what to do with a pampered chef stone

[Cherrie]

they tell you how to clean it but nothing on how to use it. Do you need to seasons it first? Do you preheat the oven before putting it in or does it go into a cold oven?

[Suzanne in ABQ]

To season, just cook up something oily, like a package of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. Then, don't use soap on it for about the first 10 or so uses, to allow the oils from your foods to season it naturally,

 

After it's well seasoned (turns very dark, almost black), you can use a little soap on it with no ill effect. Actually, you can use soap anytime, and the only ill effect will be that the seasoning process will take longer. After it's seasoned, it becomes very non-stick. It looks shiny. Surprisingly, it doesn't absorb odors from the food, and doesn't become rancid from the oils.

 

You can put it in the oven cold, or heat it with the oven. I like my pizza crust very well done, so I preheat the stone in the oven. OTOH, I don't like brown cookies, so I use it cold for cookies. I like chicken nuggets to brown on both sides, so I preheat the stone for them. It just depends on how you want your food to cook.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Suzanne in ABQ

[Jann in TX]

I've had my baking stones for years (over 8). One is a Pampered Chef and the other is 'store bought'.

 

Easiest way to start using it is to bake something greasy on it. You can also just rub some oil onto it and bake for a few minutes...we've abused ours by placing it in a cold or hot oven---hasn't made a difference...

 

After use I scrape off any 'goodies' left on it, wipe it with a damp cloth and put away. We try to keep dish soap off of it--but it has happened MANY times (especially if DH is cleaning up) and it HAS NOT ruined it!

 

With use it will start to discolor. THIS IS NORMAL.

 

We use ours for cookies, breads and pizza...we RARELY use a traditional cookie sheet any more.

[OnTheBrink]

I tell my PC customers to season it by spraying it with Pam (or generic) the first 3-4 times they use it. Scrape it using the included scrapers and hot water. NO soap. It will discolor and that's normal.

[nukeswife]

I used to sell Pampered Chef and what the ladies have told you is true. The basic rule of thumb is "the uglier it looks the better it cooks"

 

What can you cook on it, that's more of a what can't you. If you can put it on a cookie sheet you can most likely put it on the stone instead. Oven baked french fries are awesome on a stone, they aren't limp and rubbery like when baked on a cookie sheet.

 

If your baking something like pizza or artisan bread, heat up you stone while you preheat your oven. We just had pizza the other night and just let the oven heat up with it in there and then when we were done we just left the stone in the oven.

 

One of my favorite receipes is the Banana split brownie pizza, the biggest thing is that you have to use parchment paper for the brownie or it won't set on the stone it will get runny in the start of the baking and then run right off.

 

Pampered chef has some pretty good stoneware cookbooks, but you can also check their website for recipes too.

 

As for pre-seasoning that's really up to you. I usually don't when I get a new stone, if I'm not planning to cook something that's pretty oily then I'll give it a quick spritz of oil. Over time it will become slick and UGLY which is what you're going for.

 

HTH

[gardening momma]

I tell my PC customers to season it by spraying it with Pam (or generic) the first 3-4 times they use it. Scrape it using the included scrapers and hot water. NO soap. It will discolor and that's normal.

I spray mine lightly almost every time I use it, and spread the oil around with my hand to evenly distribute a thin coat. I've never used the included scrapers. I use the plastic scrubby thingy (technical terms here) that I use with all my dishes. My pizza stone is browning nicely, and has a nice smooth seasoning to it, although mostly around the outer 3-4 inches. My deep dish baker isn't as brown and still has a porous feel to it, but it's newer and has more roasts in it, which tend to be more liquidy than oily.

[gardening momma]

Wanted to add--be careful--the stone stays hot much longer after you take it out than a metal or even glass pan does. Don't touch it with bare hands for quite a while.

[Cherrie]

I can hardly wait to make bread.

[Sandy in Indy]

I have 9....count them...9 PC stones! I love them (obviously) for soooo many reasons. Food stays warm much longer in a stone. Cookies don't burn on a stone (well...unless you bake them WAY too long). Food doesn't stick. Cleanup is a snap...lots of hot water and vigorous scrubbing with a dish brush and that's it. (I keep a dish brush just for my stones.)

 

When new, I rub oil generously all over the stone and put it in a low oven for half an hour or so. It's ready to go after that. I NEVER use Pam on a stone...but then, I don't use Pam period. I never use soap either.

 

Once my stone got "sticky" from oil. If that happens, make a paste with baking soda and apply it to the stone. Let sit for a while, then scrub. Re-season the stone with oil.

 

Happy cooking!

[kewb]

I love my pc stoneware. I stopped to think about how much I have. 10pc. To think, it all started when my neighbor gave me her pizza stone. I do what the pp does. Oil it up and heat in the oven the first time. It can go into a cold oven but I usually need to prehat the oven for whatever I am cooking.