Hi all — first time posting here 👋
I’ve mostly baked in Dutch ovens so far, but now I want to try larger loaves and multiple full-size baguettes in my 36'' oven. I’m trying to decide whether a baking stone, steel, or firebricks would work best.
A few questions:
- How can I best maximize baking area?
- Any concerns about the weight on the racks if using fire bricks?
- For those with large ovens, what has worked well long-term? Any issues leaving stones, steels, or bricks in permanently?
Thanks so much in advance!
-Lydia
Not specifically about 36-inche ovens, I have used quarry tiles in the past. Butting them together worked fine in the sense that the bread never suffered. So I'm sure you can use pieces to tile your area. IOW, you won't need to use a single piece solution.
TomP
The consensus I’ve seen on steels is that they’re great for pizzas but burn bread.
While I was growing up my family kept a pizza stone in the oven all the time, generally covered in foil to make clean ups easier. The only issue was that moving the stone or rack was inconvenient and the stone eventually cracked (it probably lasted 15 years or so). If you will use your oven for anything other than baking on the stone, you should consider how often you would need to move it and whether you can do that without straining yourself. Personally, I move my racks so much that a large stone might be more than I want to deal with, even though I could move it.
My steel doesn't burn the loaves. Dark Dutch ovens burn them, though.
TomP
Good to know! Cast iron has always been fine in mine (even when preheated).
If only there was a way to be sure how a given piece of bakeware would handle in a specific oven before making a purchase.
A bit late in following up, but thanks for the advice everyone!
I'll pursue a baking stone, leaning towards FibraMent since it's the Wirecutter pick. I also just realized I can get it in a custom size by ordering directly from their website, which will let me maximize my baking area. Thanks again!