I make my own bread by hand, and am considering putting in a marble countertop for my kneading and rolling surface. Any thought? Right now I have builder grade laminate, and am only switching to marble because we were given a piece. I'd have to pay for it to be fitted and installed, but it's already finished nicely. If you wouldn't go with marble, what do you prefer, and why?
Oooh, hadn't thought about using it for making candy. Yummy! Where we would instal it is on an island, and right now, there is nothing above it other than a lighting fixture. You're responses have made me very excited! Thanks, ladies! I'll start finding out Monday how much installation would be. Thanks, again!
Stone countertops are great for a number of reasons, but I like the warmth of other materials, and the stone makes it a lot more likely to break things that fall a bit occassionally....
So I think you have an ideal situation to install a small bit!!
Love my corian - has some of the same properties that make bread kneading (and clean up) easy directly on the counter.
Marble is porous and takes some care in the kitchen. If you drink red wine, it is probably the wrong countertop. If you don't and no one will spill on it it can be gorgeous and stays nice and cool for kneading and pastry. I have stainless steel (original to our house) and love it. It does not stay as cool as stone however. Other options are soapstone, granite (now comes either honed or polished/shiny) and tile (I would never do this - grout, grout and more grout care).
OOoooo, marble is the best for a kneading and rolling surface. I have granite and it works fine, too.
I have granite and love it. But if someone had handed me an ideal piece of marble, I might have easily gone with that. How much is the fitting and installation? If it is something you don't mind shelling out for, then go for it! You don't have to do ALL your countertops either. Do you have space to add a small island? A singular piece that is different from your other countertops would be ideal. :)
I'd have the marble installed. Marble looks good, is sturdy and easy to care for as well as being a good surface for kneading and rolling. It's also good for making candy.
