my new soapstone

[tlj000]

I picked up an 18" x 18" x 3/4 soapstone floor tile from M. Teixeira Soapstone in N.J.
A bargain at $20. I must say it seems to work very well.
It does take some time to heat up that big slab, had it in the oven on high for about 45min to bring it up to 550.

I was amazed at how long it holds it heat. 4 hours after I turned off the oven it was still to hot to touch.


18" x 18" x 3/4 soapstone floor tile.   27 pounds

[Ev]

Looks like it bakes a great pie!

[JD]

After reading this, I contacted M. Teixeira to purchase one too. Unfortunately shipping costs more than the stone! Oh well. Great deal if you are in the area though. I asked about the quality of the stone:

"You are completely right, If you are using for thermal and baking purposes, I highly suggest you to go for high talc material such as Barroca. The 18”x18”3/4” I am offering you is a Barroca material with minimal veins, stone that we use to do Soapstone Cookware."

Seems to be a great deal.

[pizzaneer]

Though I have no actual way to be 100% sure, I think I have one too.  I found an ancient countertop in the woods, possibly dating from the late 1700's, early 1800's.  I cut it in half, to 2 21"x18" pieces.  It is about an inch thick.   I use
one in the kitchen oven and one in my LBE.

Like yours, it holds heat unbelievably long once hot, and does a great job. 

And I must caution anyone else against tempting fate as I did.  Putting an unknown material under high thermal stress could have been an explosive situation.

That said, I highly recommend soapstone.  If you are lucky enough to find some, use it!

[scott123]

After reading this, I contacted M. Teixeira to purchase one too. Unfortunately shipping costs more than the stone! Oh well. Great deal if you are in the area though. I asked about the quality of the stone:

"You are completely right, If you are using for thermal and baking purposes, I highly suggest you to go for high talc material such as Barroca. The 18”x18”3/4” I am offering you is a Barroca material with minimal veins, stone that we use to do Soapstone Cookware."

How much is shipping? If it's less than 30, it might be worth it.  I've stopped recommending soapstone because it can vary, but if M. Teixeira is confirming it's 'high talc' that's a huge selling point, imo.  That's the first time that I've ever even heard a distributor bring up the term 'high talc.'  3/4" is a great thickness as well- enough to provide fast bakes, but not so much that it weighs a ton.  It might need a little recovery time after 2-3 pizzas, but I think it's a small price to pay for a light stone that provides fast bakes.

[JD]

I'm not sure how tlj000 got his/her stone for $20, but my quote was $36 for the stone & $38 for shipping from NJ to MS. Not in the budget for me, but I would have spent the $36 on a local pickup for sure.

[tlj000]

I'm not sure how tlj000 got his/her stone for $20, but my quote was $36 for the stone & $38 for shipping from NJ to MS. Not in the budget for me, but I would have spent the $36 on a local pickup for sure.

This is the price they gave to me? No minimum order.
I just walked in and asked for 2 floor tiles. 1 has almost no vanes the 2nd does have some vanes.

[bfguilford]

This is the price they gave to me? No minimum order.
I just walked in and asked for 2 floor tiles. 1 has almost no vanes the 2nd does have some vanes.

tlj000: Which one has more veins? I'm looking at the 18x18.

Barry

[tlj000]

tlj000: Which one has more veins? I'm looking at the 18x18.

Barry

They are both the same, 18 x 18 floor tiles. I was just saying one had more vanes than the other.

[bfguilford]

They are both the same, 18 x 18 floor tiles. I was just saying one had more vanes than the other.

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

[bfguilford]

I just baked my first pies on my new soapstone tile from M. Teixeira. I found that it acted pretty close to the same way as my 1/2" steel plate. Really fast bake... 3 min 50 sec at 550. Not quite as much bottom char as the steel plate (that char was all the way to burn). I posted results in my Glutenboy thread: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,19930.msg232886.html#msg232886

Thanks for finding this tlj000. It's a winner.

Barry