Baking Stones

Howdy,

I don't know about slate, but I used a piece of soapstone for about 15 years. It was the size of the bottom of my oven and about 2" thick. It weighed about 90 pounds. Its cost was trivial at my local brickyard...

Also, any folks who sell stone will know what works for this purpose.

All the best,

You could buy some 6"x6" UNGLAZED tiles. They are cheap and if one breaks, it is easily replaced. Graham

Howdy,

Everything you have written is certainly correct, but...

The tiles are not sufficiently massive to offer much benefit. The whole idea of a stone is that it is a heat sink. It takes quite a while to heat the stone to the appropriate temperature. Then, when the dough is slid onto the stone, all that stored energy is liberated to the dough. The tiles heat in a flash, and, as a result, have retained little heat to liberate later.

All the best,

I agree. However, IIRC, Alan (in alt.bread.recipes) has been using them successfully and that's why I suggested them. I would have thought that tiles would be OK for the odd pizza but not for multiple batches of bread. I use one of those expensive "pizza" stones for my bread baking - mainly because I couldn't be bothered, at the time, to chase around looking for an alternative. I thought of asking a potter friend to make me one - custom fitted to my oven - but there was the possibility that it would warp in the firing apparently. Graham

Hi Graham,

I now have a Bongard deck oven in my home. It is extremely massive. For years I used the soapstone slab that I described. It also worked extremely well. The test really is in the time it takes to heat up. If it is minutes, there is really little benefit...

All the best,

Wow! I'm jealous! Does that mean that you now live in a bakery? Graham

Well, some would say that...

Interestingly, I tried something new with the oven just yesterday. My inlaws were celebrating their 50th anniversary and we threw a big party for them. I cooked 12 chickens in the Bongard. 'Worked great!

All the best,

Not sure what your "arm and a leg" threshold is, but I bought a Kitchenaid pizza stone at Costco for $19.95 last Christmas. ~Peggy

An interesting debate and quite educational. As a weekend hearth style baker and maker of sourdough, I was following Peter Reinhart's methods and he's not so particular -- even suggesting baking on the back of a sheet pan is okay.

I don't want to go to a 2" thick stone since that would force me to rearrange how I set up the oven (bake on the middle rack, steam pan on the lower rack). I'm afraid that moving a thick stone will move the dough too close to the upper heating element.

Plus, I'm impatient and I'll also admit that in the summer, I don't want to spend another half hour heating up my oven (and my house) to get the stone hot.

I have noticed that the pizza stones in the Lazarus/Macy's kitchen department were soapstone and about 1/2" thick.

At any rate, the plan is to see the local stone supplier and see what he has.

Thanks for the advice guys!

David

I was looking for something other than a round stone. What I was seeing online was stuff costing like $200-$300.

Julia Child will be disappointed to hear this. She has recommended unglazed tiles for years.

You can find rectangle stones for under $20 in most discount stores. I found mine at Meijer's and I know Target, Walmart etc. usually care them as well. Even one of my local hardware stores carry them. Good luck in your search.

Dan "> I was looking for something other than a round stone. What I was seeing

Indeed, she has... But, her vast experience and skill does little to change the laws of physics .

All the best,

Baking stones!

A good and relatively CHEAP method of obtaining a baking stone is to go to a local CERAMIC SHOP. Purchase a NEW KILN SHELF.

I emphasize NEW. You don't want a used shelf, using a shelf which has been used in firing pottery can absorb various and sundry items , in gaseous forms, from the glazes used on the pottery. These chemicals can be outgassed to the food if they are present.

Again, NEW SHELVES ONLY.

That is what I use and I have had very good results, as good as the expensive baking stones which are available at the locas kitchen supply stored in Cincinnati.

I used a slate flagstone I picked up from Home Depot. After 7 uses, it cracked down the middle. It held for a while until I tried to transport it and it split in two.

I am presently using a glazed porcelain floor tile, fired at 1700 degrees and cut to fit my oven. I have had stellar results with it, and it's a snap to clean afterward when I bake something on it that makes a mess (like a pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni).

HTH.

Howdy,

For about fifteen years I happily used a piece of soapstone that I got from a local brickyard. It was about 2" thick.

Any place that sells stone will be able to tell you which of their products is appropriate.

All the best,

Hello again,

Are you aware that before she suggested unglazed tiles she suggested asbestos tiles as a baking surface?

No, not everything she taught us was worth remembering...

All the best,

It is worth remembering that, back 20 or 40 years ago, asbestos was still considered a wonder material. It provided long-lasting insulation and was made from -- stone! So it was considered completely harmless and inert.

Turned out to be wrong.

So, I wonder about other kinds of stone we put in our ovens.

Has ANYONE done any research to see if any old thing you get at the stone mason's is actually non-perilous????