Pizza Steel vs. Pizza Stone: What Is The Difference?

A pizza steel is a steel plate that is used specifically to cook pizzas in a home oven or broiler. It is made from a thin layer of non-stick, highly conductive baking steel that absorbs high heat to cook your pizza quickly, with a crunchy bottom. When you bake a pizza using a pizza steel, the first step is to place your steel in the oven to preheat it. When you place the pizza on a hot steel, the steel will transfer heat to the pizza dough, cooking it faster and making for the perfect pizza with a delicious crispy base. Different pizza steels may have different thicknesses, typically ranging from 3/16” to ½”, with the thicker stones cooking pizza more quickly than thinner ones.

A pizza stone is a type of baking stone that is specifically used to make homemade pizza. The cooking surface is usually a circular slab of porous material such as ceramic or cordierite stone that you can place into a conventional oven. A pizza stone works by absorbing heat and using it to quickly cook your pizza in a similar way to traditional brick pizza ovens. The stone slab aerates your dough while exposing it to high temperatures, baking it from the bottom and resulting in a crispier pizza crust than you would get using a traditional baking sheet or pizza pan.

Pizza steels and pizza stones are both kitchen gadgets that recreate the high-heat conditions of a brick oven in your home oven. However, there are several differences between a pizza steel and a pizza stone to consider before you commit to buying one or the other.

• Materials: As its name suggests, a pizza steel is made out of highly conductive steel or cast iron. A pizza stone is made from porous materials like ceramic or cordierite that absorb heat to cook a pizza.
• Heat conductivity: A pizza steel gets hotter than a pizza stone because it is made of steel, which has a higher level of heat conductivity than ceramic or cordierite. This generally means that a pizza steel will cook your pizza quicker than a pizza stone will.
• Cook time: Pizza steels are able to get hotter than pizza stones, so the cook time for a pizza using steel is faster than cooking with a pizza stone.
• Budget: Pizza stones are generally more affordable than pizza steels, making them a great choice for home cooks who occasionally make pizzas at home.
• Thermal shock: Ceramic stones are more likely to break or shatter due to thermal shock if your pizza stone is placed in a hot oven and exposed to a high heat too quickly. Pizza steels will not break because they are made of a heat-friendly, shatter-proof material.
• Extra functionality: Pizza stones and pizza steels both have a high degree of versatility that suits different types of dishes. A pizza stone is a great baking surface for making many kinds of bread, while pizza steels may not cook extra leavened bread as well. Pizza steels can be used as a griddle on the stovetop, while a pizza stone cannot be used over stove burners.

Choosing between a pizza stone or steel depends on which factors are most important to you. Ceramic pizza stones are more affordable than pizza steels, which typically cost close to $100. A pizza stone is a reliable option if you’re a casual cook who makes an occasional home pizza. A pizza stone can also be an attractive object for serving your pizza on a countertop. Home cooks who make pizza frequently may want to consider spending the extra money on a pizza steel, because they are durable and can withstand years of use.

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