Lets get "Stoned"

Okay so props to big stoners out there. Baking or pizza stone that is :). Until recently I thought it was a pretty useless item that sat on culinary store shelves until its ready to be marked down to next to nothing before some poor chump picks it up as a gift for someone who ends up putting it away on their shelf to wither away.

Well I could not be more wrong. Most of do not have commercial grade ovens so part of the job of the stone is to help maintain that nice hot oven as you oven it to put in your dough. For a fairley inexpensive tool why the heck wouldn't you want one? It can pretty much stay in your oven as you bake day in and day it and it certainly wont hurt anything.

Why my recently love affair with Stone? Well I recieved two wonderful books this past holiday from my sister in law: Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day and My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method. Both fantastic publications that allow you to bake professional quality bread in the comfort of your own home. Though a stone is not mandatory for the recipes, for a fairly small investment why the hell would you risk it?

Now pizza is a completely seperate story I find a stone essential for getting that chewy, crusty crunch that you expect from New York City Style pizza. This week lets get some buns in the oven (No pun intended to baby Chelsea).

Like to get stoned?