How do I clean my cast iron stove top griddle (flat side) after grilling bread? Lots of welded on bread and roughened surface

When I grill bread for bruschetta using my cast-iron griddle, the bread seems to attach itself and burn on in a way that is very hard to remove. I usually end up having to take a scraper to it and carefully run that across the surface. Not ideal because that has a bad effect on the surface. Gone is my beautiful black patina :-(

seabirdskitchen
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7 Comments

WannabeBaker
WannabeBaker May 23, 2011
Yeah, sounds like you might want to reseason it - it's something that takes a long time and needs to be maintained. I should know - I need to season mine. :(
 
spuntino
spuntino May 23, 2011
On the rare occasion that we clean our cast iron, We scrub ours with veggie oil and salt. Works like a charm.
 
latoscana
latoscana May 23, 2011
Also, allow the food to really heat up on the griddle before trying to remove - when it's really cooked (browned), it should release cleanly.
 
ChefDaddy
ChefDaddy May 23, 2011
Deglaze like a pan. Use more oil next time.
 
seabirdskitchen
seabirdskitchen May 23, 2011
Great thoughts, thanks. I thought it was properly seasoned but maybe not. The rock hard mountains of carbon are very unattractive...
So scrub and reseason it is.
 
Author Comment
A Whole Foods Market Customer
A Whole Foods Market Customer May 23, 2011
I have an idea, try heating the griddle to very hot then turn the flame down and let it cool to toasting temp. I have a better time with food release when I do that.
 
wcbixby
wcbixby May 23, 2011
I wonder if your griddle is properly seasoned since bread, it seems to me, really shouldn't stick to cast iron in the first place.

Since you're not dealing with a pan in which you could boil water to loosen the sticky stuff, you might try scrubbing the griddle with a paste made of kosher salt and a little bit of water.

 
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