4

I want/need to replace our broken pizza stone, and am considering the Lodge 15" cast iron pan. (picture below) I read 'somewhere' that cast iron should be limited to 400-425F. I haven't found this spec'd on the Lodge page. (I do miss things.) I can see where it might make sense though, because, seasoning.

So, I'd like to know what is the max baking temp for cast iron in general, or this Lodge pizza pan in particular.

And, If anyone has experience with thin-to-medium crust pizza cooked on cast iron, I'd appreciate hearing.

Plan B would be steel.

Lodge 15" cast iron pizza pan

Improve this question
1
  • 2
    Lodge themselves suggest baking at "400-500°F" in their "how to clean rusty pans" section. lodgecastiron.com/discover/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/…. If you're the sort of pizza nut that goes to 900°F you might have an issue. IIRC the self-cleaning cycle is typically around 700°F and is one method to remove old seasoning, so somewhere between 500 and 700 would appear to be the practical limit. Some places claim higher self-cleaning temps.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Nov 9 at 18:52

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
6

I think that such a low recommendation arises from the (massively oversimplified and inaccurate, IMO) idea that the non-stick layer that develops on such cookware is essentially just linoleum and must not be heated to carbonization temperature.

I regularly heat my cast iron and carbon steel cookware well above 425. It does not suffer thereby.

I have no experience using a “pizza steel” so I’ll leave it to others to address that part.

Improve this answer
4
  • It may depend on what type of oil you used for seasoning, and what temperature the resulting coating starts to break down... and your oven as electric ovens tend to have a wide temperature range (heat past the set point, cool off, then cycle heating and cooling to stay in the general range set)
    – Joe
    Commented Nov 9 at 19:50
  • Neither of those strike me as important considerations. The coating because of the massive chemical changes, the temperature fluctuations because it’s a giant lump of metal which is not going to react quickly to air temperature.
    – Sneftel
    Commented Nov 10 at 8:11
  • Are you sure you mean linoleum as in (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linoleum)? That is a floor covering and doesn't sound like you want it close to your food.
    – quarague
    Commented Nov 11 at 7:42
  • @quarague Yes. See the “technology” section of that page. Linoleum (in its original formulation) is polymerized oil.
    – Sneftel
    Commented Nov 11 at 8:58
2

I've used a cast iron pan to bake a pizza at 550F a number of times with no issues. However, the pizza in the pan only spent about 15 minutes in the oven. If you're using the pan as a pizza stone and preheating it in the oven for extended times, that can potentially cause the seasoning layer to degrade. I've deliberately put the pan in the oven at a similar temperature specifically to strip the seasoning. Hotter temperatures will certainly strip the seasoning, especially for extended periods of time.

Improve this answer
2
  • To be sure I understand, you don't preheat the pan? What sort of pizza are you making? Does the bottom of the crust cook fully? Thanks.
    – George
    Commented Nov 11 at 4:17
  • @George I was making this recipe for pan pizza from Serious Eats. The bottom of the pizza doesn't always crisp up fully, so you can put it on the stovetop for a few minutes more to brown the bottom.
    – Esther
    Commented Nov 11 at 6:45
1

I belatedly find that Lodge preseasons with soy oil, which they show has a smoke point of 450F. If using this pan, I would keep comfortably under that temperature - maybe 425F.

As it is, I expect to continue cooking pizza at 500F, and fully pre-heating the pan.

So, I will look for something else. Thanks to all.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    I have a baking steel that I use for bread and pizza, works great at 480-500F
    – Luciano
    Commented Nov 12 at 14:20

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.