Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Baking Stone Recommendation

Options
michael
michael Posts: 47
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hello All,[p]A recent BGE convert, we're amazed how better food tastes on the egg. I'm going to be baking some bread but the bricks from my grandfather's old brick oven do not fit too well in the large egg we have. Besides the BGE baking stones, does anyone have a recomendation, good or bad, for a baking stone? I'm looking for a 15 to 16 inch diameter. BGE's stone is nice but I'm not too keen on the material used - that said, I can always be converted. Oh, I have an eggcetera difuser plate that the stone would sit on.[p]Cheers, Michael
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Chef Arnoldi
    Chef Arnoldi Posts: 974
    Options
    the BGE pizza stone has the same cone rating as the internals of the BGE & would be the best. If you prefer, you could go to a local ceramic store like daven's ceramics in atlanta, and purchase it there.
    I certainly would stay away from the retail store available products, since some people who had purchased them in the past were diappointed when they were cracked. i do remember that there is a company that makes stones from concrete, but can't recollect their name - i am sure someone in our group will remember or even have one of these.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jake42
    jake42 Posts: 932
    Options
    Michael,
    The Pampered Chef has some high quality baking stones. I have a 14" that I got from there to use on my medium Egg. I do a lot of frozen DiGiorno pizzas on my large Egg that come out great. They have a square pizza that is slightly larger so I wound up getting a lager stone from Gordman's it is not as good quality as the Pampered Chef stone but it works just fine. The fact that I normally bake frozen pizza mean that I don't have to expose it to those hight temps.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • WessB
    WessB Posts: 6,937
    Options
    Michael,
    The BGE pizza stone is made of the same material the egg itself is made from. It can withstand much higher temps than an ordinary stone. There have been countless posts here on the forum of people cracking pampered chef and other cheaper stones...FWIW[p]Wess
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokey
    Smokey Posts: 2,468
    Options
    Michael,[p]I would recommend the BGE stone. I used one (we already had) from Pampered Chef. It cracked after 5 or 6 uses, and although they say it's guaranteed for life, getting it replaced has been a pain in the A$$.[p]Smokey
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tn slagamater
    tn slagamater Posts: 623
    Options
    Michael,I would use a BGE stone for the reasons stated or you could use a "kiln shelf" from a ceramic supply shop.Kiln shelves are like pizza stones, come in larger sizes than the BGE stone, and will not crack in the egg. The larger sizes can come in handy ....

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    Options
    Michael,
    The pizza stones I use in my oven are Old Stone Oven - very durable & thick stones and I've had my oven at 600* when baking pizza. Both of those stones are 14" x 16" - thay also make a round 16 inch I intend to buy for my large egg. I still haven't done that yet since I have a 12" bge stone. However, I prefer to make a larger pie. I think it might be Naked Whiz that has the 16" round Old Stone Oven stone and likes it (gets good air flow etc) - but not 100% sure. Hope this helps in some way. Joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    Options
    pizza.jpg
    <p />Michael,
    I bought a 16" pizza stone for my large Egg and used it on a plate setter with the legs down. At 550 degrees, it fried my gasket the first time I used it. I switched back to a 14" one and haven't had the problem. Look at the gasket at the top of the picture. -RP
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • edbro
    edbro Posts: 300
    Options
    AZRP,
    Good observation. I also fried a brand new gasket the first time I used it, which was to bake bread on my 16" stone. I never connected the two factors together though. Looks like its time to shop for a 14". Shame, a 16" pizza is just right for my family.[p]Actually, I remember thinking about the flames shooting up around the sides of the plate setter even before I put the stone on. I was thinking that was the problem.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Dos Huevos
    Dos Huevos Posts: 368
    Options
    AZRP,[p]Great call, AZRP. I had the same thing happen. I think if you had the stone higher or lower than the lip it wouldn't matter. But since that even-ness makes the pizzas easier to put on and get off, the 14 seems like the way to go.[p]I ended up making 14 inch pizzas anyway since the outside of the stone was hotter and kept burning.[p]I am looking forward to making pizzas on sunday if I can pickup a stone or two.[p]Todd
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    Options
    AZRP,
    A quick question for you - does your 16' stone still fit in the large egg if you were to put it up on the grid extender? [p]Curious - cause I had problems burning my crust in the set up you reference (on the 12" bge stone), but at the Eggtoberfest I took advice from Hotash and put the 12" bge stone on the grid extender and got a perfect crust & top without burning a thing.[p]Thanks! Joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • edbro
    edbro Posts: 300
    Options
    Smokin Joe,
    Might that also prevent the gasket from getting fried if you elevate the stone above the gasket?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    Options
    edbro,
    yea, I'm thinking (which is always dangerous...) that if I solve the "burning" issue, keep the gasket from frying and the 16" stone fits in ther on the extended grid - then I'm for sure going to but the Old Stone Oven 16" stone. Joe[p]PS: although I'm not overly concerned about frying my gasket. Truth be known, it's been torched since May 2004 and I still have a seal and can cook with/hold consistant temps for Low-N-Slows - I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Options
    Smokin Joe,
    I've never used anything but a 16" stone and not had any problems, FWIW.
    TNW
    The Naked Whiz
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    Options
    The Naked Whiz,
    Thanks for jumping in. I thought my memory was decent enough to remember it was you that had a 16" stone. [p]What is your set-up when you do pizza? [p]Joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • michael
    michael Posts: 47
    Options
    Many thanks everyone for the recommendations. I knew I could count on fellow EggHeads for help!!! I called up some of the bakery shops that are still open from my grandfather's day and one of the shops is going to send me a 16" round stone which they had cut from their ovens during an upcoming stone replacement. Thier ovens are still coal-fired and take an enormous amount of abuse + get extremely hot so I'm not worried. That and its a free stone. They are also sending me a 13 5/8 and 15 1/2 inch diameter, 3/4 thick 'Fibrament' stones. Check out their site: http://www.bakingstone.com. An update on my progress in about 1 month
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    Options
    Smokin Joe,
    I just checked and with the plate setter legs up, grate and grate extender in place, there seems to be plenty of clearance for the 16" stone. I looked through the top with a flashlight to see how much clearance there was but I couldn't see to the edge of the stone. -RP
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Options
    Smokin Joe,
    I put the stone on the plate setter and that's about it![p]TNW
    The Naked Whiz
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • vettes2
    vettes2 Posts: 50
    Options
    I use 7 1/2 inch square 1/2 inch thick unglazed quarry tiles. I bake all bread an pizzas right on them, in the egg and the oven. I have never cracked one . They are handy for other things too. If I need a cooler surface in the egg for multiple bakes, I will slip a cool tile in and bake on it. Or use it to raise the pizza up on a pizza pan. Home Depot/Lowes
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    Options
    The Naked Whiz,
    Thanks! Joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    Options
    AZRP,
    Cool & Thanks!!!
    That just cost me another $30.00 LOL Joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • permachick
    permachick Posts: 2
    Options
    Hi Michael,
    Not sure if you are still around, but am interested what material in the BGE baking stone you are weary of.Thanks Julie
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories