Preheating time for a baking steel – how long it really takes
The oven air heats up in minutes; the steel's core takes far longer. How to check it with an infrared thermometer instead of trusting the oven display.
Quick answer: Allow 45–60 minutes at your oven’s highest setting before the baking steel is heated all the way through – not just on the surface. Your oven’s thermostat shows that the air has reached the right temperature in a fraction of that time, but the steel’s thick mass lags far behind.
Why steel takes longer than you’d think
A baking steel stores a large amount of heat energy, which is exactly what makes it good to bake on – but the same property means it takes time to charge up. The oven air heats up in ten to fifteen minutes, but the steel’s core can still be considerably cooler long after the oven has ”beeped ready”.
How to test that it’s ready
Don’t trust the oven’s display – it measures air, not steel. Instead, use an infrared thermometer and measure several points across the steel’s surface, not just the centre. Differences of more than 20–30 °C between different points are a sign that the steel isn’t evenly heated through yet, or that your oven heats unevenly.
Thickness decides how long you actually need
A thinner steel (6 mm) heats up faster but also loses heat faster between pizzas. A thicker steel (8–10 mm) needs closer to the upper limit of 60 minutes, but then holds its heat considerably better through several pizzas in a row – see the full reasoning in baking steel and baking multiple pizzas in a row.
Placement in the oven also affects heat-up
A steel on the top or second-highest shelf, close to the grill element, often picks up heat faster than one placed lower down or in the middle of the oven – and that placement also gives the most radiant heat from above during the actual bake (see pizza in a home oven). Avoid putting the steel directly on the oven floor if it has a separate heating element there, since contact can then become uneven.
What you can do while the steel heats up
Use the waiting time to take the dough balls out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature (see cold fermentation), finish the sauce (tomato sauce) and prepare the toppings. That way everything is ready at the same time the steel is actually heated through, instead of you standing around with a ready-to-bake pizza and a half-warm surface.
New to the oven or already used to steel
If you’re buying a steel for the first time, expect the first baking night to need a bit of patience – it’s easy to get impatient and launch the pizza too early ”because the oven’s beeped ready anyway.” A good rule of thumb is to set a timer for 45 minutes the moment you turn the oven on, and only measure with an infrared thermometer after that – rather than checking after 15–20 minutes and assuming it’s enough just because the steel feels warm to the touch.
Frequently asked questions
Is 20 minutes enough if the oven shows the right temperature quickly? No. The oven’s thermostat is controlled by the air temperature, not the steel’s core temperature – see why in the infrared thermometer guide. A short preheat gives a surface that feels warm but a core that’s still cool, which gives a slower, less crisp base.
Can I preheat for too long? Not in the way you can with a stone – steel doesn’t crack from thermal shock. All you lose is unnecessary electricity use, so feel free to give yourself plenty of time rather than rushing the preheat.
Read more about the steel’s thickness and care in baking steel, compare it with stone in preheating time for a pizza stone and baking steel vs pizza stone, and see the whole home-oven protocol in pizza in a home oven.
