Steel stone vs Cordierite Stone

[Underwood]

Now I have one question about equipment. One is I go for 6mm Stainsteel stone for my home oven and get Ooni 12 Inch Peel or I get this set of
https://www.amazon.com.tr/dp/B08FDV77NS/?tag=pmak-20

This pizza stone from cordierite  and a peel which I don't really know but this set is around 20-30 Dolar while the setup I'm planning to buy which stainless steel is gonna cost me all Stone + Peel around 100 Dolars.

Which one do you think guys I should for New York Style pizza at home? I would probably tend to make 4-5 12 inch pizzas later on If I can improve my technique
 or would you recommend another peel with stainless or different setup because I found out that my wood peel doesn't really work well, it sticks too much.

Thank You very much.

[barryvabeach]

If your main concern is pizza sticking to the peel,  you have options.  First , the longer the pie sits on a wooden peel, the more likely to stick, so you can try to get all the toppings ready , then put the dough on the peel, load the pie,  shake the peel a little from side to side to keep it from sticking, then launch onto the stone.  Another option is to use a little more semolina on the peel.  A third option, which completely solves sticking, is a super peel.    https://superpeel.com/   It is not that hard to make one, or have someone who know about woodworking to make one, and you can use ordinary linen and it will still work fine.  I have a number of different sizes that I have made.  You can use it to load into a home oven - though if you were to use it is a gas pizza oven like the Koda, it would probably burn after a few uses.

[Underwood]

Thank you. My initial need is actually a Pizza stone rather than a peel :/ Peel, probably I'll skip it until I really think it is worth paying like 60 Dolar but I think my wooden peel would work well with some semolina but I'm still struggling with stretching my dough and finding a proper flour

[Pizza_Not_War]

I prefer steel over stone for pizza. I've used many stones and the steel just helps with a short baked pizza. Over a longer bake in a low heat oven the stone might win. You'd have to test that.

[Underwood]

Thank You. I will be focusing more on New York style but If I can why not Neapolitan pizza as well? For this, actually steel is the best choice but what confuses me is that Cordierite is also used in most of the ovens like Ooni but I'm not really sure how they compared really

[Pizza_Not_War]

Thank You. I will be focusing more on New York style but If I can why not Neapolitan pizza as well? For this, actually steel is the best choice but what confuses me is that Cordierite is also used in most of the ovens like Ooni but I'm not really sure how they compared really

pizza will burn on the bottom at ooni oven high temperature.

[Underwood]

I see what I mean is that Ooni uses cordierite instead of steel maybe it's more successful but maybe it costs less for them I don't know but my oven doesn't have a broiler it can go up to 300 Celsius max. I have involved into this discussion but there should be an answer ) only steel stone costs more then cordierite stone and a metal wooden handle peel

[kbrede]

I see what I mean is that Ooni uses cordierite instead of steel maybe it's more successful but maybe it costs less for them I don't know but my oven doesn't have a broiler it can go up to 300 Celsius max. I have involved into this discussion but there should be an answer ) only steel stone costs more then cordierite stone and a metal wooden handle peel

The Ooni will reach higher temperatures and the cook will be shorter than a home oven. Using a steel floor in an Ooni would be more likely to burn your pizza at those times and temperatures, so they use cordierite, which transfers heat more slowly. The steel in a home oven will transfer heat into your pizza faster than a stone. At the low temperatures of home ovens this isn't a problem. At least that's the theory and having tried both stone and steel in my home oven, I prefer the steel.

If you can't afford to get a steel, then get the stone. If you're only looking on Amazon for a steel, you may be able to get them cheaper elsewhere. I got mine on https://www.etsy.com/ at a much better price than the name brand ones. If you have a local company that sells steel, that's another way to get a cheaper steel. Have them cut to the dimensions you want.

[Underwood]

Yes, this was the answer I was looking for. I'll go for steel then. How about the thickness 1cm or 6mm ?

[kbrede]

Yes, this was the answer I was looking for. I'll go for steel then. How about the thickness 1cm or 6mm ?

Based on my research, I went with 3/8th of an inch which looks to be 0.9525th of a cm. That thickness seemed to be a good compromise between transferring heat into the pizza and pre-heating times. Typically, the steels are sold in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2" here. The thicker the steel the greater the chance for more heat transfer, but it also takes longer to preheat the steel. For 3/8" most people preheat for an hour.

[Underwood]

I'm really happy I choose steel over stone... I was surprised by myself getting this crispy crust and the bottom was even better. Now I have to improve my stretching technique because I couldn't get rid of the excess flour and the crust should be thinner . Next time gonna drop down the temp to 500F as well.

[kbrede]

Glad it worked out for you!

[Travinos_Pizza]

I'm really happy I choose steel over stone... I was surprised by myself getting this crispy crust and the bottom was even better. Now I have to improve my stretching technique because I couldn't get rid of the excess flour and the crust should be thinner . Next time gonna drop down the temp to 500F as well.

Looks like you’re getting a big grease pool in the center section. The pepperoni looks extremely thick as well, maybe adding to the issue?

Otherwise it’s looking really good! To me, steel is the obvious choice for home ovens like this so glad you made the right pick

[Davydd]

I found I could get on my gas home range of a maximum of 550 degrees I can get my steel surface up to 660 degrees. I can't get that with a stone.

[Underwood]

I found I could get on my gas home range of a maximum of 550 degrees I can get my steel surface up to 660 degrees. I can't get that with a stone.

For New York style, I think two steels or one steel one stone can be even better. This is my next move, I'm planning to buy one stone just to start with steel and finish it with stone. But steel is really surprised me.

[Travinos_Pizza]

I found I could get on my gas home range of a maximum of 550 degrees I can get my steel surface up to 660 degrees. I can't get that with a stone.

Honestly I think cordierite is not a good stone for baking. Too temperamental when I used to have my Ooni.

[Timpanogos Slim]

Honestly I think cordierite is not a good stone for baking. Too temperamental when I used to have my Ooni.

It probably depends on the temperature and targeted style?

At high temperatures, better stones are usually the ones with lower thermal conductivity. Like fibrament, or moreso like biscotti.

I used to use a fibrament in my home oven and liked it a lot. My folks have a cordierite that is at least 3/4" thick that works alright too.

Recently there are a lot of people trying to make something closer to NY, new haven, or even neapolitan in home ovens that barely get over 500 degrees. They seem to have good results with a heavy slab of steel, which has even higher thermal conductivity than cordierite. They can also get the steel itself over 600 degrees in those ovens, particularly if they have a broiler element.

I haven't tried using a steel. I accidentally broke my fibrament and i haven't replaced it yet. Lately I'm making all of my pizza in a wood-pellet-fired oven outside, and will probably be ordering a customized fibrament for that soon.

[TXCraig1]

For me, cordierite is the choice for the 700F-800F range.

[Travinos_Pizza]

It probably depends on the temperature and targeted style?

At high temperatures, better stones are usually the ones with lower thermal conductivity. Like fibrament, or moreso like biscotti.

I used to use a fibrament in my home oven and liked it a lot. My folks have a cordierite that is at least 3/4" thick that works alright too.

Recently there are a lot of people trying to make something closer to NY, new haven, or even neapolitan in home ovens that barely get over 500 degrees. They seem to have good results with a heavy slab of steel, which has even higher thermal conductivity than cordierite. They can also get the steel itself over 600 degrees in those ovens, particularly if they have a broiler element.

I haven't tried using a steel. I accidentally broke my fibrament and i haven't replaced it yet. Lately I'm making all of my pizza in a wood-pellet-fired oven outside, and will probably be ordering a customized fibrament for that soon.

I much prefer my pizza steel to the Ooni I used to have which was also the wood pellet one. To me it was just the definition of inconsistent.

[Timpanogos Slim]

I much prefer my pizza steel to the Ooni I used to have which was also the wood pellet one. To me it was just the definition of inconsistent.

I'm actually using a pellet grill with a pizza oven attachment, so it's sort of computer-controlled and forced induction. Frustrating, though, that the temperature control is indirect the way it is set up by default.

Anyway, the stone seems to be consistent in my setup - it's at least 17mm thick - but at higher temperatures, it just releases heat too rapidly. Lots of charcoal on the bottom of a pizza at 900f.

the fibrament guys say they can give me a place to embed a temperature sensor in a 1" thick stone, and there's an open-source pellet grill control solution i can probably modify to target specific high temperatures of the stone itself.