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NerdChef 3/8" Steel Stone Review

A heavy-duty carbon steel slab capable of serious heat transfer to make the best pizza you've ever experienced out of a normal oven
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NerdChef 3/8" Steel Stone Review
Credit: Aaron Rice
Price:  $130 List
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Manufacturer:   NerdChef
By Aaron Rice ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Feb 14, 2022
72
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#8 of 16
  • Cooking Performance - 30% 8.0
  • Output Power - 30% 7.0
  • Control - 25% 6.0
  • Ease of Use - 15% 8.0

Our Verdict

Compared to ordering out regularly from your favorite pizza joint, preparing and baking fresh pizzas in your home oven is undoubtedly more convenient and less expensive. However, even those who own a pizza stone have likely found their pies subpar to a professional pizza oven. But the NerdChef Steel Stone will completely flip your perception of homemade pizza. Under the heat of a typical oven broiler, this 14" heavy-duty steel slab is capable of reaching an average temperature of 686°F, putting it in range of some of the top pizza ovens we tested. The carbon steel transfers heat 20 times faster than your average ceramic stone, resulting in a fast rise of the dough fundamental to baking nearly perfect Neapolitan pizzas in just three minutes. All this from the comfort of your own home without the need to add yet another kitchen appliance.
REASONS TO BUY
Affordable
Designed for a normal range oven
Fast bake times
REASONS TO AVOID
Heat profile depends on oven
Heavyweight

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Bottom Line An affordable, but impressive indoor option for those not interested in investing in a new applianceThis price point pizza oven performs well above its weight class in terms of power and performanceThis steel is perfectly suited to create NY-style pizzas, just don't expect it to produce a Neapolitan-style pie in your ovenAn indoor electric option akin to the ease and quality of a "hot-plate" pizza makerAffordability and convenience aside, there are much better options for easy pizza-making
Rating Categories NerdChef 3/8" Steel... BakerStone Original The Original Baking... Presto Pizzazz Plus Betty Crocker Count...
Cooking Performance (30%)
8.0
9.0
8.0
3.0
2.0
Output Power (30%)
7.0
7.0
5.0
2.0
3.0
Control (25%)
6.0
7.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
Ease of Use (15%)
8.0
9.0
7.0
9.0
9.0
Specs NerdChef 3/8" Steel... BakerStone Original The Original Baking... Presto Pizzazz Plus Betty Crocker Count...
Fuel Type N/A Gas N/A Electric Electric
Maximum Pizza Diameter 14" 13" 14" 12'" 12"
Average Pizza Cook Times 3.1 min 4 min 5.6 min 16 min 19 min
Average Stone Temperature 686 °F 732 °F 479 °F 300 °F 212 °F
Average Oven Temperature 637 °F 780 °F 497 °F 425 °F 208 °F
Size of Firebox N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Power Output N/A 25,000 BTU N/A 1235 W 1440 W
Footprint 228 sq. in. 345 sq. in. 228 sq. in. 229 sq. in. 219 sq. in.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Compared to the complex design of other pizza ovens featured in our review, the NerdChef is exceptional based on its simple design, making it much more affordable and therefore much more accessible to many home chefs. We tested the 3/8"-thick (listed as 0.375"-thick) steel, capable of baking up to 14" pies — though it is much more comfortable baking 12" pizzas. It is important to note that this steel is remarkably hefty for its size, weighing in at 23 pounds.

Performance Comparison


nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - finally, it's possible to make truly great pizza in your home oven!...
Finally, it's possible to make truly great pizza in your home oven! The NerdChef Steel Stone cranks up the heat at the base for faster rise times, shorter baking times, and the capability to produce nearly perfect Neapolitan-style pies.
Credit: Aaron Rice

Cooking Performance


Ceramic pizza stones have been a staple of many kitchens for a very long time. While they certainly can produce adequate homemade pizzas, it is always apparent that the pie did not come out of a professional pizza oven. Even though a ceramic stone helps crisp the bottom crust better than an aluminum baking sheet, it still often takes more than 10 minutes. And in a dry oven environment, that often leads to stiff crusts and withered toppings.


We were skeptical of the NerdChef Steel at first. How is it possible to change the final product so drastically when you are only swapping out what amounts to the base of your oven? Well, we admit our first impressions were proved entirely wrong.


This pizza steel is, in fact, capable of producing nearly perfect Neapolitan-style pizzas from your average oven. Although the crust is not quite as pocketed as other highly-ranked ovens, it is still soft, light, and airy. Our friends consistently remarked that this is by far the best pizza they've ever had from a standard range oven.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - a puffy crust, or "cornicione", is one mark of a well-baked...
A puffy crust, or “cornicione”, is one mark of a well-baked Neapolitan pizza. Another is a slight browning and crisp of the crust, but never burnt. We still have a long ways to go to perfect the techniques of a Pizzaiolo, but we'll continue to enjoy delicious pizzas off this steel in the meantime.
Credit: Aaron Rice

The NerdChef takes considerably longer to preheat than most dedicated pizza ovens — the 3/8" steel takes at least 45 minutes underneath the broiler to reach average center stone temperatures of 752°F. Though it is much more time-consuming to heat, this is incredible considering that even at maximum output, our oven only reached an average internal air temperature of 574°F. These temps show that this simple innovation is working as it should: to absorb heat and directly transfer that into cooking fantastic pizzas.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - although not quite as fluffy as other ovens, this pizza steel still...
Although not quite as fluffy as other ovens, this pizza steel still gets hot enough to promote a quick rise and an airy, pocketed crust.
Credit: Aaron Rice

Output Power


We are almost certain that the NerdChef Steel inventors and our testers have shared the experience of poorly baked homemade pizza. Instead of settling for subpar pies, the designers harness carbon steel's conductivity and heat capacity to cook pizzas faster and at higher temperatures. NerdChef claims that these steels have twice the heat capacity and 20 times more conductivity than your average pizza stone. While we have no reasonable way of verifying these claims, the results speak for themselves.


Steel has a significantly higher density than any stoneware and a much higher conductive capacity. Effectively working as a BlackBox radiator in your oven, the NerdChef Steel Stone will capture radiative heat put out by the broiler, and in turn, transfer that energy conductively to your homemade dough. This quick heat transfer results in a fast-rising crust that is softer, airier, and considerably less dry due to its decreased baking time.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - placing the steel on the top oven rung puts it in close proximity to...
Placing the steel on the top oven rung puts it in close proximity to the broiler, allowing it to capture maximum heat to cook pizzas quickly and efficiently.
Credit: Aaron Rice

By positioning the Steel Stone on the highest rung of the oven, directly underneath the broiler, you can effectively shrink the cooking space of your oven to bake more efficiently. Although it takes quite a long time to preheat, this steel has an even heat profile similar to a finely crafted cast iron skillet.


The evenness of the output energy is somewhat dependent on your oven. Still, the steel averages 686°F — just under that of some of the best Neapolitan-style ovens we tested — and often has a center temperature in the range of 750°F, the ideal temperature for this style of pizza.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - the highly conductive steel results in a bottom crust that is...
The highly conductive steel results in a bottom crust that is beautifully blistered, but never dried out, similar to what you would pull out of a traditional wood-fired oven.
Credit: Aaron Rice

Control


Control is a bit of a funny metric for this particular design, and it earned an average score due to its reliance on the quality of your home oven. We recognize that rather than being a standalone oven, the NerdChef Steel relies on the capacities of your range oven. Obviously, the better quality the oven, the more likely it is that this pizza steel will help you churn out beautiful pies. However, some critical aspects to the design greatly benefit your control over this Steel Stone.


The thickness of this precision-cut steel offers excellent temperature consistency across its surface, producing beautifully charred crusts that crackle when you cut into them. By taking several measurements with an infrared thermometer and then using a standard deviation method to compare it to pizza stones in other ovens, the NerdChef Steel will arguably cook your crust more evenly than some of the top models we tested. One downside to this pizza steel is it is incredibly heavy. While the company recommends lowering the oven rack if the pizza is cooking unevenly, we can't quite imagine safely maneuvering an awkward, 23-pound, 750°F piece of steel.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - a slightly larger surface area means that you can use a normal size...
A slightly larger surface area means that you can use a normal size pizza peel, making it easier to both launch and retrieve pizzas from the oven.
Credit: Aaron Rice

Ease of Use


The NerdChef definitely has its pros and cons. Likely, the above recommendation to try various rack levels to control temperature and cooking time from one firing to the next is a sound one. But based on the weight alone, it is not a bad idea to consider leaving this steel in your oven full-time. Relative to other options, the NerdChef Steel could be regarded as lightweight; many dedicated pizza ovens tip the scales at more than 30 pounds. On top of that, this steel certainly requires much less setup than most other options.


Since you are not dealing with actual fire, among other concerns of high-fire ovens, this simple pizza steel is much more accessible to your regular at-home cook or baker. Some recommend baking pizzas on a convection setting and then switching over to broil to finish the toppings off. However, we had success — and significantly improved baking times — by simply cooking the pizzas under the broiler the entire time. Although the average three-minute cook times don't exactly give you the time to prep pizzas to cook in back-to-back rounds, it is best to allow both the steel and your oven to come back up to optimal temperatures between firings anyway.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - this pizza steel is surprisingly heavy for its size, but fortunately...
This pizza steel is surprisingly heavy for its size, but fortunately comes with two finger holes to make it easier to move around.
Credit: Aaron Rice

Should You Buy the NerdChef 3/8" Steel Stone?


The NerdChef Steel is an altogether simple design compared to some of the other best pizza ovens we've covered in this review. As a result, it is much less expensive than other options while remaining a remarkable competitor in terms of performance. Suppose you only really plan to cook pizzas at home, or you live in a smaller space. In that case, this relatively inexpensive accessory may be your entry point to baking Neapolitan-style pizzas.

nerdchef 3/8" steel stone - the ability to make delicious neapolitan pizzas from your home...
The ability to make delicious Neapolitan pizzas from your home kitchen is a beautiful thing.
Credit: Avi Farber

What Other Pizza Ovens Should You Consider?


Although it most definitely creates delicious Neapolitan-style pizza, the NerdChef doesn't afford the same feel or experience as portable, outdoor ovens. If you're after the full experience but can't commit to a significant investment, the BakerStone Original is an affordable option that functions as a standalone appliance and would be a great start to a dreamy outdoor kitchen.

Aaron Rice