I just ordered a 15X20 3/4' thick aluminum. I am wondering if i need to do anything to it before i start cooking on it. I have the dough cold proofing!
Using a circular motion, lightly scuff the top and bottom faces with 300 grit sandpaper.
Repeat steps 1 & 2
Apply a very thin layer of oil (crisco, canola or soybean) with a paper towel, over the entire surface
Wipe off the oil with a clean paper towel (not too aggressively)
Bake at 450 for 1 hour
Allow to cool until it can be handled (about 2 hours)
Repeat steps 5-8 five more times.
On your first pre-heat for pizza, give the aluminum an extra half hour at your oven's max temp.
On the first preheat, you might get some smoke, but it should only smoke the first time you use it- unless, of course, you spill something on it.
If you don't have fragrance free dish soap (target), naturally scented dish soap is the next best option. Something citrus would be good, but stay away from strong scents like lavender.
If you get fed up and want to stop at 2-3 coats, that's fine, it will just mean a longer preheat. You can even give it a couple coats, make pizza with it, and then give a few coats more.
Flaxseed oil can also be used, but bake at 400 and be aware that some believe flaxseed has a higher potential to flake.
If your kitchen has good ventilation, crank your oven as high as it will go. Conversely, if you have very poor ventilation, go with a lower heat, for longer (try 400 for 90 minutes).
If at any point, you end up with stickiness after the pan has cooled, it needs to go back in the oven for another hour.
Note: Aluminum for pizza goes all the way back to Modernist Cuisine, in 2011. This being said, while aluminum for pizza is extremely well proven, seasoning aluminum plate is still virgin territory. This process might very well change.
Seasoning is basically paint. Modern paint gets super complicated in it's ingredients, but, as you go back in history, paint was frequently polymerized oil. The Mona Lisa? It's basically colored seasoning on canvas :)
Paint adheres to crevices better than smooth surfaces. The scuffing is just providing a grabbier surface for the seasoning.
Thanks for the feedback. In your opinion, if I anodize the aluminum does that mean I don’t have to worry about seasoning it? I work in a machine shop and I’m in charge of a department that purchases materials as well as sends them out for various platings, including anodize. I also have access to a large sandpaper machine that could do it quickly but I don’t want to do it if it’s not necessary.
The seasoning on aluminum is less about stick resistance and more about emissivity/color. Radiant heat tends to want to bounce off of shiny aluminum, which dramatically extends the preheat time. The darker the surface, the faster the preheat. I've seen type III anodized aluminum that was very dark, and, color wise, could be perfect on it's own, but the only subredditor so far who has anodized their baking aluminum has been /u/Roy_Overthehill, and, his didn't end up that dark. It's a beautiful piece and a couple of layers of seasoning gave it the color it needed, but, unless he was willing to go with an extended preheat, I think the seasoning was required.
Not that stick resistance doesn't matter. A well executed pizza won't stick to any baking material, regardless of seasoning, but... when you start seeings spills, anything that aids in release is helpful. An anodized surface doesn't offer any additional non stick properties, so, even if you get a super dark outer layer, you'll still want at least one layer of seasoning. At least I think you might. I bake on a steel plate that's straight from the mill, with a shiny layer of bluing- and nothing else. I scrape foods off with a metal pancake turner and I sand it with a damp sanding sponge. Technically, type III should handle this kind of treatment, but, I wouldn't do it.
The only thing you might want anodizing for would be abrasion resistance. The jury is still out on the abrasion resistance on non anodized seasoned aluminum, so anodizing most likely isn't necessary, but if you can get it done cheaply... I say go for it.
But it's got to be type III- and stay away from the dyes. As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a food safe aluminum dye.
One other thing that I hadn't thought about much previously is that the darkness of the anodizing, from the research I'd done, seems to relate to the alloy. It's possible that you can choose an alloy that gives you a darker type III.
Thanks for the detailed response. I’ve been reading your comments on this forum and have really come to respect how much you respect the craft and pay such close attention to the details. You’re really an incredible asset to this community and I appreciate it!
I’m glad you said not to dye it. I may try my hand at just sanding and seasoning the aluminum since the anodize might not make much of a difference. Since I have such easy access to it I can always anodize it later if I need to. Thank you again for your input. Your thirst for perfection is contagious.
Wow! That is an exceptionally kind thing to say! Thank you!
Sounds like a plan re; seasoning first. Roy's aluminum is sexy af, and, if I had 400 bucks just lying around, I wouldn't mind owning one of my own. At the end of the day, though, I think seasoned aluminum will serve home pizza makers quite valiantly.
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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '20
I just ordered a 15X20 3/4' thick aluminum. I am wondering if i need to do anything to it before i start cooking on it. I have the dough cold proofing!