Steel and Stone in Same Oven

[aawhite]

I’d like to get opinions/pros/cons on using a baking steel AND a pizza stone for NY style..

My initial idea is to launch on the Stone (sitting bottom of oven) cook for 2-3mins, and then finish on the Steel (5” below hot broiler) for final 2-3min..

A little Backstory:
This is all due to my new oven only going to 500, making bakes take 8-10mins, giving a bready texture and never really producing a good underside... My old oven did great at 550, giving me 7-8min bakes with beautiful underside char. I have always used 2 stones on different racks in order to keep the pizza on hot surfaces.

So now I am left trying to reduce the cooking time and I think Steel is the answer. By replacing my top stone with steel, I believe that I will be able to hit the underside hard for the 2nd half of the bake.

But am I being stubborn about the stone? Should I just fully move to steel and say goodbye to my beloved Kiln Shelf!?

[parallei]

I’d like to get opinions/pros/cons on using a baking steel AND a pizza stone for NY style..

My initial idea is to launch on the Stone (sitting bottom of oven) cook for 2-3mins, and then finish on the Steel (5” below hot broiler) for final 2-3min..

A little Backstory:
This is all due to my new oven only going to 500, making bakes take 8-10mins, giving a bready texture and never really producing a good underside... My old oven did great at 550, giving me 7-8min bakes with beautiful underside char. I have always used 2 stones on different racks in order to keep the pizza on hot surfaces.

So now I am left trying to reduce the cooking time and I think Steel is the answer. By replacing my top stone with steel, I believe that I will be able to hit the underside hard for the 2nd half of the bake.

But am I being stubborn about the stone? Should I just fully move to steel and say goodbye to my beloved Kiln Shelf!?

When I do pies in my home oven I often use a steel and stone.  However, I do do it in the opposite order of what you are proposing.  I start on the steel on a lower shelf because I feel it gets a better oven spring that way and then finish on the stone.  The stone is on a higher self and I feel it gets the top baked better up there.  Also, it seems like the bottoms get too well done for me if I leave the pie on the steel for the entire bake.

[aawhite]

When I do pies in my home oven I often use a steel and stone.  However, I do do it in the opposite order of what you are proposing.  I start on the steel on a lower shelf because I feel it gets a better oven spring that way and then finish on the stone.  The stone is on a higher self and I feel it gets the top baked better up there.  Also, it seems like the bottoms get too well done for me if I leave the pie on the steel for the entire bake.

Strange, from what I’ve read on this forum, it seems like the general feeling is that the steel should be 5-6” from the hot broiler in order to cook the top of the pie as fast as the bottom...

Increased oven spring is something I’ll have to experiment with when I get the steel in.. maybe I will just have to move on from the stone all together..

[Gene in Acadiana]

I would skip the stone altogether and just use a combination of the steel and the broiler to get maximum temperatures. It will probably take some experimenting to see how much of the broiler you need to use for a proper balance of the top and underside crust. Try using the top 1/3 of the oven so the broiler will be more effective in both the steel during heating it up and the pizza after it's in the oven.

Just keep in mind that every time you open the oven door completely you are losing maybe fifty or a hundred degrees of valuable heat, so starting with the pizza on a stone on the bottom of the oven and then moving it to the top might be counter-productive in the long run on maximizing temperatures.

Also, many ovens have a way to adjust the thermostat to match the dial or digital readout compared to actual oven temperatures. Look in the manual and if possible adjust it to as high as it can go. You may be able to get the oven to read at it's maximum of 500 degrees but in reality it's baking at 510 or 515. Every little bit helps. Then when using your oven for standard recipes just remember to dial back that amount.

Good luck!

[parallei]

Strange, from what I’ve read on this forum, it seems like the general feeling is that the steel should be 5-6” from the hot broiler in order to cook the top of the pie as fast as the bottom...

Well, I guess you just read something different, strange though it may be.

I don't like using the broiler and, in fact, don't find it necessary.  Everybody's oven is different.  This method has worked for me, in my oven, for years.  I just mentioned it because you asked:

I’d like to get opinions/pros/cons on using a baking steel AND a pizza stone for NY style..

Bake on.

[aawhite]

Well, I guess you just read something different, strange though it may be.

I don't like using the broiler and, in fact, don't find it necessary.  Everybody's oven is different.  This method has worked for me, in my oven, for years.  I just mentioned it because you asked:

Bake on.

Yeah, I mean your method makes sense. Steel is going to take a lot of experimentation.

I think at first I’ll start on steel only, probably on the bottom, where my kiln shelf has always been. I’ll probably spend a day just taking IR reading to figure out the temp differences based on placement.

After a few bakes, If I find that I’m needing a secondary hot surface I’ll add my old 1/2” stone on top or bottom based on what works best.