HUTCHNDI wrote:
> I know, I am being a pest.

pffft - pest spray, you are clean now ;-)
no problem.
>
> I just picked up some unglazed quarry tiles at Lowes. 8"x8"x1/2"....Does
> anybody have any experience using them or a link that may be helpful? I am
> wondering things like do I need a space for air circulation between the
> walls,

That was an issue for me. My heater elements are at the bottom and I
leave maybe > 1" on sides and 2 1/2" front and back. I had tiles cut to
that size and use two layers (now broken into many fragments).

If I would not leave space between the tiles and the wall, the upper
part of the oven, where the bread bakes would not get enough heat. I did
this once - covering the whole oven with tiles and it did not turn out well.

Also - contrary opinion to Kenneth, I don't use parchment. My thinking
is that a bakery which bakes hundreds of loafs in one run using
parchment on stones - can't imagine that. Maybe for cookies but for
bread on stone tiles...??

You can look there, where it shows pictures of the tiles and my
improvised loaf shooter:

http://samartha.net/SD/images/BYDATE/03-07-12/

The board of the loaf shooter has the same size as my tiles, so I can
place the loafs as they should end up on the tile and shoot them in.

What I do to prevent sticking is just to put a lot of flour on the
transport cloth and the bottom of the loafs (when they are in the
baskets). This works fine except with moist 100 % rye which is too sticky.

I only got cotton cloth at the time - no flax available, but it works.
In the meantime, there is a layer of flour accumulated on the cloth;
doing it's job.

> do I bake directly on them or use parchment, do they need to be
> seasoned, can I leave them in place all the time, ....

I don't get the seasoning question. Doesn't that depend on your recipe?
Spiced breads - onions, olives, seeds of various kinds are great but
that's dependent on recipe.

If you mean putting gloss on a loaf - there are several methods - I use
boiled corn starch and brush it on about 15 minutes before baking end.