Tips for Baking on New Stoneware: Holiday Baking Party Prep

[KellerCooks]

All,

I am a fairly new consultant and I have not yet gotten all of my stoneware "seasoned" from lots of use (although the bar pan is looking pretty good these days). I'm planning to have a Holiday Baking party at my house next week and I want to bake a lot on the stone but I'm not sure how to make sure the treats release well since the stoneware is basically new. I'm not doing anything savory so brushing lightly with oil seems out ....

Thoughts?

 

[babywings76]

What are you making? What type of stones are they?I just spritz them with oil for most recipes, or if it's a savory one and it seems appropriate I'll use olive oil.I try to cook things with a high grease content the first few times I use them. So you can do a sugar cookie crust or brownies, Pillsbury crescent rolls, cut up potatoes tossed in oil w/ fresh garlic and Italian seasoning w/ parmesan cheese.I've also made "Pan-Ease" as others have shared on here in the past:
1 part oil, 1 part Crisco, and 1 part flour. I made a batch using 1/4 to 1/2 cup of each, and I keep it in the fridge to use as needed. Works great and things release wonderfully.

 

[scottcooks]

This is my grandmother's cast iron seasoning recipe, works awesome on stones - careful if using it on a flat stone.Seasoning StonewareYou'll need:1/2 cup Crisco or lard/manteca
1/4 cup saltMix Crisco and salt. Spread over surfaces you want to be nonstick on stoneware.
(This is enough to do the Stoneware Fluted Pan. You may have mixture left over.)
Bake in a 250 degree oven for 30 minutes. (You can put a piece of foil on the rack
below the one your stoneware is on.) Take the stone out of the oven and let it cool
with the melty goop still there. When cool enough to touch, take a paper towel or
silicone brush and smear it all around, making some attempt to contact every part
of the surface. The salt rubs on it and smoothes it just a little.
Pop it back in the oven. Leave it for another 30 minutes. Turn the oven off, and
leave the stoneware in overnight. This allows the oils to seep deeply into the stone.
(Bottom line, it lasts longer than if you just take it out, let it cool, and rinse it off.)
The next morning, rinse/scrape under hot water and tada! Nonstick stoneware! It
works wonders for new stones.Why does it work?The salt acts as a sandpaper - the "grit" is activated when you
rub it around. And, unlike sand or sandpaper, salt rinses out/melts away under hot
water. The smoother surface and the heat/oil saturation, make each work together
to season the stones.The home office is anxious about using this on flat stones, not wanting to cause an oil fire in the oven. I've done it with about 2 tablespoons of the mixture just in the center - to - about a 1 inch edge of the flat rectangle stone. Use common sense. If you put foil on the shelf underneath, you'll catch any drips (I've never had any).

 

[chefa]

I'm going to have to give that a try since I had to buy a new Fluted stone and it still looks pure as the driven snow! Thanks Scott!

 

[byrd1956]

So my sister just posted on her FB page......"So what is the secret to baking cookies on the pampered chef stone? I have found mine only to be useful for fish stick, which er rarely ever have & pizza... home made or frozen...
These are not done in the middle... regular cookie pan 10 mins in oven. Boom... done!!! Pampered chef site says add 2 extra minutes... not done... added 12 more minutes (I covered with foil after the first 12 minutes to avoids burning) centers still not done! Did this at intervals of 5-3-4 mins.. gave up."One of her friends posted "ok betty said cookies will not burn on stoneware...but it will dry out the cookies if you over bake them"I posted "My gosh I never have that kind of problem. What kind of cookies were you doing? Slice and Bakes work great as do any I've mixed up." Any advice as I certainly want my sister especially to be happy with her stoneware!

 

[baychef]

Honestly, not sure what she is doing. Do you live close enough to borrow it?

 

[JennyJennJen]

So my sister just posted on her FB page......"So what is the secret to baking cookies on the pampered chef stone? I have found mine only to be useful for fish stick, which er rarely ever have & pizza... home made or frozen...
These are not done in the middle... regular cookie pan 10 mins in oven. Boom... done!!! Pampered chef site says add 2 extra minutes... not done... added 12 more minutes (I covered with foil after the first 12 minutes to avoids burning) centers still not done! Did this at intervals of 5-3-4 mins.. gave up."

One of her friends posted "ok betty said cookies will not burn on stoneware...but it will dry out the cookies if you over bake them"

I posted "My gosh I never have that kind of problem. What kind of cookies were you doing? Slice and Bakes work great as do any I've mixed up."

Any advice as I certainly want my sister especially to be happy with her stoneware!

suggest that she NOT put foil on them...I usually have to bake mine an extra 3-4 minutes b/c I do big cookies. also remind her that the tops will START to brown...then leave then to cool on the stone for a couple minutes then to the cooling rack...my cookies are perfect and beautiful almost every time. If the other gals cookies are too dry, she needs more butter or liquid

 

[pchockeymom]

I wonder if she is mistaking "uncooked" for "moist"! Is she expecting hard, crunchy cookies? Also, where is she placing the stone? It needs to be in the mid to lower 1/3 of the oven, not top half. Also, she needs to wait for the oven to heat all the way up before putting stone in in order for everything to cook evenly. But, my guess is she's just never had a moist and delicious stoneware cookie before!

 

[byrd1956]

Thank you all. I have passed on the info. and also told her I would be glad to try using the stone for a 'test' baking!

 

[byrd1956]

so I finally got to 'test' my sister's stone. Oatmeal slice n bake cookies at 325 for 17 min. had to add about 5 min. but they came out fine....I don't know what to tell her. Has anyone ever heard that we should up the temp on a recipe when baking? My sister is still complaining about her stone and since I was satisfied with it I don't know what to tell her....

 

[esavvymom]

Where is she placing it within the stove? Most of us gravitate to the middle. Maybe she needs to put them on a lower rack?

 

[byrd1956]

I will have to check with her on that one. Thank you.