Vevor Pizza Steel

 Follow-up 2mo · Three questions that have been asked since I wrote my review are: 1. HOW EASY IS THE STEEL TO CLEAN? Firstly, NEVER put seasoned cookware in the dishwasher, it'll strip the seasoning right off,(detergents are excellent for getting rid of grease and oil.... and that's exactly what seasoning is). If you do put it in the dishwasher, the seasoning will be removed, the metal will start to rust immediately, and you'll have to rebuild the seasoning up fro scratch. In short, no seasoned metal is dishwasher safe. This is a seasoned piece of steel, which, if seasoned properly, is basically multiple thin layers of baked-on oil, over a smooth plate of steel, forming a non-stick surface. Given the smoothness of the steel compared to the grainy texture of cast iron, it can be easier to clean than seasoned cast iron. However, just like seasoned cast iron... if the seasoning is done in thicker coats, that can render a slightly tacky/sticky result which makes things quite a bit harder to clean up. Similarly, if the seasoned coating is compromised, or deteriorated, it'll take a lot more to clean up. Maintenance is much less effort than repair! When the steel is seasoned properly, I just wipe off any flour/pizza toppings off once the steel has cooled down with a soft, damp cloth, give it a light rinse with warm water, and if that doesn't work, very lightly soapy water (the detergent will eat your seasoning so avoid it as much as possible). Then I bake it at 100C for 15 minutes to dry it completely, and I let it cool. I probably add 1-2 coats to my cookware two or three times a year. I have two steels, two cast iron loaf pans, and a few cast iron barbecue plates/griddles. If they're clean, I simply dust them off with a quick rinse, heat it to 200C or so wipe a THIN and even layer of oil all over the pan, wiping any excess off, bake it for and hour and let it cool naturally. Assess and repeat. It will get smoky in your kitchen though. You're effectively burning oil onto your cookware after all. 2. HOW DOES THE STEEL AFFECT BAKING TIME? Obviously, the steel needs to be preheated before baking. I usually start to do that 35-45 mins (45 mins if I'm heating two steels) before the bake because this steel is comparably thick to most cast iron loaf pans. I often bake at temperatures ranging from 225-270C.. however your oven will dictate the time needed for heat up. If you're cooking at one temp throughout the bake (like pizza), then the steel does not impact the baking time. However if you start high and then reduce it (like when cooking breads), I shorten the high temp component by a 1-5 minutes (depending on the thickness/height of the bread, and the difference in new lower temperature) to allow for the steel's lag in cooling down. For the second part, I usually keep the lower temp bake a similar length of time to the recipe, and check in on it 5-7 minutes from the end and assess what needs to be done. I'm sorry, but there's no "one magic number" solution here. So I've kept my advice as general and adaptable as possible. 3. HOW DOES THE STEEL HANDLE HIGHER TEMPERATURES? This is the easy answer. Seasoned gear goes higher than any enamelled dutch oven because there's no enamel/glass coatings to crack, no plastic handles to melt. The underlying metals can EASILY handle temperatures of any oven you'd likely use. That said, steels start being tempered as low as 160C, but fortunately the lower end of that range generally reduces brittleness and relieves internal stresses. Going between 200-300C, well it depends on the exact steel composition, but not a lot happens. If seasoned and maintained properly, I have taken my seasoned pans/steels to 320C in my barbecue and that worked fine. That's more than enough to bake any bread/pizza I can think of (most bread recipes top out at 250-280C), and pizza is usually baked for <15 minutes, typically between 270-300 Celsius for that extra crispy base and melted toppings. If you're going 300C+ with your seasoned cookware, I'd recommend using an oil with a higher smoke point (although once the seasoning is polymerised through being baked on, the choice of oil becomes largely moot). I use grape seed oil because of it's extremely neutral flavour, and it's a little less sticky, even if the seasoning isn't perfect on the first/second coat. However, many other oils have a higher range smoke points (and the more refined the oil is, the higher the smoke point tends to be). If you do manage to scrape/burn off your seasoning, simply give it a couple of extra coats. Unless it's flaky or patchy, then you're probably better off starting from scratch once again.