Bread bricks radiate heat evenly to give baked goods a hearty crust and moist interior. Though baking stones come in a variety of materials, shapes and sizes, they all need to be treated carefully to get the best possible bread results. Bricks are available made from natural rock like soapstone or terra cotta clay. Extreme temperatures and improper heating and cooling can cause even the thickest bread brick to crack. Recreate the old world bread taste by cooking your bread on a preheated baking brick.
Instructions
1. Wash the new bread brick in warm soapy water and scrub it clean with a non-abrasive scrubber. The clean wet brick will appear darker because it will soak the water into its pores.
2. Allow the stone to air dry completely. This may take as much as a day depending on the size of your stone and the humidity of your environment.
3. Dip a folded paper towel in vegetable oil and rub it all over the surface of the bread brick.
4. Place the oiled bread brick in a cold oven and set the temperature to 375 degrees.
5. Turn the oven off once it has been at the desired temperature for at least 20 minutes.
6. Allow the bread brick to cool slowly in the oven overnight.
7. Coat the cooled brick in a second layer of vegetable oil and repeat the baking procedure from steps four through six.
8. Bring your oil-coated brick up to temperature slowly for its first use by placing it in a cold oven and setting the temperature to 500 degrees.
9. Place your raw dough onto the bread brick and lower the temperature of the oven according to the directions on the individual recipe.
Tags: bread brick, cold oven, temperature degrees