When you’re putting together an entire pie from scratch or reheating a frozen one, you want to make sure you have the right tools. Luckily, there are plenty of cooking options to choose from when your next pizza craving hits.
The two options home pizzaiolos tend to gravitate towards are pizza stones and Pizza Steels. Here, we break down the similarities and differences between the two, as well as which one we recommend.
What Is a Pizza Stone?
A pizza stone is a popular way to cook homemade pizza at home, or to reheat frozen pizza in the oven. Using a pizza stone allows you to get a pizza round and flat while cooking, unlike a sheet pan or cookie sheet that has a distinct rim around the edges and does not come in a round shape.
Pizza stones are made of large, flat pieces of unglazed, heat-proof clay that can handle temperatures up to 500F. For cooking pizza, you want to get your oven as hot as possible–and a pizza stone helps ensure the heat reaches your pizza’s crust.
Pizza stones absorb both heat and flavors, so it’s recommended to keep them in the oven as you preheat—that way, the heat is transferred from above and below in the oven. Pizza stones can cook a whole pizza in under 30 minutes.
What Is a Pizza Steel?
A Pizza Steel is a thin, steel plate used specifically for cooking pizzas. These are made from materials like Carbon Steel, which is non-stick and highly heat conductive, and often feature perforated bottoms to cook pizza quickly and add a crunchy texture.
A Pizza Steel cooks pizza quite fast at a high heat—our Pizza Steel can handle up to 1200F. This is our preferred method to cook pizza, as you can go from raw pizza dough and uncooked ingredients to a fully-cooked pie in less than 30 minutes.
One similarity that Pizza Steels and stones share is their shape and either a lack of or very shallow rim around the edge of the pan. This allows you to quickly and seamlessly slide raw dough onto the Pizza Steel and remove it just as easily, thanks to its non stick properties.
Which One Is Better?
Like choosing any other type of Cookware, the debate between whether a pizza stone or Pizza Steel is it depends. Our preference is a Pizza Steel—whether for thick or thin crust, it helps produce pizzeria-level perfect pies at home every time. Pizza stones may work well for larger pies, but we prefer our pizzas slightly smaller and cooked on a Pizza Steel.
Getting pizza done right is all about the choices you make. From sauce to cheese to cooking vessel, the right choices can make or break your pie. To get started with a foolproof recipe, try out this Margherita Pizza recipe.
