Have been making pretzels, usually only one or two at a time with baking soda bath boil first, then onto preheated, well seasoned baking stone. I let them drip dry as much as possible but inevitably the transfer is somewhat inelegant and some baking soda solution gets dripped on the stone in the process. Should I worry about this harming my stone and find a better way to let them drain first or not worry about it? Thanks for any opinions!
I would be more worried about dripping water onto a hot stone than the soda. You could use parchment paper.
The water is at least boiling and not cold, but certainly no where near as hot as the stone and your point is well taken.
A friend of mine had trouble with pretzels dipped in lye bath sticking to parchment, it may be less of an issue with soda but that's why I've avoided using it, plus I do like the crispiness that comes from going straight onto the stone. Perhaps I'll try parchment next...
I wouldn't worry about it. If you see a build-up of either dried baking soda or lye on your stone, simply rinse the stone with running water. Both are water soluble and will simply wash off.
cheers,
gary
I baked soft pretzels which had been boiled in lye yesterday, and started them on parchment paper. I had no sticking problems at all. I slid them off the paper with about 6 minutes left in the bake.
Thanks. Were they still dripping from the lye bath or had they been drained on a rack first?
Were they still dripping when they went on the parchment or had they been drained on a rack first?
Edit to say ARGH! Don't know why I can't get this reply to go in the right place but I give up.
Aside from the mesh spoon I used to remove them from the lye/water bath. They went directly onto the parchment paper and when the (upside down) sheet pan was full I slid the parchment with bagels into the oven.
I agree, you need to be careful about the water and the hot stone, but regarding your question about the soda:
I have several Pampered Chef stone items (pizza, baking, and muffin). PC recommends a paste of soda and water for cleaning (cool) stones to remove any stubborn baking residue. I have not done this, so don't know if you would need to re-season the stone after cleaning, but it does seem to indicate that soda from the pretzels would not be harmful. Other brands of stone cookware might be different.
It is a Pampered Chef stone, and its effect on its seasoning was one of the things I was specifically worried about. Good to know PC actually recommends baking soda for it. Thanks!
You're welcome. Keep us posted on how the soda affects the seasoning of the stone.