Kitchen

[gardenman]

I left my old marble pastry board back at my old house and need to replace it. I'd been planning on buying a new marble board but stumbled upon the silicone pastry mats as an alternative. They look impressive and get good reviews, but I wonder how they compare to a marble board for rolling out dough. Does anyone have personal experience with both, and which do you prefer? Thanks. 

[wagirl]

Yes I do use one but not alot. They are great for pastry dough--I bought a very wide roll of it years ago and cut out specific shapes to fit my counter top and /or  various baking pan/sheet pans. they are good as heat pads too. Mine are thinner than the Slipat brand silicone mats. 

[Carmie]

I have a marble pastry board and a couple silicone mats.  My " go to" for rolling out pastry is two pieces of waxed paper. One for the bottom and one for the top.

I started out using waxed paper when I was a teen and it is  the easiest to use, IMO.

The marble board and matching rolling pin would get second place.

All I can say about the silicone mats are....they make great heat trivets.

[dancingwoman]

@gardenman  A friend bought me one for Christmas last yr.   It's a large one I think she got it on Amazon.  It came with a rolling pin.  I don't like the rolling pin at all but I do like the mat a lot.  It stays put on the counter when rolling out dough..either pie or cookie dough.  I can cut cookies with a cookie cutter just fine and they lift off easily.  It's very easy to clean.  It feels kinda tacky which threw me at first but that's how it's supposed to be.

It works good for pie dough too.  It has measurements on it so rolling to a desired size is easy.  No ruler involved.  I guess you need to try one to see how you like it.  DW

[gardenman]

Waxed paper is great for pastry dough, but most of what I'll be using it for is kneading bread dough. The nonslip nature of the silicone mats is interesting as my old marble board would wander as I kneaded. I'd have to put a towel under it to keep it in place. The silicone is certainly lighter and easier to maneuver than marble. I've got small Silpat comparable sheets for cookie baking that work okay. I think I'll give one of the silicone pastry mats a try. They're relatively inexpensive (under $20) and get good reviews. I'd never considered one before I stumbled upon them today while looking at replacement marble boards. Thanks for the feedback. 

[Effie54]

I use a silicone mat. They're great. 

[Carmie]

I knead bread dough directly on my granite counter tops. I convinced my husband that I needed new counter tops for that purpose. (it worked)

I like to knead on stone.  

If you try the silicone mats, I hope you like them.  I wish I could send you mine.  I have 4 of them collecting dust.  If I remember correctly, I had trouble with at least one of them not wanting to lay flat.

Maybe they are made better now.

[gardenman]

---

@Carmie wrote:

I knead bread dough directly on my granite counter tops. I convinced my husband that I needed new counter tops for that purpose. (it worked)

I like to knead on stone.  

If you try the silicone mats, I hope you like them.  I wish I could send you mine.  I have 4 of them collecting dust.  If I remember correctly, I had trouble with at least one of them not wanting to lay flat.

Maybe they are made better now.

---

The one I'm mostly looking at is made by Folksy Super Kitchen and gets very good reviews. In the Q&A people ask specifically if it stays flat and the users all agree it does. It's reportedly twice as thick as many others. It's also been reviewed in several magazines and recommended. I like the size (20" X28"). It also comes in a bigger size.

I found an article in Bon Appetit where one of their pastry chefs swears by the silicone pastry mats. (She swears by a very expensive one, but it's Bon Appetit, what do you expect?) I have smaller silicone mats I use for my soft pretzel baking and some cookie baking, but I've never rolled out or kneaded dough on them. 

It's $13.99 with a 10% off coupon, so I'll probably give it a go and see how it works. Getting a comparably sized marble board is was pricier and harder to store and handle. 

[Harpa]

@gardenman  Pastry cloth also works very nicely!

[kitty60]

I have tried most tiems for pastry and dough.  My favortie is the silicone mat.  In fact the first one I got from King Arthur Flour. I wore it out.  My next was off Amazon and it is just as good.  It is a little heavier and larger so it may hold up longer.  I never loved the marble board and honestly, it is under my microwave oven.  I also remember the pastry board that Bob Bowersox sold years ago.  That never worked for me .  It was plastic board covered with a cloth.  NO!  I have used wax paper as someone mentioned to roll pie dough, that is a close second for pie dough.