Closed-loop control of temperature and cooling rates during layer-upon-layer metal deposition of laser additive manufacturing (LAM) was implemented to design a solidification strategy and engineer the subsequent phase transformations and grain structure of stainless steels. Directed energy deposition (DED) of two grades of stainless steels, austenitic (316L) and martensitic (410L), without and with solid-state eutectoid austenite to ferrite phase transformation, were investigated to this end. In order to characterize the columnar grain formation and crystallographic texture generation along the building direction (BD) of deposited layers, large-scale electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping and focused ion beam/scanning transmission electron microscopy (FIB/STEM) analyses were employed. As a critical aspect, the impact of cooling rate on epitaxial growth or alignment of solidified grains during multi-layer deposition and its possible martensitic reversion assisted with micro-twining attributing to the subsequent solid-state phase transformation was explored.