Steel plates

[CDNpielover]

I have come across several posts recently discussing the use of steel plates as baking surfaces, but I have to say that I'm a bit confused as to why people are using these.  Can anyone point me towards some reading on this subject?  It just seems to me that the thermal properties of steel (conductivity and emissivity) would not be conducive to pizza making, and the steel is not porous so it trap in moisture, etc.  What is the deal with this recent trend?  Thanks!   

[buceriasdon]

CDN, Here's some reading for you as requested.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=12887.0

Don

[Jet_deck]

.... the steel is not porous so it trap in moisture, etc.... 

I think that the porosity of the cooking surface is a misnomer. Water boils at 212F.  A surface temperature of 500 - 650F regardless of porosity can't soak up to much moisture, the water will be boiled off immediately.  Just my .02

[scott123]

I think that the porosity of the cooking surface is a misnomer. Water boils at 212F.  A surface temperature of 500 - 650F regardless of porosity can't soak up to much moisture, the water will be boiled off immediately.  Just my .02

Not to mention that the ceramic materials used for pizza oven hearths aren't really that porous, so even if the water didn't boil quickly, it wouldn't have anywhere to go but up.

[CDNpielover]

I don't know about ceramic ovens, but for stones maybe the pores contain hot dry air that would cause a vapor pressure deficit that would draw water out of the dough.    This air would not exist in a steel plate, though.

[CDNpielover]

CDN, Here's some reading for you as requested.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=12887.0

Don

Thanks!   

[buceriasdon]

For those that swear by cast iron, according to thermal conductivity charts such as   http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm
one can easily see the difference between carbon steel and cast iron. Silver comes out on top with copper close behind, hence my experiments with copper baking sheets. I need to find a metal shop here that can shear some .070 copper sheet I have and then laminate the layers together somehow. A single piece of .070 copper is no match, or should it be, for 1/2" carbon steel, it loses too much heat when the dough hits the surface.
Don

[scott123]

I don't know about ceramic ovens, but for stones maybe the pores contain hot dry air that would cause a vapor pressure deficit that would draw water out of the dough.    This air would not exist in a steel plate, though.

CDNpielover, I'm not talking about ceramic ovens, I'm talking about ceramic baking stones- pampered chef, old stone, williams sonoma, bed bath and beyond, along with almost every stone in commercial deck ovens. None of them are that absorptive/porous, so porosity is not a player. The only exception would be the incredibly cheap cast stones that you find at Walmart or the Fibrament stones. Those are porous- but it's their porosity that makes them incredibly weak- both thermally and physically. Where you have porosity, you have absorbed water.  Water + heat = steam expansion = potential for cracking.