On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:57:57 +0000
scott123 > wrote:


> A lot of people gush about the unglazed quarry tiles that they've been
> baking with for years without a problem. All power to them. Me and my
> chipped tooth are sticking with tools specifically engineered for the
> job.


I started out making pizza on unglazed earthenware tiles, and then my
parents upgraded to an immense bentonite ceramic slab - which was a lot
better.

I moved out, and while my career was doing just fine for a number of
years, I neglected to invest in anything. I was kinda pizza'd-out from
being designated pizza guy at home - even when I'd go home to visit.

Then the bubble burst, my high-tech job evaporated and i started
competing with half a million geeks (actually closer to 540,000) for the
same couple hundred jobs, and got a hankering for pizza.

The quarry tiles worked very well for the $6 investment made at Lowes.
The only breakage problems i had was when i dropped them and chipped the
edges.

The job market got better, I started making more money, and bought the
fibrament slab. It was worth the $60, considering it'll last a lifetime and
will be replaced under warranty unless i break it doing something
incredibly stupid.

It's not only that it stores more heat, it releases it a little more
gradually.

You can get the quarry tiles really hot, searing hot, but when you slide
the pizza onto them they transfer most of what they've got stored very
quickly.

You end up with the bottom of the crust being crisper than the rest, and
actually a slightly longer bake time than the fibrament. On the fibrament
slab, it's just got more heat stored after the initial flash, which allows
you to produce a more evenly crisp surface on the crust with a more evenly
baked interior.