Author Topic: Homemade "HearthKit" (Read 44698 times)

Pizzaholic · « **Reply #20 on:** June 25, 2004, 10:31:30 AM »

Foccaciaman and Steve
Having tiled a couple of floors and backsplashes, I know there is a durarock sheet that is available in most tile stores.
This is what is used in showers and is pretty thick. I dont know how safe it it to heat up or what bonding material could be used to attach the Daltile Red Blaze Q40 quarry tiles, but this might make your hearth a little more portable/removable after tiling it with your quary tile.
You would have to check to see if it was food safe though.
Just my two cents.
Pizzaholic

Randy · « **Reply #21 on:** June 25, 2004, 03:25:28 PM »

Leave the durarock sheet to setting tiles. It is not a ceramic product.

Pizzaholic · « **Reply #22 on:** June 28, 2004, 11:18:19 AM »

I wasnt sure, thanks for clearing that up Randy.
Big help as always!
Pizzaholic

Les · « **Reply #23 on:** July 04, 2004, 11:10:37 AM »

Quote from: Steve on June 23, 2004, 03:55:47 PM

I don't have a pizza stone, but using two layers of tile makes for more thermal mass (most pizza stones are not very thick).

After reading the negative reviews about the HearthKit insert, I am wondering why it wouldn't work under the same conditions. It seems the same principle as what you've done. If it didn't work, would you surmise it is due to being too thin? Or the materials used?

DKM · « **Reply #24 on:** July 05, 2004, 08:47:02 PM »

This is the first chance I have had to make it down to this part of the board in a couple of months. The is great Steve! My wife might kill me but I think i will try that when i can get the materials.

DKM

canadave · « **Reply #25 on:** July 07, 2004, 12:45:26 PM »

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry tears of joy when I saw the pictures of your jerry-rigged hearthkit, Steve! lol That's so awesome; your photos make it really clear what to do. I'm going to try it myself and report back.

Any chance of us getting a photo of the *bottom* of your pizza?

Dave

canadave · « **Reply #26 on:** July 07, 2004, 12:56:25 PM »

Oh, and just one question: When preheating and cooking the pizza, you only used the oven's bottom heating coil, right? Even when you set the temp to broil? Or did you switch, and set your upper coil on instead of the bottom one (perhaps when broiling)?

Dave

Steve · « **Reply #27 on:** July 07, 2004, 01:48:57 PM »

When the pizza went in the oven, I set the oven to broil.

Glad you liked my experiment!

canadave · « **Reply #28 on:** July 07, 2004, 02:05:06 PM »

lol, okay, maybe I didn't make my question clear. I'm wondering whether you set the oven to broil from the top down, or the bottom up? (my oven has a switch that lets you use either element--top or bottom--for broiling). From the looks of your picture, "top down" broiling would be going directly at the pizza, while "bottom up" broiling would be simply heating the bottom quarry tiles.

Dave

Steve · « **Reply #29 on:** July 08, 2004, 09:27:06 AM »

Top down broiling -- the top heating element provides intense heat radiation which helps cook the top of the pizza.

canadave · « **Reply #30 on:** July 08, 2004, 10:16:53 AM »

Ah, I see...I figured as much, but just wanted to make sure

I wonder now, though....what if you also added a quarry tiles to the top rack to your contraption? Making a sort of "quarry tile box" with four sides? Missing only the front and back to make it a cube?

I have dough ready today...I'll make a pizza with "Steve's Patented Hearthkit Idea" and see if I can't duplicate such delicious results

Dave

canadave · « **Reply #31 on:** July 08, 2004, 03:47:59 PM »

Hmmmm....okay, I tried Steve's hearthkit idea just now. The pizza dough was *really* delicious, and certainly had a much better texture than I've been able to achieve previously. It was chewy, soft, just airy enough...yet had a somewhat crisp, leathery bottom. Very tasty too!

However, I don't know how much of it I can attribute to the hearthkit concept. I also used a metal cookie tin to store the dough in the refrigerator overnight (I used to simply store the dough in plastic grocery bags tied shut). The dough seemed to be very happy in the metal tin (it rose smoothly and seemed more pliable than usual), so maybe that had something to do with it. Also, I wasn't able to achieve the "charring" effect that Steve did. I wanted to leave the pizza in longer, but the cheese was starting to burn.

Anyway, it was an interesting experiment. I have another ball of dough, from the same "mother dough", stored in the metal tin, ready to go for tomorrow night--I think I'll try doing the pizza without the hearthkit and see if it makes any difference.

Dave

canadave · « **Reply #32 on:** July 09, 2004, 05:24:01 PM »

OK, tried batch number 2....same "mother dough", but this time I cooked it without the hearthkit tiles on either side. To be honest, I couldn't really notice a difference. It tasted pretty much the same, had about the same texture, etc.

One question I had--does anyone have a good method for preventing the dough from sticking to inside the metal cookie tin? I had a devil of a time getting the dough out...it was stuck on pretty good

Dave

Randy · « **Reply #33 on:** July 09, 2004, 07:26:35 PM »

Crisco or olive oil wil work Dave.
Randy

canadave · « **Reply #34 on:** July 10, 2004, 09:23:27 AM »

duh...I was oiling the dough, not the inside of the tin

Silly me! I'll do it right next time.

Interesting, Randy...I see your pizza used very hot water with very good results...I dropped my water temp way down, and was more pleased with my results! Weird.

Dave

canadianbacon · « **Reply #35 on:** August 12, 2004, 09:18:42 AM »

So what did you get for dessert

Btw, Steve - YOU DA MAN ! - super super super is all I can say !! I love
this setup you made ! - it looks EXACTLY like the one I saw on TV a few days ago that
is going to retail for $200 !

Quote from: Steve on June 23, 2004, 07:57:49 AM

Even my skeptical wife was amazed at the results. I was lying in bed, almost asleep, and she rolled over and said "that was a great pizza"

canadianbacon · « **Reply #36 on:** August 12, 2004, 03:40:45 PM »

HI Dave,

seeing this post was way back on the 7th, and today is the 12th already how did it go ?

I'd like to buy the tiles that Steve has here, but I've never seen unglazed tiles before at HomeDepot.

I'm assuming you didn't have the tiles and went out to buy them... did you find any ? .... if so where did
you get 'em ?

Thanks in advance.

Quote from: canadave on July 07, 2004, 12:45:26 PM

I'm going to try it myself and report back.
Dave

canadianbacon · « **Reply #37 on:** August 12, 2004, 03:50:17 PM »

By the way,

If anyone is buying a new stove anywhere in the future, make sure you buy a self-cleaning oven, - there is a HUGE difference in how they keep the heat...

non-self-cleaning are nowhere, and I mean nowhere as good in keeping heat in the oven as a self-cleaning oven. First off, the doors are much better insulated and are heavier than non-self-cleaning ovens.

Also, - a self-cleaning oven goes much higher ( heat) than a non-self-cleaning.

I was astonished to go a friend's house about a month ago, they bought a new fridge from Sears.. - it's a non-self-cleaning model.... well I'll tell ya, I was disappointed in the way it baked a frozen pizza. (store bought ).... the box says 20 minutes to do the pizza .... so we pre-heated the oven and put the pizza in , - well it took the whole damn 20 minutes to do it. I kept checking on it and checking on it and checking on it... I could not understand why it was taking so long.... at home here our oven does the same Delicisio brand pizza in about 12 minutes. Anyway I clicked into what I finally realized but kept it to myself. Once again at home I told my wife about the experience and she just told me yet again why self-cleaning ovens are so much more effecient. ( She used to work for a company that sold appliances a long time ago so )

anyway next time you arout out and about and are looking for a stove keep that in mind.

Mark

canadave · « **Reply #38 on:** August 12, 2004, 07:08:25 PM »

Mark,

Sorry, haven't had a chance to try again...some family health issues have interrupted my search for the perfect NY pizza. It's only temporary though, thank goodness. I hope to be back in action sometime around the middle of September.

As far as the tiles go, I simply went to a local tile retailer in Edmonton and asked for unglazed quarry tiles. Cheap and easy

--Dave

Rich · « **Reply #39 on:** August 30, 2004, 10:24:00 PM »

I don't know if anyone does this, I am new to the board, but I have a stone that I put on the floor of my oven and it never comes out. I should mention that I have a gas oven, obviously this is not possible in an electric oven. Anyway, I crank out pizzas in 5-7 minutes at 475-500 - fresh or frozen... Hey, I like that Freschetta Sauce Stuffed Crust, ok?

Supposedly having a stone inside helps regulate the tempurature. I like this tile thing. NICE pictures Steve!