Why Pizza Steels Beat Pizza Stones (Yes, They Do) 

Q: What pizza recipe are you using? A: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lzAk5wAImFQ.html Q: So is a steel really worth 2x the price? A: I suppose it depends on your value system. I'm pretty obsessive about improving my pizza, so it's worth it to me. But, I do want to point out that Baking Steel is hardly your only option for sourcing a big-ass sheet of steel, which is really all that is. Also, while the performance difference was rather subtle in my tests, I really do think my steel will get better with use, as its cure develops. Will report back to you. Q: Is that white pizza recipe coming soon? A: Thursday, count on it. Just edited it. Q: Why did this video post late? A: Administrative snafu, apologies! Please share it with your friends; gotta make up some ground!

“I know for a fact that a lot of you watch these recipes but never very much cook at home” I have been murdered

Ok, Adam, I planted a tomato garden, seasoned my cutting board before my steak, and harvested garlic the correct way. Can I please go home now?

He's slowly turning into cooking vsauce

6:00 Adam : "To be clear..." Camera: *shifting in and out of focus*

Biggest take away from this video is that there are playgrounds with built in hot wheels tracks. I've never been more jealous in my life.

Say what you want about Adam, but he damn well does his research

Adam, you failed to mention one of the advantages of a steel vs stone. That being that a steel doesn't break. I've had stones in the past, and they've all broken eventually. A steel is going to be next.

I thought pizza paper beats pizza stone. But pizza scissors loses against pizza stone for sure.

"He deals with important things like renewable energy. We're gonna ask him about pizza, because priorities" Lol

3:47 Wait, you think that... That we're friends? I've never been so happy before.

I worked at a pizza restaurant once and the owner told me I was cleaning his pizza stones too much. I kindly reminded him, he only had steel plates in his oven and he said "yes my pizza stones." I never tried to correct him again.

Dude literally answers in the first 30 seconds, that's a good youtuber.

I actually season my stone before pizza so i can get the maximum flavour

Your videos very much remind me of Alton Brown's Good Eats. It's like the modern, social media version of it.

Notice however that this is particular to home cooking without a wood oven: 550F (290C) is very low temperature to cook pizza in Italy. As the total energy transmitted is proportional to both thermal conductivity and temperature, it is clear that higher thermal conductivity is a desired characteristic since the temperature is not so high at home. When you cook pizza in a wooden oven (800+F, 400+C), you get the same leoparding with a stone and you would just burn the bottom to a crisp with a steel plate.

Major hack for those of you with a propane grill. Put your steel in the grill and crank it full blast and get the steel surface to 600-650f. If you don't have one of those $20 infrared thermometers get one. Prep your pie and turn on the broiler of your inside oven. Once you slide the pie on the steel close the grill lid and give it about 2 mins before checking the undercarriage. You may want to rotate if the bake looks uneven. You'll get serious leoparding at these temps so keep an eye on it. Once the bottom is exactly where you want it you simply transfer it onto a baking sheet/tray and pop it under your oven broiler to finish the top. Hack #2: for those who don't want to deal with pizza peels and bad launches... prep your pie on parchment paper for an easy slide onto the steel. You can pull the paper out from under the pie after a minute or so. It WILL burn eventually if you don't remove it. This grill/oven method solves the issue of the home oven only going up to 500-550 degrees and delivering a "meh" crust. Trust me.. the extra 100-150 degrees matters. Also, if you're into sous vide cooking and have one of those finishing torches you could also use that finish the top right on the grill. Ciao'!!

"Sauce, cheese, dough" "When you walk into a pizzeria, the smell should punch you in the face" "A city's got flavor, you should taste that in their pizza"

I really admire how thorough and candidly informative these videos are. Up until pretty recently, it seems like most chefs and culinary enthusiasts took food too seriously, or competitively, and that there was always this semi-pervasive idea that great food has to be glamorous or laborious, and that it must always be made by someone with years of experience. I've come to see Adam's videos as basically exemplifying a sensible reaction to that: casual, no-bullshit, and all-inclusive. Great work, Adam!

Wow, that initial blurb about heat transfer was really useful, and answered an age old question as to how things that are in the same environment, and hence at the same temparature, feel different. Thank you very much.

I just fry my dough in a cast iron skillet (comes out perfect every time), I don't want to turn my oven on for an hour with nothing in it.

_Why I flour my bones NOT my hands (yes, it works)_

My new spirit animal is Adam Raguesea - I had my first tomato in 20-years thanks to you!

I actually really appreciate the 20 second summary at the start, it makes me actually want to watch the videos and is handy for people who are right in the middle of figuring out what they're doing!

I watch your recipes and I do cook and lemme tell you, your channel is high quality 👌🏻 not only for your recipes, but videos like these where full research is made. You offer me a different point of view and I like it.

Adam and binging with banish should do a crossover with each other

you ever watch a video on something u know you’ll never use in life but it still entices you

I'm learning so much stuf watching your videos, such a good way to spend free time. So glad i found this chanel!

Fantastic, really helpful review. Thank you! And I love your review style- quick, thorough, and to the point. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for always adding a bit of food science to your cooking videos, not only is your candid and honest style refreshing. But your interest in the science together with your connections at the university make these truly educational and entertaining without compromising the integrity of the video.

This man is so determined when it's about cooking. Accurate, captivating. Damn, marry me! Good video.

I'm glad you finally did a full in-depth comparison of steel vs stone. I've obssessed with steel for a year now and it's really improved my baking. I'm ready to upgrade to a thicker 1/2 inch already.

I completely agree with you. I switched to steel a few years ago and have had the same experience. I went with thinner steel for only $30 and it gets the job done!

"Tested the stone on saturday and the steel on sunday" Did you sample from the same batch of dough for making these pizzas? In my experience with your recipe, that extra 24 hours of proofing makes a noticeable difference in the flavor and texture of the dough

Never would I have imagined I'd hear about phononic and electronic heat conduction in a cooking channel! Reminds me of quantum mechanics and solid-state physics courses I took in grad school. But then of course, it's not just any ordinary channel! Adam combines the love for food and cooking with the science (and technique) behind it. Two of my favorite things in this world!

I've worked in a pizzeria where they used a circular metallic grate to bake the pizza in. They liked how it heats up and cools very quickly when its busy. And it's easier to move the pizzas around when baking many at a time.

Wow, Adam, this was a great video. You are correct about the steel needing more time to heat up than the stone due to its increased mass. The heat transferred in each material is dependent on its mass, specific heat and temperature difference (Q=mc(delta T)). Using the form of this equation with respect to time, you can do some algebraic rearranging to loosely show that the ratio of m_steel to m_stone is directly proportional to the time it takes for the steel to reach the same temperature difference as the stone. (Source: I am a mechanical engineer who is particularly passionate about heat transfer) I love your scientific inquisitiveness that you bring to cooking, and you really went the extra mile in this video by interviewing Dr. Yee. It really makes you a unique chef (and RU-vidr in general) and super interesting to watch. Keep it up!

Didn’t even season the stones with white wine 7/10

Hey Adam, thank you for that comparison. Now what I wonder is, how do you think a well pre-heated cast-iron pan would fare as a "pizza-iron"? compared to the pizza steel? What about a cast iron plate (instead of steel), that would be considerably cheaper to produce.

I love that you give the conclusion right off the bat. No clickbait or hiding the answer. Confident enough to trust people will stay for the details.

SoundCloud rappers: I got fast rental cars and expensive jewelry Adam: *my pizza got leopard spots*

"I know for a fact that a lot of you watch these recipes but never really cook very much at home" *Looks nervously at cereal bowl*

The science of this video is incredible. You did an amazing job explaining how heat transfer of materials works.

I like how you explained the conclusion in the beginning, that's what I wanted to know.

Next video: “Why I season my pizza steel instead of my pizza”

Adam does an exceptional job on practical and data driven testing, not only are we getting amazing recipes, but we get a top tier academic lesson in the process. Amazing work Adam, please continue making incredible content!!!!

This was just a remarkably good video--informative, authoritative, concise, well-edited, etc. Great job.

Thanks Adam! I’m an Atlanta local, and the algorithm led me to this video when I was researching pizza steels. This is great content. Looking forward to making some tasty snacks for my friends!

Babish collab please. You two are the exact opposites of each other. Even in facial hair!

Half way through the video, my immediate thoughts were, that steel would not perform as good on multiply pizzas. And then you addressed it and proved my silly mind wrong. God damn you Adam

Bravo! That was a fun presentation. Thanks for sharing!

As a physicist I absolutely LOVE your scientific videos. You absolutely nailed the phonon explaination!

Steel beats stone, but scissors lose to rock??!?!1? HhhhHhmm

why i flavor my pizza steel, NOT my pizza

Wow, you just told me the summary right at the start! Thank you

1:08 That’s sick! Why didn’t playgrounds have that when I was a kid? I had a bunch of hot wheels when I was little

This comment section is basically: 1. No white wine?!?!? 2. I season my ____ and not my ____

adam could make a video about why dirt is better than sand and i’d still watch all of it.

You can significantly cut on the preheating time by torching the steel plate or leaving it on the flame of a gas stove like a griddle plate. DO NOT do it with a stone plate because it can/will crack.

I love how they make it sound so complicated yet its really simple

Adam if u want more browning you can a put steel plate or pizza stone below the pizza and another above the pizza

When you said " ROASTING our little thighs!! " i instanlt remebered the burns and felt your pain

SO, did anyone else notice that the pizza stone was still in the oven when he tested the pizza steel? I wonder if this made a difference in the cooking of the pizza. It would change the air currents in the oven as the heat would have to go up the sides and then drop down below the steel as it cooled. Just curious.

ive been binging Adam's videos and finally gotten to watch this one. only in this one has he called me out for never cooking, and yet, just today i had the opportunity to try out his thin omellette thing recipe. i know its just a simple omellette, but what are the odds me finding out his call out on the same day...

Damn, here in the 0 comments club for once. Does this apply to cast-iron pans as well? That's my preferred method for making pizzas, as I don't have the space or desire for a dedicated pizza steel.

My man called me out for not cooking then said he was my friend. Well played mr white wine

Oh man, Adam. I feel ya on those steel slides. I remember the ones at the Parks At Cheehaw back in Albany. Damn, did they burn, but they were fun to go down regardless!

I've only had experience with a proper pizza oven albeit electric (high amp). Can go to temps past 900F. Oven had a stone base so I couldn't choose. I loved how my pizza comes out every time. Impressed how an electric appliance (commercial equipment) performed. No concerns on fire. Between using steel and stone for home, I've always had better experience with the stone but now that you mention a thicker steel (mine also had holes throughout) perhaps the inexpensive pizza steels on Amazon wasn't cutting it.

A moment of silence for anyone who bought a pizza stone after seeing Adams New York Pizza video

I learnt more about heat energy in this video than I did in 3 years in middle school.

"Why I put pizza toppings on my pizza steel, not my pizza."

Got my steel Wednesday (dough joe), made your NY recipe version 2.0 with OO today (Friday) and will bake Sunday. Looking forward to it.

Next vid: Why my parents seasoned me as a fetus instead of the food they fed me

They only beat pizza stones if you have white wine in the dough.

Bought my steel off eBay cut to size from a standard steel supplier. Cost me £20 and it's really heavy too, a quarter of the cost of 'specialised' pizza steel suppliers for the same thickness and weight. Works great for both pizza and sourdough bread.

I have a round, metal pizza pan with little round holes in it. I’ve never had or wanted any other type of pizza pan because it makes a perfectly crispy crust every time.

“Greater than the sum of its parts.” I know we haven’t been together for very long Adam, but I LOVE you.

We need a crossover between you and Alex from French Guy Cooking! Amazing video!

Great experiment Please continue for other materials also And let us show which is best in terms of taste and nutrition retention

Since you have a stone and a steel, have you thought of using BOTH at the same time. Would it make it better? I’m thinking what if you put the stone on a rack above the steel so you are cooking the pizza on the steele, but the stone is above it radiating heat on the top of the pizza.

In my own experience, I've always kept the pizza stone on the bottom-most rack position in the oven. This places it closer to the bottom heating element in the oven, so it reaches full preheat temperature much more quickly, and gets its thermal energy "recharged" faster as it passes heat on to the dough. To be honest, I just set the oven to 550, and once it reaches the temperature, I toss the pizza on -- I don't wait any longer than the time it takes to actually REACH 550. Despite this, I've always gotten the nice blackish leopard spots on my doughs! Granted, I cook the pizza for 10-12 minutes, which some might consider long. However, since the pizza is much farther from the TOP heating element, the cheese and toppings don't overcook/burn, despite that longer cook time. To rephrase, by placing the pizza stone lower in the oven, you shift the balance of heat from the top of the pizza to the bottom. This allows you to cook it for longer, achieving a darker crust, WITHOUT overcooking the top side.

Bit late but if you're still reading comments on this one; do you fancy doing a whole batch of pizzas? I'd be interested to see wether the stone outperforms if you were cooking, say, 4 or more pizzas in a row. I wonder if it would stay hotter better over multiple bakes.

Yeah, having personally experienced the metal slide on a summer day, there's a good reason why most places have switched to plastic. Even worse, my local neighborhood park had a slide that was a fully-enclosed metal tube. I swear, if there was a serious heat-wave going on, you could bake cookies in that thing.

I had a stone crack in two on my grill, the 2nd one soaked up so much grease I couldnt stand using it anymore. I bought a cast iron plate and its been the best of everything

Can you tell me why a basic slab of steel costs $80? When steel costs around $0.40/lb?

5:02 it looks like the stone was on the shelf below when you were testing the steel? That would certainly affect the results.

I have a large 14" cast iron griddle pan that I use. It's does a FANTASTIC job with pizza in the home oven.

I use a shallow cast iron pan that I got from my mother-in-law. Works great. Heats up quick and I get a bonus seasoning from heating it up for pizza.

Even though the steel is 50% heavier, it also has less heat capacity (around 500 joules per kelvin per kilogram) compared to the ceramic (around 800) so they probably have around the same thermal mass, meaning the only factor is conduction. A 14 pound (approx. 7 kg) steel would have a thermal mass of 3.5 kJ per kelvin, and a powerful home oven outputting 2500 W will need at the theoretical minimum around five minutes to heat the steel 250 K up from room temperature. This means the heating inefficiency has to no more than 1 to 6, or cooking temperature will not be achieved. Adding in the thermal mass of the oven itself, and the cooling loss to the surroundings which scale exponentially with temperature, and it becomes clear that 30 minutes of preheating is far too little.

I don't care.. If you give it to me, i will eat both of them...hehe XD

I also use a steel and it gets at max. temperature in only about 10 minutes when I use the top grill (elements) in my oven, conventional oven heating will take about an hour just as with your oven.

I have a 40 yr old stone was wondering about the steel. What i do to encourage the leopard spots is slide the thin crust pizza off the stone after it stiffens up and bakes a little right over the element. on the bottom rack that gives SUPER crispy REAL deal pizza flavor .I also use a wet dough with lots of air pockets. ITS fun to play with different ways.

Shpuld we question why Adam can interview researchers yet he doesnt a million plus subs? Quality content from a small(ish) youtuber

Everyone: Agrees on something Adam: *WELL ACTUALLY*

Very informative! Thank you.

Good review thank you sir

me: aw man i don't have any friends. Adam : we're friends me: :3

Why would you run an oven for an hour to preheat a steel? Put it on your stove eye to dump a ton of heat into the steel quickly, then into a hot oven.

I just got a pizza stone 2 days ago on Christmas and I've made 4 pizzas (proper Napoli) and I'm extremely happy with the results. I'm getting dough bubbles, perfectly cooked top... But the bottom is still not as browned as I would like. My pizza is better than any restaurant can do already, but, I want it more perfect than perfect. I did a 30 minute preheat at 550° Fahrenheit. Tonight, I will try a 60 minute preheat and leave my pizza in for 12 minutes instead of 8. I'd love to try steel as well. ANYTHING for perfect pizza.

Two questions...How bout heating up the steel on the stove first with direct fire to save heating time? And what do you think about the cast iron pan 16" diameter which will actually save you some money like $80 vs $45 ?