1/2" A36 steel plate

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manfre

New User
Manfre
I'm looking for a piece of 1/2" A36 steel plate anywhere from 16" x 16" to 18" x 18". I know how to source it online, but the shipping costs more than the steel and I prefer supporting local whenever possible. I've been dabbling with making a better NY style pizza and supposedly steel plate will do a better job of baking the crust than a pizza stone.
 

scsmith42

New User
Scott Smith
Or a scrapyard. There is one in Durham that has a lot of stainless steel. That IMO would be a better choice than A36.


Scott
 

HMH

Heath Hendrick
Senior User
I would agree w/ Scott re: stainless vs A36 if possible. A36 is a standard structural steel, high-carbon alloy, that can and will rust pretty readily. I imagine the oils from the pizza would offer some protection there, but you would still have the high carbon content to deal with. Stainless is somewhat more of an insulator than carbon steels though, so that may factor as well. Food for thought if nothing else - enjoy!
 

Charles Lent

Charley
Corporate Member
But 1/2" Stainless is going to be very $$$$$$$$

1/2" A36 will run about $40 based on my last purchase 6 months ago.

Charley
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
The steel will be cleaned and then seasoned, so rust shouldn't be too much of a problem. From my limited understanding, A36 is chosen because of its cost and also its better thermal properties.
 

merrill77

Master Scrap Maker
Chris
I'm looking for a piece of 1/2" A36 steel plate anywhere from 16" x 16" to 18" x 18". I know how to source it online, but the shipping costs more than the steel and I prefer supporting local whenever possible. I've been dabbling with making a better NY style pizza and supposedly steel plate will do a better job of baking the crust than a pizza stone.

Let us know how that works out. We've just started making our own crust in the past weeks, but our pizza stone broke and I'm considering what to replace it with. Just using a perforated baking sheet for now.
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
The three main things I've read about people using are steel, kiln shelf (corderite), and ceramic tiles. It seems to depend on pizza style and the temperature of their ovens.

The only local pottery supply store that sells kiln shelves that I've been able to find is on the far side of Durham.
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
Thicker steel has more thermal mass allowing for baking more pizzas back to back. The thermal differences that are important relate to how quickly it gets hot and reheats between each pie, and how quickly it transfers the heat from the steel to the pie.

I understand that this will be a very heavy piece of steel.
 

Lowlander

New User
Chris
i would like to hear how it bakes the crust after you get it. Right now I use a high qulaity ceramic stone with fire brick suspended above the stone with the oven cranked to 575+
 

Truefire

New User
Chris
Just FYI- Not sure, but if you are ever around the Greenville area for business/personal endeavors, Archie's Steel just outside of Greenville on the 264 business route heading back towards Farmville might very well hold some. They never have a minimal purchase demand in either metal or cost. Will cut any metal your heart desires and never charge to do so.

The business sits immediately adjacent to 264 business, approximately 1/2-3/4 mile outside city limit of Greenville. Large, white sign - Archie's Steel -
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
I picked up a 18" x 17.5" x 3/8" piece of steel for $40 from Fabco, located near downtown Cary. Got it for material cost because it was a leftover piece from another job.

It has been cleaned and seasoned. After turning off the oven, the steel was 390F. Three hours later, it only dropped down to 160F. I think it has plenty of thermal mass for a few pizzas.

uploadfromtaptalk1433551435378.jpg
 

gfernandez

Gonzalo
Corporate Member
Interested to see how this works. If you enjoy pizza that much, have you thought of building a wood fired oven in your yard out of firebrick?
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
Interested to see how this works. If you enjoy pizza that much, have you thought of building a wood fired oven in your yard out of firebrick?

I don't want a wood fired oven. It's a lot of time and effort to use a wood fired oven to make 1 or 2 pizzas. I sold my charcoal grill for a similar reason; 30 minutes to cook 1 burger and waste a lot of coals.
 

gfernandez

Gonzalo
Corporate Member
I don't want a wood fired oven. It's a lot of time and effort to use a wood fired oven to make 1 or 2 pizzas. I sold my charcoal grill for a similar reason; 30 minutes to cook 1 burger and waste a lot of coals.

Interesting take, and I guess it depends on your perceived effort vs. food quality. I would disagree on both counts.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
If you think a pizza steel is expensive, look at King Authur Flour's web site. For a mere $125+/- you can get a laser engraved piece of RECYCLED (think junk) piece of 1/4" steel.
 
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