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Clay oven cooking surface!

spursuno's picture
spursuno

Clay oven cooking surface!

Hi! After going through many posts I have decided to use fire bricks. Now the problems is that I have three choices:

1. Firebrick: the size of a regular clay brick

2. Fire tiles: 15"x15"x1" tiles. the are bigger thus the would give me a smoother surface, I would need about 9 of them but then these are thinner than the regular firebricks. Would they dissipate heat quicker and effect the heat up time, cooking time and taste?

3. Fire Slabs: 24"x12"x2". Big and heavy, two of them should be enough to make a small clay oven. The are thicker than the tiles and a have bigger surface.

 

Which one should I use? Price comes out to be more or less the same and is not a factor.

I'm trying to add pics of the tile and slab.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

in the base (bottom) of my brick oven.  The thicknesses sound familiar.  My bricks are big, 5kg each. 

 One layer is 8, 3cm thick slabs which lie under the other 5cm thick slabs to add up to 8cm (like my bricks for the sides and roof of the oven.  They are also different sizes so the seams do not line up, only the elevation and outside edges do.

The large slabs line the middle front of the oven floor  (I think they are twice the width of those pictured above) where the most wear occurs and prevents damage from any peels, pans and ash rakes that might catch and chip slab edges at seams.  

Of course you can use the thinner slabs to line a standard clay brick oven.  Choices have more to do with how you plan to use the oven and how often.  I'm planning on using mine a lot, perhaps never letting it cool down completely.  The most important factor then becomes the insulation so that once it is hot, it stays hot a long, long time.  Don't forget to insulate the bottom of the oven, underneath it as well as the sides and front walls.   

spursuno's picture
spursuno

Thank you for the help Mini Oven! 

That's an interesting way to do it. Two layers! Does that help achieve temperatures better and keep the oven hot longer? I was thinking about insulation. The guide that I saw on the internet suggested a layer of glass bottles and sand just below the fire bricks. Since my door will be purely clay, I don't think I will have much choice there. I was thinking adding refractory mortar to the clay mix though. I done know how that would work!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/17827/wfo-construction-questions

for example... One oven did have insulation of glass wine bottles.