned pre cook , how long did it go into oven before adding your ingredients and what temperature was the oven set t pls?

thx!

Hi maestro, is there a specific type of steel for the steel plate? Also how thick should the steel be?

After making about 50 plus pizzas at home from scratch and using thin stones, thick stones, steel plates, aluminium plates, and steel plates with holes, at 500 f, my best results are with a 16 inch holy plate. Love your videos Vito

Complimenti un applauso 🤘

Dear Vito since two years i make my pizza on a copperplate .....i know copper is very expensiv.....but .the results are incredible and unbeliveble good copper never lose his fiancial worth as a solid material ...try it and you will be satisfied the heat is running into the dough...the copperplate what i use is 400x400x 15 mm thick the taste is also different....incredible good...and you need only 50 min to heat up the plate on 253 celisius best regards from a german scientist

I like your "compare" videos 👍🏻, keep going, 👏🏻 best wishes from Istanbul 🇹🇷 !

I would have liked to see the crust at the end How long did you precook the pizza for? My oven reaches around 230°C so I'm assuming my pizza stone should reach similar temperatures as this one Should I always let the pizza stone preheat for at least 2 hours? I left it for one hour today and I was wondering if that's the reason why it didn't come out soft and crunchy

Before my Ooni Karu arrived I used a pizza stone in the oven, turned to the highest setting on the top shelf for about 30 minutes, 5 minutes before putting the pizza in, I would turn the oven off and turn the grille on its highest setting, guarantee a great pizza,a game changer if all you have is a conventional oven.

Great channel!

I agree and if I recall correctly the steel doesn’t get as hot as the stone or brick but he conducts heat better to the pizza.

THANK U

I thought a lot about buying pizza stone or pizza iron. But I like pizza iron more and more. Thanks for the video

I'm a fan of cast iron for home pizza. Love to watch your dough technique. Been making homemade dough and pizza for years but my dough shaping is weak. I will practice your way.

I use both. In my Las Vegas home oven, I use a cast iron, and in my home in California I use pizza stones. I use cast iron skillets for my Chicago Style Deep Dish pizzas as well. Great videos.