Nerd Chef Steel Stone - High-Performance Baking Surface for Pizza .50" Thick - Ultimate

Can really cook napolitain pizza in your oven with this!

T%his is heavy 32 pounds so I am putting it on the racks I have put on the bottom of the oven. IT keeps the oven at the desired temperature, makes great pizza, English muffins and other baked items that require baking. I ave not tries cooking meat on iy as it would be hard for to clean where it is located. If there were a sixth star I would give it to the NERD CHEF and Amizon. Regards from a true baker with years of experience.

So I'm giving 5-stars for the results. It's just so much better than a ceramic stone in my oven. As others have pointed out, it is heavy. Really heavy. I rarely move it from my oven but when I do, I have to be very careful. But the results are totally worth it. I've never made pizza with a better crust. I also don't have to put the oven up to 500, where things start to smoke and my smoke detector goes of (no matter how much I clean my oven). 450 works well because the steel transfers so much heat to the bottom of the crust. I use the broiler trick to crisp up the toppings and the pizza is done in just a few minutes. Middle rack. Another thing to try. I've also been making Detroit-style pizzas in those rectangular metal pans. Pan-pizzas are great because you can get that melted cheese/crust thing going on the edges. But to kick it up a notch, when my Detroit pizza is done, I take it out of the pan, and just drop it on the steel for 30 seconds. It makes the bottom of the crust crispy in a way that the thin-steel pan just doesn't. Pizza snobs love it. Finally, and this does mean that I move the steel around more than I thought I would. It makes a great griddle for an induction range-top. Our induction range has two burners that can be bridged together, but I never really used them because my cast iron griddle still would heat too unevenly (really just tow circular hot spots on the griddle). With the thicker steel I get a big, flat uniformly heated griddle surface for cooking pancakes, diner omelets , patty melts, etc. Reminds my of my younger days cooking at the diner. It takes a little while to get the heat spread out, but it stays at temperature once you do, just like a commercial griddle. That was a fun surprise. If you don't have strong hands, I'd say get the thinner versions, but if you want the full experience, this is the one.

Yes, these are heavy. That doesn’t mean they should be dropped off the truck onto the pavement. Two of the corners were dog-eared. Solid steel, remember. If you drop it onto concrete it will still be damaged. I don’t want to clog up the postal system, but if the Amazon delivery personnel had not damaged the item in transit, then we wouldn’t have to go through all this again. UPDATE: I was indeed able to return the damaged unit to the UPS store. I got the 0.5" version. The replacement arrived intact and undamaged. It functions wonderfully so far. I have not made pizza yet, but my artisan sourdough loaves have turned out great so far. The crust is nice and crispy and crunchy on the bottom. I have seasoned the steel several times since receiving it, and it has a good patina now. My oven is a Frigidaire Gallery, and it does bend the racks down in the middle (so it only contacts the rack on the left and right sides). However, one of the racks is made of a heavier gauge wire (offset shelf), and while it still exhibits the same bending phenomenon, it is only around 1 mm depressed in the center. Also, while it might become slightly bent over time, it should only be an aesthetic change as the overall shelf structure is very sturdy. OEM shelf replacements are available (Around $100 for the thicker offset one), so if it ends up becoming bent more than I would like, I can always buy another shelf. However I doubt this will ever be truly necessary. At this rate, I wouldn't need one for several years at least, if at all.

I bought this 6 years ago and it’s great. My wall oven from the 70s trying to reach >500° is like the early nasa rockets trying to break earths gravity. With about a 45 minute preheat though, the steel holds enough heat to a great crust going.