The Original Baking Steel Review

Part of the beauty of The Original Baking Steel is the simplicity of its design. This 1/4-inch thick, low-carbon steel measures 14" x 16". While it is technically capable of making a 14" pie, it is easier to stick with slightly oversized 12" pizzas. Although it doesn't offer any handles, it weighs slightly less than other comparable steels, tipping the scales at 16 pounds.

Performance Comparison

Cooking Performance

A quality slice of NY-style pizza requires a bit more oven time and a slightly lower surface temperature to achieve the crust texture these particular pies are renowned for. This is exactly what The Original Baking Steel delivers. This steel's average cook time is closer to five or six minutes –- still an amazing improvement over baking stones or cast iron skillets, but not in the same ballpark as the one- to three-minute times of the Neapolitan-style ovens we tested. Though this is a highly subjective matter, our testers and their friends all agree that The Original Baking Steel consistently turns out some of the best quality pizza they've ever had from a normal range oven. And all with a lot less fuss than operating an outdoor pizza oven, we might add.

Output Power

It's not exactly fair to compare The Original Baking Steel to other pizza ovens we tested simply because the output power is relative to the power of your range oven. We can, however, compare it directly to the other baking steels we tested. In this regard, The Original Baking Steel is far from the hottest oven-baked option in our lineup. We baked pizzas according to the manufacturer's recommendations: pre-heat the steel at 500°F for an hour before launching your first pie. While the average 479°F surface temperatures paled in comparison to other steels, we appreciate this fact. So many companies are attempting to recreate the perfect Neapolitan-style pizza — but what about all the other styles, namely the famed NY-style pizza? Decreased surface temperatures mean you can bake your pizzas for longer, achieving the ideal balance of chewy and crunchy that a New York slice is known for.

Control

Once again, this metric doesn't exactly pertain to baking steels simply because it relies on the quality and capacities of your range oven. However, we feel we can offer some valuable input as our testers baked with this steel in an incredibly average oven. The most noticeable aspect of The Original Baking Steel is the temperature consistency across its cook surface. Compared to other steels — or all other ovens we tested, for that matter — the Original Baking Steel boasts the most even surface temperatures of any model we tested, with a standard deviation of temperature of merely 2.6°F. This is an incredible feat for any cast pan and may be attributed to the high-quality manufacturing process. As a result, you can expect evenly browned pizza crusts every time you bake.

Ease of Use

Relative to some of the other pizza ovens we tested that can weigh more than 30 pounds, and even many baking steels that tip the scales at more than 20 pounds, The Original Baking Steel may seem like a lightweight alternative at a mere 16 pounds. But you may be surprised at just how heavy this 1/4-inch steel plate can be, particularly because it doesn't offer any holds to help move it in and out of the oven. This steel measures 16" x 14", so while it certainly comes much closer to baking a full-size pizza than many other ovens in our lineup, it is still more comfortable making 12" pies. Unlike so many ovens that require more setup or an exhaustive firing process, The Original Baking Steel is more convenient and accessible for most at-home cooks. This steel's user-friendliness makes it much more reasonable to make any night of the week pizza night.

Should You Buy The Original Baking Steel?

If you love making pizzas at home but don't have the space to store or fire a portable-sized pizza oven, a baking steel like this one is a fantastic alternative. The beauty of this product is in its simplicity; rather than setting up and firing an oven, you can focus on making a great pizza. Its simple design also makes it much less expensive. And for those who love a quality New York slice, there may be no better option for making your favorite pizza at home.

What Other Pizza Ovens Should You Consider?