Bread stone

[sloggies]

Got one of these recently....thought it would be the bees knees. But it doesn't make bread any better than the cheap supermarket baking tray with holes in the bottom. The recipe I particularly like is in the Five Minute Bread book, and has a steamed crust, so logically, I can't see how it would effectively steam through the stone.
Can I expect to have more success out of it making pizza, O Wise Ladies of MN?

bumping, someone must have one!

Well I've been using one for a couple of months for bread and pizza. Bread has been great (I don't go in for steaming largely because the book I happen to have on bread says you can't do it properly in a domestic oven so can't comment on that - I do like the way the bottom crust is much softer than with a baking tray).

Pizza is where we noticed the difference most, though - the base is really much tastier, however thick we've made it. Highly recommended for that.

thanks Alana have yet to try pizza. What do you use for a tomato base that doesn't go soggy please?

I'm a firm believer in that you get what you pay for. The best bread stones are known brands and are guaranteed lead free. Stoneware uses steam to cook things, honest - not sure how though!

If you want to make pizza, you can omit the tomato base completely or just use tomato puree.

You can also get stoneware bread pans for making loaves as well as lots of other lovely pieces!

I am biased towards Pampered Chef myself as I sell it :)

I'm not a big stoneware fan. It need to be preheated - I don't care what Pampered chef say - the base of a pizza should be almost charred and the top should be just cooked and a cold stone does not achieve this. A heated stone - takes ages to reach oven temp compared with stainless steel.

Best thing you can do with stoneware is oven chips - you don't need to turn them as the hottest bit on a baking tray is usually the base and the base of the chip will always be done more than the top - with Pampered chef stone ware it is much cooler than stainless steel for longer and so it works perfectly for this!

Tomato sauce shouldn't go soggy - oven temp as high as it will go - preheat tray. Put pizza on baking parchment and slide it onto hot tray.

I make sauce from one can of tomatoes - whizzed smooth/passatta, half a red onion finely chopped, pinch of sugar or little bit of balsamic vinegar, pinch salt. Don't over load the pizza.

Thanks all!