Stone/tile and Oven Management

[MikesCookin]

I’ve been using quarry tile in the oven and on the grill with good results for some time.  Last night I placed the 1/2 inch thick tiles on the bottom rack of my electric oven, ‘blocked’ the next highest rack with heavy foil (not sure how much this helped in terms of trapping the heat below, but I’m testing) and set the bake at 550.  About an hour later, the stone read 665 on my dig IR.  Not quite as hot as the grill, but good for about a 4:45 pizza. 

Questions:
Has anyone tried using a second layer of stone/tile on the next higher rack to isolate heat below?
If I use 2 layers of tile, will this noticeably increase heat retention?

Also, does anyone have information on thermal mass and heat retention of the various stones used (quarry tile, fire brick, granite, and cordierite)?   

Thoughts appreciated.

Thanks.
-Mike

[scott123]

Mike, this is a common method for gas oven owners who don't have broilers in the main compartment.  For people with broilers, though, it's not ideal.  It's possible to dial in the right temp in the isolated bottom compartment for a single pie, but, over time, the heat tends to flow to the top of the oven and mess with the thermodynamics for later pies. If you're really careful, you can get it to work well for multiple pies, but it's far far easier just to use the broiler with the right stone and avoid the blocking technique altogether.

[MikesCookin]

Thanks for the post.  I'll try this next.  I like the method of pre-heating for about an hour and then switching to broil to cook the pie.  Will post results.  What stone do you recommend for under the broiler use?

[scott123]

Mike, for a Pepe's style pie, in a home oven, at 550, you need either a 1/2" steel plate, which can be a bit heavy, or something more experimental such as a Silicon Carbide kiln shelf.

[MikesCookin]

Didn't get what I expected from preheating the tile near the oven roof then switching to broiler.  After 75 min the tile surface temp got no higher than 570, 95 degrees lower than the bottom rack method.  Going to stay with tile/stone in any case, thanks.