alfreda89: 3 foot concrete Medieval style gargoyle with author's hand resting on its head. (Ukrainian Easter Eggs)
alfreda89 ([personal profile] alfreda89) wrote2009-04-12 05:17 pm
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Bread/pizza stones

Does anyone own a bread/pizza stone they recommend? It is too lowly a topic for Consumer Reports, but the comments I've seen at Amazon and elsewhere suggest that they vary a lot. Alton Brown uses a quarry tile -- but you need to find a quarry near where you live, and we have limestone and marble quarries in the area. Not the right thing, I imagine -- no one talks about marble bread stones. He does say don't try one under 1/2" English.

Other sources say quarry tiles start to disintegrate almost immediately. Yeah, they're a buck each, maybe, but with gas for the car, that could add up. I don't want to be constantly worried abut the stone cracking. I already have a cooking crock with a crack in the lid.

I need bread with no yeast other than natural sourdough sponge, so I need to make my own. To get good results, it seems everyone recommends a stone.

Cook's Illustrated likes the Baker's Catalog stone -- only 1/2", but slightly over 14" by 16" in size. King Arthur sells them, says they are made in the USA, plus they're an employee-owned company, and have great products. I've seen stones cheap, and I've seen them pricey. There is a FibraMent type of baking stone -- comes with a 10 year guarantee. Alton Brown also likes soapstone, but says they are devilish hard to find. I found several on-line -- mostly with stainless or copper handles, running $100 or slightly more for something like 14-15 x 16-18 inches. They are usually at least an inch thick.

Any users around here?

[identity profile] cabin77.livejournal.com 2009-04-13 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
I have several stones from Pampered Chef and I love them. It's a home based company which means you either have to go to a home show (a la Tupperware) or you can order them online. They are reasonably priced, too. Pampered Chef has a lot of stoneware - lasagna pans, bread pans, pizza stones, cookie sheets and the like. I have a lot of them and I use them all the time!

Hope this helps!

[identity profile] alfreda89.livejournal.com 2009-04-13 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
My sister bought me something from them. If I decide I want one, I'll check with her first in case she's going to a show or would like to host one! Or I will check to see if anyone is doing shows here. (I've become acutely aware of the need for passive income, so am trying to seed the world in kind....)

Thanx --