January 15, 2007 - 9:47pm
Bread stone
I bought a bread stone today. I sprinkled some corn meal on it before I put my loaves on it. Seemed to work fine. Anything I need to know about caring/maintaining it? Using it?
I'm going to be dreaming of my traditional bread success tonight ;-D My starter is doing great. I dumped half of it, and fed it. It seemed to do really well when my bread was in the oven and it was sitting on the stove above. When I fed it, I turned the oven on again. Wonder if that helps it any.
Steph
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The one I have now has been real sturdy, but if it is a thin one be careful, they are easy to break.
Other than that, the only thing I'd say is be sure to give it plenty of time to preheat to maximize the pop. At least half an hour, more like an hour.
I find it is easiest to just turn the oven on with my baking stone in it when I am shaping the loaves.
Enjoy!
If you ever need to clean it then use a plastic scraper after soaking it in warm/hot water to loosen baked on material, for me it's usually cheese or pie juices. Never use soap, detergents, or any metal scour pads as the soaps/detergents can be absorbed into the stone affecting flavour and the metal scour pads may gouge the surface. Use a plastic scour pad if the need arises.
You can stack stones but never on their ends.