Disclosed are a method and an installation for producing steel products (1) having an optimum surface quality, especially extremely low carbon contents (UCL steel or IF steel), nitrogen contents, total oxygen contents, high-strength or stainless steel qualities. According to the invention, the liquid steel is cast into a thin slab (5a) from a process route (10, 11, 12, or 13) that is selected according to the desired final structure (9) based on an electric-arc furnace (2b), is descaled, cut into billets (15) having a partial length, optionally descaled once again, subjected to final descaling downstream from a holding furnace (16), milled in a finishing mill train (6a), rolled up in a rolling station (20) located downstream from the last finishing mill stand (19) or downstream from a cooling section (21), and the final structure (9) is adjusted in the cooling section (21) according to the desired steel quality by cooling on a run-out roller table (22), whereupon the rolling stock (1a) is completely rolled up in a second rolling station (23).