How to Use Your Baking Steel
If you've just received your new baking steel through the door - then you're one step closer to professional baking results, right from your own oven.
Whether you're making crispy and airy sourdough rolls or a crispy pizza - like you get from your local pizzeria - the baking steel will help elevate your baking to new heights.
But as important as the right tools are - technique is equally important.
Therefore, we'll take you through the important things you need to pay attention to when using your baking steel:
The First Times Using the Baking Steel
Although your baking steel can be used right away, you'll get better rust protection and nonstick properties if you give it several coats of seasoning. We recommend that you season your baking steel the first 2-3 times you use it, and then once every six months.
Before you start, the baking steel must be completely dry and free of dirt. Coat the baking steel with a thin layer of neutral oil - we recommend grapeseed oil - and dry it with a dry, lint-free cloth, so the oil layer is very thin. Then put the baking steel in the oven at 240 degrees for one hour, so the oil is baked in. You can bake on it right away after. Read more about how to season your baking steel here→
How to Use Your Baking Steel
Place the baking steel on the oven rack and preheat it for 45-60 minutes until it's completely heated through. Often you'll get the best results by placing the baking steel in the upper half of the oven.
As a general rule, we recommend that you preheat your baking steel with fan convection, but switch to top and bottom heat to bake your pastries. Fan convection provides the most efficient heat, but it's not optimal for baking. Fan convection dries out the crust on your dough, which results in the crust setting before the dough has finished rising.
Can you use your baking steel on the grill?
Yes, you can also use your baking steel on the grill!
A grill will usually be hotter than an oven, so keep an eye on the temperature so your bread doesn't burn.
Baking Steel and Steam
If you have an oven with a steam function, this is excellent to use at the beginning of baking. It gives your bread the opportunity to develop and rise even more before the crust sets, so you get airy and delicious bread.
You can easily bake with steam together with your baking steel, but it's important that the baking steel has received several coats of seasoning, so it's better protected against rust. After baking with steam, the baking steel should dry thoroughly so it doesn't rust.
Should You Use Parchment Paper on Baking Steel?
Parchment paper or not? It depends a lot on what you're baking.
Your seasoning helps the dough release from the surface, but if your dough is very sticky, we recommend using parchment paper. It makes it easier to transfer your delicious airy rolls to the baking steel without puncturing the bubbles in the dough.
At the same time, you avoid burnt bread residue on the baking steel.
If you're making pizza, you can easily bake directly on the baking steel.
Pizza dough is not as sticky - and at the same time it needs to be prepared at such a high temperature that parchment paper will char in the oven. Therefore, it's best to place the pizza dough directly on your baking steel.
Looking for inspiration on what to bake? Try one of these delicious recipes
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