Yesterday my dear friend Marina calls me and tells me that she had a little trouble baking her Roman-style pan pizza in her new built-in oven. I ask her a thousand questions about the dough, the yeast about the temperatures and the position of Mars relative to Mercury but nothing seemed to justify such a negative result.
At one point I ask her,“Marina, did you happen to measure the bottom temperature of your new oven?”
He replies:
“Yeah sure, who do you take me for, 270°C on the firestone.”
There, I knew it, we found the culprit.
Stone, as the word itself implies, is refractory to heat transmission and, except in cases of extreme necessity, SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT be used with underperforming ovens.
It is for all intents and purposes an obstacle that stands between the heat source and our pizza, and in most cases, in a built-in oven, we have very little heat available.
But what is the other element that hinders heat transfer?
Well the baking pan of course, so the correct one for the type of baking we need to conduct must be chosen, among other things.
Thermal conductivity of metals
To simplify, we can say that thermal conductivity is the ability of a material to transmit heat.
To give you an idea, the iron from which blue iron pans are made has a conductivity of 70K(W/m°C) and a pure aluminum pan can reach 230K, while aluminized sheet pans stop at 60K.
“Perfect, then I’ll get the aluminum baking pans and make the romaine pan with those next time.”
You may be thinking that at this point it would be worth getting aluminum baking pans and doing everything with those, but unfortunately it is not that simple.
Let’s look at the PROs and CONs of each pan in a nutshell.
Aluminum baking pan (225W/m°K)
Qualities:
- Excellent thermal conductivity
- Excellent heat distribution due to the thickness of 1.5 mm
- Excellent corrosion resistance
- Absence of NICKEL.
Limits:
- Sensitive to contact with strongly acidic and/or strongly salty foods
- It is not recommended to use at temperatures above 300°C due to mechanical changes;
- Pizza cannot be stored inside for more than 2 hours (Ministerial Decree April 18, 2007 No. 76)
- The thickness of 1.5 mm partially slows heat transfer.
They would be a great solution for soft baking such as Milanese pizza slices, but hygienically they cannot be used for rising in baking pans, which are widely used in baking or for baking buns and croissants.
Blue iron pan (about 70W/m°K)
Qualities:
- Fair thermal conductivity;
- Excellent heat distribution despite the reduced thickness of 0.8mm;
- Withstands temperatures above 300°C;
- absence of NICKEL.
Limits:
- must be conditioned before it can be used (burning): Watch the video
- Cannot be washed with water and detergents;
- Is extremely sensitive to corrosion and oxidation.
- is sensitive to acidic foods that can eat away at the vitrified oil coating and make some parts of the pan no longer nonstick.
It is the perfect solution for the “push” baking of Roman-style pan pizza and would also be perfect for Milanese pizza slices.
Unfortunately, leavening in the pan in the long run compromises the protective layer formed after burning.
Here you will find our
=> blue iron diamond pans
(with double diagonal)
Aluminized iron pan (about 60W/m°K)
Qualities:
- combines the mechanical strength of steel with the corrosion and oxidation resistance of aluminum;
- It can withstand temperatures even higher than 450°C;
- Can be used for both leavening and food preservation;
- Is a nontoxic product suitable for food use.
Limits:
- washing with water and caustic substances is not recommended;
- Has lower thermal conductivity than both iron and aluminum;
- at temperatures above 300° may deform temporarily.
It is the perfect solution for rising, baking, and storing pizza slices and can also be used for the Roman pan with high-performance ovens while not being the best solution.
Here you will find our
=> aluminized iron pan
But in all this writing, I forgot to tell Marina to try baking her next pizza in a Roman-style pan without the refractory and leaning it against the bottom of the oven, I’ll go write to her right away.
Let me know if you enjoyed the article and if you have any questions or curiosities to delve into regarding the article you just read, feel free to send me a message on Instagram => by clicking here
…And now knead, enjoy and taste!
Rudy
