Unglazed ceramic tile

[Konini]

Whilst conceding that my flatbread and pizza will benefit greatly, I refuse to pay $50 for a pizza stone when a $1 unglazed tile like the one I had back home does the exact same job. The problem is finding one that is both unglazed and sold separately, which rules out Homepro etc who only sell by the box. Oh, and a larger size would be ideal if not asking too much.

Any pointers? I tried at a stall at the plant market but couldn't get them to understand me. I also picked up what I thought were a couple of parsley plants - pak chi farang - which I didn't smell or taste and they turn out to be celery leaves. My seedlings have worked just well enough for me to be able to take a small handful to let them smell and taste for what I want next time, and perhaps asking for pak chi Italian will work better. Not a very productive trip all round; in fact it turned into one of those days where every single thing I touched turned to poo

[fredge45]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

[Konini]

Thank you - I didn't know granite would retain heat. I've been thinking about getting a marble scrap for keeping things cool during baking preparations, I just assumed granite would be good at cold not hot. That could be two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Now, just the parsley plant.......

[ilostmypassword]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

Granite is tricky. It can crack in the heat of an oven if it has any hidden flaws. So, you have to hope you get lucky when you buy a piece. I learned that the hard way. On Hangdong Road a few hundred meters south of tesco-lotus, there are brick and tile stores which sell loose unglazed terracotta tiles. I've used them in my oven with great success. The stores are hard to miss because there are stacks of brick outside them.

[fredge45]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

Granite is tricky. It can crack in the heat of an oven if it has any hidden flaws. So, you have to hope you get lucky when you buy a piece. I learned that the hard way. On Hangdong Road a few hundred meters south of tesco-lotus, there are brick and tile stores which sell loose unglazed terracotta tiles. I've used them in my oven with great success. The stores are hard to miss because there are stacks of brick outside them.

Seems that you haven't had lots of luck keeping the unglazed tikes from cracking either? 555+

Maybe tap in the granite to hear a soild ringing? I've never had any problem but I do not know all about these things... just suggesting in response to the query of the OP.

[nivram4491]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

I have tried 3 pieces of granite so far and they all cracked. I will try unglazed terracotta tile next.

[fredge45]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

I have tried 3 pieces of granite so far and they all cracked. I will try unglazed terracotta tile next.

You let the baking stone, be it granite or terracotta, heat with the oven... at least that is what I have done over the years. But then, who am I to say?

[Konini]

I found a nice big 300x600 sandstone tile in a marble/granite shop for 300 baht which is bigger than I need and I suspect cost more than it should have, but now I'm just waiting to try it out. Also on the way home we found Madam Herb at the plant market who has all manner of herbs, speaks perfect English and knows the difference between curly and flat leaf parsley,so my day certainly was an massive improvement on the one before.

Fredge45 is correct about the stone being in the oven from the time it is turned on so it heats up gradually, I have a very big oven so I may just let mine live there permanently as it's quite a weight to be lifting in and out.

Thanks to everyone for suggestions, if it doesn't work out (I went in looking for soapstone as I had read that it was better, but they assured me sandstone was perfect for the job), I'll go to Hang Dong Road for an unglazed ceramic tile. Hope this thread helps others now or in the future, I couldn't find anything when I searched.

[FolkGuitar]

I found a nice big 300x600 sandstone tile in a marble/granite shop for 300 baht which is bigger than I need and I suspect cost more than it should have, but now I'm just waiting to try it out. Also on the way home we found Madam Herb at the plant market who has all manner of herbs, speaks perfect English and knows the difference between curly and flat leaf parsley,so my day certainly was an massive improvement on the one before.

Fredge45 is correct about the stone being in the oven from the time it is turned on so it heats up gradually, I have a very big oven so I may just let mine live there permanently as it's quite a weight to be lifting in and out.

Thanks to everyone for suggestions, if it doesn't work out (I went in looking for soapstone as I had read that it was better, but they assured me sandstone was perfect for the job), I'll go to Hang Dong Road for an unglazed ceramic tile. Hope this thread helps others now or in the future, I couldn't find anything when I searched.

Can you give us direction to this vendor, please? The local fresh markets are great for Thai herbs, but little else.

[JaseTheBass]

^ I was about to make the same request

[ilostmypassword]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

I have tried 3 pieces of granite so far and they all cracked. I will try unglazed terracotta tile next.

Just buy a few extra pieces. If one cracks, they're cheap to replace.

[ilostmypassword]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

I have tried 3 pieces of granite so far and they all cracked. I will try unglazed terracotta tile next.

You let the baking stone, be it granite or terracotta, heat with the oven... at least that is what I have done over the years. But then, who am I to say?

Yes, who are you to say that's what we haven't done?

[fredge45]

Get the measurements of the stone you want then go to a granite shop (there are lots of them around) to have them cut the stone from scrap they have.

Paid 300 baht for mine some 10+ years ago and it's still working just great!

I have tried 3 pieces of granite so far and they all cracked. I will try unglazed terracotta tile next.

You let the baking stone, be it granite or terracotta, heat with the oven... at least that is what I have done over the years. But then, who am I to say?

Yes, who are you to say that's what we haven't done?

This is just what I love about TV... try to pass on some correct and good information that has worked for me (and others) and then some wise arse has to declare that he's the only one who is right. Fornicate him!

[Konini]

Sorry for the delay, I've been trying to find it on Streetview, but noticed this morning that a tree I used as a placemarker while we were on the ground is there then disappears on Streetview, it must be at the end of an overlapping image or something. Mr K didn't believe me until he saw it with his own eyes, thought it was just my sense of non-direction.

Anyway, whilst this isn't exact, it is within spitting distance. All of the people there were really nice, and if you can't speak in a common language, pak chi farang is Thai for parsley and they will direct you. Apparently if she didn't have it, there is another stall very close by that may, so must be two of them. The stall is Madam Herb Coffee, she has a coffee machine and a lovely cool setting for it, and a there is a sign in English with the name and various things she sells. Seems to be the full range, including things like lemon balm which I wasn't expecting.

This is the link to where I managed to get to in Streetview (advance 10 meters towards the red truck and notice how the palm tree behind it disappears from view).

As I said, not the exact location but very close. If anyone goes along and can post the exact GPS coordinates, I know that is going to be helpful to people in time to come, I've been looking for somewhere like this for a long time, and it really isn't the kind of place you can give meaningful directions to as it's such a maze.

[Konini]

I have an update on the location that I kept forgetting to update. I explained my ineptness to the lovely stallholder and she gave me a card with her (Thai language) Facebook page which has a Google location map. I'm not sure how to get the exact position in Google Maps as it may be reading something from the cache, so I got it in Streetview and clicked share/embed. It's called Yothin Plants, AKA Madame Herb and there are now signs in English, a coffee machine and several bottles of cordials for soft drinks at the front of the stall.

Not great, but the best I can do, and at least I know this one is exact because she is sitting down in the stall.

https://goo.gl/maps/KrBEyGDdboM2

[FolkGuitar]

This is great! Just a few minutes wandering back and forth with Street View and I'm pretty sure I'll now be able to find the shop. It's the one with the lifetime supply of Rosemary growing the front row!

Thanks again!

[Konini]

In the middle of the front row is the drinks counter now, but if you get close ask for patchie farang - literally farang coriander (parsley) - and people should know. It's a total maze in there, when we went back it wasn't easy to find it, but we got it in the end, more by accident than my initial placement, I think it's the next row up from when I thought it was. No excuse now because we've got it on Streetview and I can find it on a map but don't know how to work out GPS coordinates. There is a google map if you go onto the Facebook page I linked.

If anyone can work out the GPS or place it on a google map, it may be helpful for someone in the future.

[FolkGuitar]

I can't get the Street View to sync with the Map view, but it seems to be the only shop with a Sat dish on top that sits a few meters from a speed bump near the back north corner of the market. There are more than enough visual clues to be able to find the place.