My love/hate relationship with my NY pie.

[norma427]

Norma, that comes out to $55 a sq. ft.  Definitely press the remnant question.  Don't even ask about particular sizes, just say "how much for scrap?" 

My distributor is just outside Manhattan. Since there are no Manhattan distributors, this place is it for the area. For something to cost 5 times more in Bucks County than it does in Manhattan... sure, I guess anything is possible, but I find it unlikely.

scott123,

I already emailed them about scraps.  I know it sounds crazy. Will check some more places.

Thanks,

Norma

[norma427]

I received an email from Bucks County soapstone this morning.  This is what the email said:

We use everything in our production.  We have quilted countertops, sinks, samples and hot plates that we use for our “remnant” pieces.

Will check out more places in the next week or two.

Norma

[scott123]

Quilted countertops... interesting. What's the phrase, lipstick on a pig?  Instead of telling the customer "you're getting stuck with a boatload of seams- seams that are going to get packed with dirt and food," they tell them "look at the pretty quilted pattern all these seams make!" I applaud waste not want not approaches as much as the next guy, but, unless they're heavily discounting these quilted counters (and, from the single price on the raw material, it seems like they're not) this is one seriously questionable business practice.

Norma, look in the phone book under kitchen remodeling and start calling the contractors that list soapstone.  There's a good chance these guys are going the quilted route as well, but you might find one with scraps.

You might also want to investigate whether or not Bucks County sells tiles.  Like I said before, tiles are not ideal, but they will probably be more affordable.

[norma427]

Quilted countertops... interesting. What's the phrase, lipstick on a pig?  Instead of telling the customer "you're getting stuck with a boatload of seams- seams that are going to get packed with dirt and food," they tell them "look at the pretty quilted pattern all these seams make!" I applaud waste not want not approaches as much as the next guy, but, unless they're heavily discounting these quilted counters (and, from the single price on the raw material, it seems like they're not) this is one seriously questionable business practice.

Norma, look in the phone book under kitchen remodeling and start calling the contractors that list soapstone.  There's a good chance these guys are going the quilted route as well, but you might find one with scraps.

You might also want to investigate whether or not Bucks County sells tiles.  Like I said before, tiles are not ideal, but they will probably be more affordable.

scott123,

Yea, I thought the same thing..something like:

... raw deal,
... short straw,
... short end of the stick.

Will check other places.

Thanks,

Norma

[EJB]

I tried cheap mall store pizza stones, tiles, etc. with no luck finally I bought a Fibrament stone and could not be happier. It was well worth every penny I paid for it.

[TXCraig1]

I tried cheap mall store pizza stones, tiles, etc. with no luck finally I bought a Fibrament stone and could not be happier. It was well worth every penny I paid for it.

Same here. I've had mine on the grill for about two years and am very happy with it.

Craig

[Scagnetti]

I found a place in Garland that will sell a 16 X 20 X 1.25 Soapstone piece for $160.


From: Heritage Stonecraft [mailto:jjo@heritagestonecraft.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 2:29 PM
To:
Subject: RE: Soapstone Slab

We do have some 3cm (1 1/4" thick) Soapstone that we could cut this out of.  The cost would be $159.50.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Jennifer Obeney
Heritage Stonecraft
972-496-3899
2801 Belt Line Road
Garland, TX  75044
www.heritagestonecraft.com

[norma427]

I saw this item on Ebay and wondered how well the pizza stone would work in a toaster oven or if more than one was ordered if you could use it in your oven to make pizza..  In the item description it says it is 10" X 7" rectangular shape and only 1/4" thick
It anyone is interested in seeing this pizza stone for a toaster oven put this number in the search box of Ebay     250580586596

I sent the seller and message asking questions about the stone used for a toaster oven.  This is what he replied:
   
The stone is intended for reheating small size items in the toaster oven. They perform excellently for this purpose. The stone is manufactured in Brazil.

After seeing it was made in Brazil I just sent another message to see if they knew what kind of temperatures this stone could withstand.

Did anyone ever try a soapstone pizza pan like one of these I saw on the web?     I saw different places they are selling these soapstone pizza pans in different sizes.  Just wanted to know if anyone has ever tried them.

13 Inch Pizza Stone   

The only pizza stone you can put on direct fire! Great for fireplace hearth cooking.

Norma

[ChrisJ]

Wasn't quite sure where to post this, but since this is one of the more recent soapstone threads, I just wanted to let any Phoenix area members know that I just purchased an 18" X 20" X 1.25" piece for about $70 from Stockett Tile and Granite Company.  It isn't as cheap as Scott123 got his, but it seems to be better than what most are paying.

The only question I have for Scott or others is about the appearance.  The top of it is very smooth and shiny and the bottom is very course and rough.  Does anyone know if whatever is making it shiny will make it dangerous for the oven?  Hopefully I'm not out $70. 

Also, do I need to treat it in any way before baking with it?

[soflnoles]

TXCraig,

On the fibrament grill stone, what is used between the rack and the stone?  Is it part of the stone or did you add?

[scott123]

Chris, are you absolutely certain that what you purchased was soapstone? 'Smooth and shiny' sounds a lot like polished and not only have I never seen polished soapstone, I'm not even certain it exists.  They oil soapstone countertops (usually mineral oil) to give it a deep dark almost black color, but oiling doesn't change the surface texture. Soapstone is cut from huge boulders into 1.25" slabs with very thin, wire-like saws. Both sides end up with the same sort of smooth powdery texture.  The only things that comes to mind that have a rough side and a polished side are things like marble and granite.  Are you sure they didn't sell you granite?

Got a camera?  Take a picture and post it.  If it's anything other than soapstone, it's absolutely worthless for baking.

If it is soapstone, I would rinse it off and then it should be good to go.  If I spill cheese  or sauce on the stone, I like to hit it with a wet sanding sponge before the next preheat (always sand it wet because you don't want to breath the talc), but that's only after I've used it.  Ideally, I don't spill anything and I just wipe it with a damp paper towel between uses.

[ChrisJ]

Scott, thanks for replying.  Here are the pictures, I'm not sure how much you'll be able to tell from them though.  The top side is dark gray with black marbling  and what almost looks like specks of glitter.  It is also very smooth to rub my hand across it.  The back side is a more uniform light gray and has a feel kind of like a concrete sidewalk.

They told me it was soapstone and my invoice also says it is soapstone.  I really don't know what it is supposed to look like - which is why I'm a little worried about this piece.

[scott123]

That's soapstone!

Phew!  I was a little worried there 

I'm not sure what's going on with the glittery side, but I wouldn't worry about it. Just use the dull side for baking.

That is quite a beautiful specimen.  Can your oven handle 18" deep?  You are in for some amazing pizzas.

Btw, should you ever decide to use sandpaper to clean it (like I do), remember that soapstone is one of the softest stones there is, so use a very gentle even motion so that it sands evenly.  Also, it's okay to use metal utensils (I use a metal peel), but be careful not to scratch it up.

[Gags]

As the only other stone I've used was an off-the-shelf pizza stone, I've no real basis for comparison.
That is, I don't know much about these other types.

But I can say I'm really happy with the firebricks I bought at a stone / masonry yard for $.70 each or so.
I'm out $14 for twenty 9" x 4.5" x 1.5" bricks.  I made a deck and ceiling in my home oven.
I made a separate thread about it on this NY Style board.

I found that if I turn on the oven, start prep at 1:20 into heating, then start baking at 1:30, all turns out great.
The recovery time is almost nil as far as I can tell or I'm just slow in prepping the next skin!  LOL!
I've done 2 pies back-to-back several times with good results.
I'm trying 3 tomorrow night!

Hope it helps or at least offers food for thought!
Ryan

[ChrisJ]

Sweet!  I was a little worried too.  I'm very excited to try it out.  

Really, use the dull side?  

Yeah, it just barely fits in my oven.  It hangs a little off the shelf, but there is still enough room for the door to close.  It also fits beautifully in my grill.  Previously, I had used two cheap pizza stones as a floor and a roof with fire brick sides in my grill.  I could get it up to around 800 degrees.  I'm hoping to do something similar with this piece of soapstone to make some 16"-17" pies.

Thanks for the tips and advice.  I feel a lot better now!

[Bob1]

Hey guys,
For what it's worth I've used three different stones for Home use and finally ended up with a custom cut fibrament which leaves a 1" gap on the edges for my thermodor home oven.  It works great.  I also own a Baker's pride 2 deck pizza oven that came with corderite.  I hated the corderite so I called fibrament and ordered a 17x17 2 stone pack.  It gives fantastic results up to the oven max maximum of 650 degrees. I think the 2 stone pack was around $80

Bob

[ChrisJ]

Just to follow up on my pictures.  I called the distributor and he said that the only thing that had been done to my piece was to hone it.  He said no chemicals at all were put on.  I'm surprised that the honing would make such a difference in color though.  And I'm not really sure why it looks like there is a slight bit of glitter.  Perhaps my eyes are just playing tricks on me.

Anyway, I can't wait to use it. 

[norma427]

I had emailed a relative that is a Professor at F&M College in Geo Sciences about if soapstone could be found in Lancaster County.  I knew that many Indians live here years ago and had made arrows out of steatrite (soapstone).  If anyone is interested in reading what he wrote back to me, this is the email.

Hi Norma -

Sorry to be so slow in getting back to you. I was on vacation last week and with the holiday on Monday it took me until today to get caught up with email. Your pizza  business sounds great. As far as getting a piece of soapstone - that might be a little problem. Around here the wind and rain weather soapstone at the surface quickly so it is difficult to find a outcrop of it to collect a piece from. There are areas in the southern end of the county that are underlain by soapstone - but little of it is at the surface. (These areas are often called the serpentine barrens.) Most folks that get a piece sneak into quarries. I asked a local rock and mineral collector I know where to get some. He said it is scarce but he would ask around and get back to me. If he turns up anything I'll let you know. Below are links to two articles about local soapstone.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4062143
also in northern parts of baltimore county and harford county maryland :
http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/shaffer/shaffer.html

Norma