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really daft question but how high in fat is it? And I'm not asking for health reasons, not at all..... reason I am asking is that quite some time back I bought a Pampered Chef Stone, like this one: http://www.pamperedchef.co.uk/ordering/ ... ords=stone the idea being the more you use it the darker it gets (ie seasoned) and it needs no oil whatsover, which results in healther cooking with no fat

Now as most of you may have figured out I don't do a lot of baking / cooking in the oven so I don't use my stone as much as I really should be. The few times I have has always been with puff pastry and every time it's stuck to the stone and been a bind to clean. So today I used it again (again with puff pastry) but this time I very lightly oiled the stone; result being that the top of the pastry went nice and fuffy, but the base not at all. Talk about soggy bottoms - the GBBO contestants had nothing on me today; Paul and Mary would have been horrified!

So question is, should I persevere and risk the sticking until the stone is seasoned, because realistically puff pastry is the one thing I will cook in the oven using the stone, or should I rehome the stone (which I'd rather not to given the cost). Alternatively what would be a fairly (but not too) fatty dish I could cook on a flat stone that won't leak but will do the seasoning trick?

I know I could and should consult one of the Pampered Chef reps, but most tend to be like leeches and not leave you in peace until you've agreed to host a party and I don't have enough friends to do that - or rather the friends I have that would be interested already are kitted out as much as they need to be

So you clever kitchen people - what would you do? xx

I could sell you a lovely Teflon baking sheet to go over that stone and nothing would stick again .

We I got my cast iron stuff in London we had to season it by rubbing it in oil and then baking it on a high heat. That needed repeating a few times. I wonder if that's what this needs? Pastry is fairly fatty. The only over dish I could think of is pizza, even the readymade ones, but the fat content won't be as high. The dough uses oil though and pastry uses butter I wonder if that would make a difference?

LOL Weka, I do have a baking sheet and could use that... but I was hoping that the stone would crisp the base from underneath really nicely though; not sure the teflon would?

And then to top it all - I made a huge faux pas by washing the stone with soapy water. it's mean to be soaked in plain water only and then left to dry..... sigh I was on a roll washing up the bits that can't go in the dishwasher and this just went with the flow... oh well

back to step one!

The Teflon will still crisp. But does defeat what you are trying to achieve

Ria, you might have to something like I had to do with my cast-iron wok.

You will need oil that survives high temps such as groundnut or peanut oil. Rub some in with your fingers till the stone will take no more then wipe off any excess with a lint-free cloth. Leave the stone to 'dry' so that there is no oil sheen on it. Pre-heat the oven to its hottest temp then 'bake' the stone for about half an hour. Turn the oven off and leave everything to cool naturally.

The first few times you use it sprinkle some cornmeal or plain flour on the stone before you lay your pastries on it.

My wok only ever gets rinsed when I remove the meal and while it is still hot. Every dozen or so uses I put it back on the heat once it is rinsed, then when it is hot I give it a bit more oil and rub in using a rag - do not use paper towel - then leave it to cool. It is now as non-stick as any Tefal stuff I have ever bought.

Stick with it (oh a sad pun) you will love it when it is seasoned.

I have come back to this as I made a big boo-boo.

My wok is not cast-iron, I could never lift it if it was. It is bog-standard carbon steel, but the 'seasoning' principle remains the same.

Sorry about that.

I'd missed this...

I've only ever seen a stone recommended for cooking pizzas...or of course in stone-steak restaurants, where you take the seriously raging hot stone to the table and slice off bits of your steak to cook on it
Not quite sure why you're cooking pastry on that rather than just on a normal metal baking sheet/tray, am I missing something?

Your stone is similar to good baking tins and frying pans never wash them ........especially in soapy water'

You have to "season" the utensil as was said oil it and really bake it in a very hot oven till it is smoking, by doing this you seal the pores in the metal and it becomes non-stick

Then after use just lightly oil it so it doesn't rust in storage, I oil mine then store them in a polythene bag so it stops clean and ready for use.

If you have ever seen a griddle plate in a steak resturant or a burger stand all they do is scrape it clean of juices and fats from the food......IT IS NEVER WASHED.

Persevere please

Manxie xx

Diflower wrote:Not quite sure why you're cooking pastry on that rather than just on a normal metal baking sheet/tray, am I missing something?

Because the stone gets super hot, before placing the food on it, it cooks from the heat within it as well as the heat in the cooker's 'air'.

Sounds mad, Di, but they do work with lots of things.

Manxie has it, my mum never ever washed her baking tins or frying pans. At best they got wiped with a cloth and re-oiled.