BAKING STEEL

Pretty much everyone loves pie, and this is the season for pie. But many pies need to be baked twice and that is a deterrent for even the most patient bakers. Blind-baking pre-bakes the crust so that it is not a mushy mess in the bottom of the pan, under the filling. But now, you can bake pies on the Baking Steel and eliminate the need to pre-bake your crust. Made from low-carbon steel, Andris Lagsdin created the baking steel because he wanted to make a better pizza without building a wood-fire oven.

You preheat the oven with the steel inside for an hour before baking and then place your pie plate directly on the Baking Steel — if you are baking a fruit pie or a pie that might overflow while baking, I would put a piece of parchment paper or foil on the Baking Steel just to make the cleanup easier. You can also bake pizza and bread directly on the Baking Steel and, you can use it on your grill as well. ($168.20; amazon.ca)