January 8, 2017 - 9:23pm
Steele or stone?
Has anyone had enough use to notice a difference in results between baking with a baking stone and a baking steele? I've read that steeles hold heat more effectively and evenly, and give better results with crust texture. Is it worth a $150 investment, albeit a permanent, unbreakable one? Thoughts?
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I haven't done any testing, but hopefully you will find a steel for far less than that. This describes what you are looking for https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=31267.msg311010#msg311010 Note that this is for pizza, so the width and thickness are more important than for bread. For bread, you can probably get by with 1/4 thick, and sized for baguettes or boules, or whatever you normally make. BTW, I have both steel and stones, and while I have not done any testing side by side, it is true that the stone is much less likely to get damaged, but it is far heavier at a similar thickness.
If you are making boules, you may be happier with a combo cooker, it is nearly indestructible, and allows you to trap steam for the first part of the bake.
I have two slabs of counter-top granite in my electric oven. They're about an inch and a quarter thick and weigh a ton, but I can still take them in and out of the oven myself without too much problem. I pre-heat the oven for about 45 minutes (to 475F), and the stones hold the heat for hours and hours after the oven goes off. If I bake three batches in the morning, finishing by 11:00 AM, the stones will be too hot to remove without oven gloves that evening, and will still be warm to the touch the next morning. Crust is good.
I can't remember what I paid for them but I think it was under $30 CDN for both. I got them from a guy who re-sells offcuts from granite counter installers. He even cut it to size for me.
I just ordered a 3/8" steel that was priced pretty well with reasonable shipping. They have 1/2" as well. They also have lower prices for "blemished" and that's what I went with. I won't receive it for a few days but the description looks good and the price (and the shipping costs) were less than half what most places charge for similar.
http://fallsculinary.com/
They both work well. I have 1/4 inch steel (any thicker and it would be too heavy to move around). I use it for both bread and pizza and it's worked as promised. I believe I paid $80 two years ago.