Start by placing the baking steel slightly below the centre of the oven. If your loaves then turn out too dark at the bottom, place it a little higher the next time you bake, until you’ve found the right position in your oven.
Start by preheating the oven to full heat for an hour before sliding the dough onto the baking steel. Later on, you could try 45 or 30 minutes. This is because there is a big difference from oven to oven in terms of how quickly the steel reaches 250–300 degrees.

After that, the rest depends a bit on what sort of baked goods you’re making.

Pizza

If you’re making a thin Italian-style pizza, the oven can’t really get too hot. The only thing you need to do is keep an eye on the pizza. When the cheese turns golden and the crust is crispy, it’s time to take the pizza out and slide the next one onto the baking steel. 

If the pizza base burns, place the baking tray one shelf higher the next time you bake. If, on the other hand, the cheese and the crust burn before the base is ready, turn the oven down and remind yourself to place the baking tray lower the next time you bake a pizza :-).

Yeast dough (bread/rolls)

Yeast dough rises very quickly during baking. You can therefore easily bake at high temperatures.

If the end result turns out a bit dense, even though the dough rose well before baking, you could try adding a bit more water to the recipe next time. The dough should actually be a bit soft. The Pizza Steel will ensure that it rises upwards in the oven rather than spreading out.

I would recommend placing a roasting tin or deep baking tray at the bottom of the oven 10 minutes before you let the dough slide down onto the baking rack. Once you’ve slid your dough onto The Pizza Steel, pour 1–2 dl of water into the baking tray/deep baking sheet, thereby mimicking the steam function found in professional ovens. Quickly close the oven door and leave the bread to finish baking until the crust is a deep golden brown. 

Sourdough (bread/rolls)

Sourdough does not rise as quickly as yeast dough. You therefore need to allow the bread a little more time to rise by letting some of the heat escape from the oven when you slide the dough onto the baking steel, and then lowering the oven temperature to 200 degrees. If you’re baking several loaves, you’ll need to turn the oven up when you take the bread out, and allow the baking tray 10 minutes to ‘reheat’ to 240°C before baking the next loaf.

Just as with yeast dough, it’s a good idea to place a baking tray or deep baking dish at the bottom of the oven and pour 1–2 dl of water into it once the bread or rolls have been placed in the oven. This will give the dough more time to rise and make the bread resemble the loaves you’re used to seeing at the baker’s.