Wood panel for water gilding

Hello, 
I want to do traditional water gilding with traditional gesso on wooden panel.  What is the best wood to use?  I would prefer to use a ready-made panel rather than making one.  I am looking to work on an 18×24 inch size or smaller, but I may want to work larger in the future, up to 30 inches. I hear that many artists use birch plywood for traditional gesso but I would like to avoid checking and warping issues with plywood.  Would ampersand cradled hardboard panels be a good choice? Or is there a better one, considering the many layers of gesso I need for water gilding?  If I use hardboard panels, do I still need an interlaggio fabric under the gesso? 
Thank you in advance!