What's better: 3/4" pizza stone or 1-1/4" thick firebrick splits?

[Fio]

My major problem is heat retention.  My oven heats to 550.  Using a pizza stone (preheated for an hour), the first pizza is great - nicely browned crust bottom.

After that, it goes downhill.  Second pizza is less brown, third pizza is worse, until finally the bottom is hardly cooked.  Using an IR thermometer, I note that the surface temperature of the stone PLUMMETS after the first pie is cooked.

So I got firebrick splits - they are 1-1/4" thick.  Lots of thermal mass.  Same problem, though to a lesser extent.

I know that firebricks aren't made for heat retention, but merely heat tolerance.  So, even though they are thicker, am I better off (or no better off) sticking with my pizza stone?

Thanks.

 - Fio

 

[canadianbacon]

Hi Fio,

check some of my posts from the weekend, you will see my setup.

I have unglazed quarry tiles in my oven, and then on top of those I have an old pizza stone.

I do believe this works much better than just having the pizza stone  there by its lonesome.

The tiles give a blanket of heat-loss protection and a source of heat to the pizza stone, as it cools, so I
am going to say that my stone has better heat retention like this.

Get over to your local hardware store, and buy some of these tiles.  I paid 14 cents a piece for mine.

Anyway, it's an inexpensive way to test out your problem, and I will bet you a mug of frosty beer that
your stone will stay hotter longer.

From what I've seen on the net, professional pizza stones are much thicker than the one I bought ( el-cheapo )
( you'll also notice mine is cracked ) as it doesn't have the fibre lining the really expensive ones
do that you can buy online at different sites.  Now, if high quality stones are thicker, and indeed they are, then I
believe I'm on the right track with what I'm doing here.  It's far from perfect, but it's better for the time being.

Make sure to heat your oven a good hour before doing your first pizza.

By the way you are doing a lot of  pies there, I haven't seen too much talk of anyone here doing them
one after another like that, so I'm assuming you were having a party or something, or .... you were
mighty hungry 

Anyway hopefully more members will jump in with suggestions that can help you out.

edit: I've added a picture of my oven, so you don't have to go looking for it.

Mark

[007bond-jb]

I use 2 cheapo pizza stones stacked on top each other my oven heats to 749 deg. You also need to open & close you oven door quickly 2 peels & a helper work best. After 2 pies are cooked I wait  till the ovens thermostat satisfies or come back up to temp.

[scott r]

007, what type of oven do you have that can go up to 750?

[ilpizzaiolo]

woodstone ovens actually makes some nice baking stones that seem to be a little more commercial, but they work well.  I have one in my home oven and it works quite well. I believe it is considerably more expensive, but it is the closest I have seen to the stone of an actual commercial oven.

http://www.woodstone-corp.com/images/catalog/baking_slates_lg.jpg

http://www.woodstone-corp.com/products_accessories.htm

if anyone has a commercial oven that will take a full sheet pan, they actually make a large one which would be great.

Hope this is helpful!

  - ron

[007bond-jb]

Scott Its an old GE no self clean mechanical style, by turning its themostat wide open past the  broil marking (in bake mode) it will cycle @ 749 deg F. No modifications have been done to  this oven. Heres a photo

[scott r]

You are so lucky.  What a find!  Your pies look like Pepe's or Sallys in New Haven.