KitchenCraft Round Baking Stone/Cooking Griddle, Cast Iron, Black, 27 cm & Colourworks Plastic Plain and Fluted Round Cookie Cutters, Multi-Colour, Set of Six

This is an excellent, Welsh-style cast-iron bakestone. Having seasoned it properly (the cooking surface is meant to be completely black), I've just baked my first batch of Welsh cakes on my induction hob, with gorgeous, delicious results. There was no sticking or burning at all, and the Welsh cakes were cooked perfectly. The cooking was so clean and burn-free that "cleaning" the bakestone afterwards was simply a matter of wiping the surface with a piece of kitchen paper (no hygiene issues here, as the cooking surface reaches such high temperatures that it sterilises itself).Seasoning the bakestone properly will inevitably create smoke and (certainly if you use lard) that smoke will be stinky. I recommend doing it outdoors on a gas camping-style cooking stove or barbecue, with lard and salt (I've read elsewhere that the salt is actually an important part of the blackening process). Expect it to take much longer than the 10-15 minutes specified in the included instructions: it took me about an hour. Keep applying salt and lard to the least blackened parts, rotating the bakestone occasionally to allow all parts to be seasoned evenly, and rubbing the lard-salt mixture into the surface of the cast-iron with a wadded piece of cotton (I used a large cotton handkerchief and then threw it away). Use oven gloves and long sleeves, because the hot, lardy salt will be very, very hot, probably hotter than anything you've ever touched, and it will want to burn holes in your flesh. The seasoning process is an unpleasant, smoky experience, but you should only need to do it once, and it is well worth it, because you will end up with a perfectly natural, very effective non-stick surface: you need never again worry about slowly ingesting fragments of Teflon as you gradually chip and burn away the artificial non-stick surfaces of your cooking vessels.

I love cast iron for cooking.It's the best non stick surface you can get and you get even heat distribution and it works on my induction hob.You don't need to spend hours seasoning the hot plate......you just rub some salt into it then add some vegetable oil and heat it up.When it's cooled down wash it and then when you use it smear a drop of oil on it.The hotplate will turn black as you use it.Easy! Photan345

Lovely heavy duty griddle - very happy with the weight of it, feels like it'll last a lifetime. Only minor niggle is there's no instructions in the box about how to 'season' it or care for it, nor the 2 recipes enclosed like it actually says on the box. Doesn't bother me as it's for my own use, but if it was for a gift that would let it down a fraction. Otherwise it seems like a fantastic product. Delivery was prompt too.

The griddle arrived today but the recipes are missing, it said on the outside of the box that it included 2 recipes, now I don't really need a recipe but I am annoyed that it said 2 are included when they are not (sounds a bit cheepskate). Also there was no indication about how to season the griddle or if indeed it needed seasoning. Any reason for the missing information?

Works well for bread / pizza in the oven and even just as a heavy piece of metal that helps retain heat when having to open the door frequently or keep the oven super hot. On the hob it's good for making crumpets / flatbreads etc.The surface of it is a bit uneven etc but I've not found it to be a problem.Having said all that I wish I'd been able to find a decent square baking stone instead of this one to make the most of the space in the oven.

I love this bakestone . My Welsh cake making ability is much improved.I find it best to heat up the stone on a moderate setting prior to baking.I also rubbed it over with cooking oil after the first wash which seems to seal it.

Hi,The product is certainly useful to me. I bought it to make South Indian Dosa (pancake). Certainly a good investment for me as the dosa comes out well and crispy - my son simply loves it. I have given it 4 stars as you would have to season it well, and the seasoning instruction which came with the pan is not extensive. I did follow the instruction for the first use. However you would have to season it after a few uses again. After the first seasoning and first use, I applied cooking salt to the pan and washed it in warm water. And i then heated the pan to dry it completely and applied coconut oil to it while it being on the heat. i let it smoke for few seconds and switched the flame off. going forwards -I do this after every other use and VOILA! your pan is good to go. As i only use this for Dosa, i can't comment on the other type of dishes which can be made using this pan. But for Dosa - this is excellent!

Bought to spread the load for my old griddle after a few uses it is well seasoned and bakes beautifully takes time to get a coating don't expect good results right away