"graham" > wrote in message
news:XvXFc.22806$P7.739@pd7tw3no...
>
> "Kenneth" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 17:00:57 GMT, "graham" > wrote:
> >
> > >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,
> > Kenneth
>
> 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
>
>

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