On 9/12/2011 3:28 PM, Jerry Avins wrote:
> Cheryl,
>
> My baking stone is about the same size as yours. It's ugly with black
> stains from cheese that fell off pizzas and burnt on. It'd smooth and
> works just fine. I clean the surface with a dough scraper until it
> feels even when I pass my palm over it. You can't feel the stains, and
> what they look like doesn't matter. The stone is porous and will
> absorb whatever it's washed with. If that were soap, I can only guess
> how to fix that. Water is easy, if any gets on by accident.I suppose
> letting the stone sit around long enough to completely dry out would
> be good enough, but when it happened to me, I dried it in the oven set
> at the lowest temperature. The important thing is not to heat it to
> baking temperature while there's still enough water inside for
> expanding steam to crack it of affect the food. Like a baby, you
> shouldn't abuse it, but it's tougher than one might think. Seasoning a
> new ceramic baking "stone" consists of wiping it clean od dust,
> bringing it to about 350 -400 F long for a few minutes to volitalize
> any absorbed crap you wouldn't want flavoring what you'll bake, and
> letting it cool.
>
> You mentioned cast iron pans as a species that shouldn't touch water.
> They are actually pretty tough. You can look at my letter on how to
> maintain and restore them (http://users.erols.com/jyavins/season.htm),
> but remember, Ronald Reagan's doctrine of benign neglect works pretty
> well. I use water, dish detergent, stainless pads, and steel wool when
> needed, and the pans are smooth, rust-free, and as non-stick as
> Teflon. The coating that seasoning provides is mostly carbonized oil,
> applied and maintained in such a way that it is hard and smooth. Think
> "varnish".

Thanks Jerry. Between your reply, and some others, I think I know how
to deal with this now. It's also interesting that different stones may
need different care. I wouldn't have known that, so I'm glad PC had the
paper insert in electronic form that came with my stone so I could share
it.

I don't own any cast iron so if and when I do, I'll read your letter
further, and thanks for posting it.