Hey everyone, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been super busy in the kitchen lately, experimenting with my baking steel, and let me tell you, it’s been a game-changer for my homemade pizzas and bread. But with great power comes great responsibility, or in this case, great messes. So, today, I wanna share with you all how I tackled the cleaning of my baking steel using those cleaning bricks. It’s not rocket science, but it’s definitely something that needs to be done right.
First off, I let that baking steel cool down completely after pulling out a delicious, crispy pizza. You don’t want to mess with it while it’s still hot, trust me. Once it was cool to the touch, I grabbed my bench scraper—a real lifesaver for this kind of job. I used it to gently scrape off any big chunks of cheese or toppings that had decided to throw a party on my steel. Most of the time, this gets most of the big stuff off.
But, of course, there’s always some stubborn bits that just don’t want to leave. That’s where the cleaning brick comes into play. These things are like magic erasers for your baking steel. I wet the brick a little—just a little, not soaking it—and then started to gently rub it on the steel. Circular motions seem to work best, you know? Just working it into those tough spots. And boy, did it work wonders! It took off all that baked-on gunk without scratching the surface. I saw some folks online saying you could use a stiff nylon brush, but I’ve always found these cleaning bricks to be more effective.
- Get your cleaning brick
- Wet it slightly
- Rub gently on the baking steel
After scrubbing, I took a damp cloth and wiped down the steel to get rid of any residue from the cleaning brick. You don’t want to leave that stuff on there. I did this a couple of times, just to make sure it was all clean. Then, I let it air dry completely. I’ve heard some people say they season their steel with oil, like canola oil, to prevent rust and keep food from sticking. But honestly, I haven’t found that necessary. Just keeping it clean and dry has worked fine for me.
Oh, and one more thing! I read somewhere about someone asking if it was OK to leave the steel in the oven all the time. Well, you can, but you have to remember to preheat the steel along with the oven. Otherwise, your baking times will be off. But I usually just take mine out and store it once it’s clean and dry.
So there you have it—my little adventure in cleaning my baking steel. It’s pretty straightforward, right? Keep it clean, keep it dry, and it’ll serve you well. I’ve been using mine for all sorts of things, not just pizza. Bread, cookies, even roasting veggies. It’s been awesome. If you’ve got any tips of your own, or if you’ve tried something different, let me know! We’re all in this baking journey together. Keep on baking, folks!
