Forno Bravo Pizza Stone

[sb 44 champs]

Does anyone own one and if so do you have an opinion you would want to share?
I'm looking for a good stone, nothing too thin, what will last and withstand high heat, 550+. I currently have a Lodge cast iron pizza pan and I like it but it sometimes burns the under crust.
I currently bake in my regular home oven and also alot of grilled pizza's. I'm also wondering if you can use fire brick as a stone.

Thanks Eddie

[breadstoneovens]

Hi Eddie,

You can use fire bricks as stone, it is how true brick oven are build. It will take much longer to get a true fire brick to the desired temp but will stay hot a lot longer.

Antoine

[sb 44 champs]

Thanks Antoine. I think I will give firebricks a try. I can get them fairly cheap locally and that saves on the shipping costs.

[breadstoneovens]

Thanks Antoine. I think I will give firebricks a try. I can get them fairly cheap locally and that saves on the shipping costs.

Great, good luck.

Antoine

[scott123]

Firebrick, even thinner firebrick splits, takes a tremendous amount of energy to pre-heat.  In a proprane grill, that translates into a lot of propane. In a home oven, that usually transfers into a couple hours pre-heat.

Firebrick also lacks the necessary conductivity to give you fast bakes in a 550 home oven.  For 550, 1/2" steel is your best bet. Using 1/2" steel plate in combination with the broiler, the bottom of the pizza and the top of the pizza will both cook in a very fast time frame.  For NY style pizza, this fast time frame makes for the best pies.

Steel is not ideal for a bottom heat scenario grill, though, because there is no broiler to speed up the top bake. In a grill, you want a less conductive material.  Quarry tiles have  a low conductivity, but may not be durable in a grill environment.  Fibrament can perform well in this setting.  If you're willing to spend the time and the money for fuel for the pre-heat, firebrick is a durable option for the grill.

[sb 44 champs]

I'm not looking to spend hours pre-heating a stone. Once I have my kettle grill converted into my pizza oven, i will then decide which route to take for the stone. I haven't seen any quary tiles locally so that would probably mean I would have to order online and pay a fortune in shipping.
In the mean time, I'll continue to use my Lodge cast iron pizza pan or cook directly on my keg.
All is good.

[scott123]

Eddie, Home Depot has been known to stock quarry tiles, but that can be hit or miss.  I would look up tile in the yellow pages, call a few places and ask if they carry an unglazed tile. If they can give you a weight and dimension for the tile, that would help, but that's probably asking for a lot.  You'll most likely have to go to the store and examine the tile yourself.  Density is good.  It gives you thermal mass, flexural strength/durability, and usually gives you resistance to thermal shock as well. In ceramics, air is the enemy.

I would definitely see if you can track down tiles- iron is way too conductive for a keg and will burn the bottom of your pie before the top is done. Unless you can incorporate some kind of deflector into the mix- but that gets a bit more complicated.

[sb 44 champs]

Scott,

I actually have a deflector for my keg and that should help but I would prefer quary tile if I can find it. There is a HD on my way to work so will stop by today. There are a few tile stores that may have quary tiles so i will give them a shot as well.

Is quary tile about the same thickness as ceramic tile?

[scott123]

Is quary tile about the same thickness as ceramic tile?

Quarry tile tends to be a bit beefier, although it varies.  I've seem 1/4" thick quarry tiles and 1/2".