> Jessica wrote: I am a bread baker, and don't make pastry or other sweet
stuff. We're redoing the kitchen, and others are urging me to put in a
section of marble countertop "for baking". Is marble good for kneading as
well as for rolling pastry?
When we built our home about 5 years ago, we put in Corian tops that
included a one-piece Corian double-sink. They are great, but they don't
compare to the wonderful granite top we put on the island!!! Mine is a
single, flat piece of dark brown granite that has glitters of gold and pink
grain running through it. It has a smooth top that is as slick as glass;
the beveled edge extends about 1 1/2 inches over the top edge of the
cabinet. The granite stays very cold even on hot days (which is excellent
for kneading bread, slicing dumpling dough, or cutting out cookies,
biscuits, etc.) and it will never crack, scratch, or stain as marble
will. It can take extremely hot pans placed on it...even cast iron
skillets...right off the stove or out of the oven... and it won't hurt it
one bit. We often serve buffet style, straight off the granite island
top. Believe me, I wish I could have afforded to put it on all of the
counter tops. Our piece which is about 30" wide by 6 1/2 ft. long; I think
we paid about $800 to have it cut, polished, and beveled. I picked the
section I wanted out of a portion of one huge slab that stood 6 feet tall
at a factory that specialized in granite, and we brought it home ourselves
in our pickup truck. It took six men to carry it into the kitchen to set
it on the island. Try to save the money for this little extra expense,
Jessica! I've often told my husband that it was one of the smartest,
prettiest things we did for our home, and that I would give up my
dishwasher before I would give up the granite!
Jeanette in South Texas