What baking pan liner do you use?

Cooking Discussions Baking, Sweets
41

I guess it all depends on what one is baking. Initially I thought I would solve the problem by just getting a non-stick pan. I have a non-stick heavy aluminum baking pan I bought from Bed Bath Beyond, and after about three months, the non-stick coating started wearing off.

For wet, messy, greasy foods (e.g. cooking a batch of chicken thighs in a bun pan in the oven) tin foil seems to be most practical. You can cut it and shape it to fit the pan, and toss it out afterwards with no or little clean up to the pan itself.

For dry, or only slightly greasy foods, like home made croutons or cookies, parchment paper seems to be most practical. You just need something non-stick to line the pan with. You can cut parchment to fit the pan, re-use once or twice, and toss it out, with little or no clean up to the pan itself.

For foods that are somewhere in the middle–not super greasy, but not dry either–like say, frozen french fries, I’m not sure what to use. French fries do sometimes tend to soak through some parchment paper that I’ve used.

Silicone mats are non-stick, durable, and re-usable thousands of times. But you can’t cut them to size, don’t make crispy cookies, and you have to wash them (i.e. they don’t save the labor of washing the pan).

Teflon coated sheets are non-stick, can be cut to size, and are re-usable up to about 100 times. They are thicker than parchment paper, and so they could probably handle somewhat greasy foods, though I haven’t tried them before. I presume they would need to be washed, but probably not as laboriously as silicone mats or the pan itself. I am guessing the teflon slowly wears off…(into the food?). Not sure what happens when the teflon is wearing off, if the sheet becomes semi-sticky and some of the food sticks and some doesn’t?

Which makes me curious about non-stick tin foil. Is this teflon coated tin foil?

So I will continue to use tin foil for greasy foods and to catch drippings, and parchment paper for baking flour products like cookies and buns, etc. But I think my quest is to find a pan liner for those kinds of foods that are not too greasy, yet not dry.

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42

Chicken thighs and sheet pan dinners are uses for which I DON’T line the sheet pan. I want that fond for a sauce! It’s pretty easy to deglaze a hot pan with water or wine, using a rubber spatula to swab the liquid onto the inner sides of the pan before pouring the contents into a saucepan for reduction and thickening. Unless you’ve burnt the ingredients, not much scrubbing is needed to clean the pan.

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43

I get that - but heavy duty foil doesn’t tear or wrinkle as easily, so can be reused more.

44

I see where you’re coming from. But the problem I see is that Heavy Duty foil isn’t near as HD as it used to be. Then adding in cooking spray. Buildup on foil. Oh well.

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45

I avoid cooking spray. My wife still uses it some (it took her twelve years to talk me into a cat; I’m still working on her cooking spray habit). I don’t like the propellants that are, I believe, mostly LPG. I have a little hand pump sprayer I use for oil and either use that or wipe oil on with a paper towel.

Note it is the propellant that is flammable so this works with WD-40, hair spray, Pam cooking spray, spray paint, whatever.

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46

:rofl: I’m wondering if you were a dangerous child​:roll_eyes:

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47

Yes. There was an old radio. A clothes dryer. A car. Some other things.

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48

So, I am thinking I’m going to need different pan liners for different foods after all. I was hoping to have a one-type for all foods solution, but after thinking about it a lot more, that’s probably not feasible.

I’ll keep using parchment for certain foods (wish I could get some of that good heavy 90gsm Baker’s Mark parchment paper sheets from Webstaurant Store, but can’t find it anywhere here in Canada, and it would cost a fortune to ship it here. Can’t get King Arthur paper in Canada either). I found some cheap quality pre-cut parchment sheets on Amazon.ca

And I’ll keep using aluminum foil for messy, greasy foods, or for spatter cover.

I’ll also maybe try to buy a small silicone mat to see how it bakes certain foods.

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies.

49

Caveat emptor on the silicone. I have an expensive Silpat I no longer use. The sheen rapidly vanishes from the area where the cookies were, and it feels waxy. Regular liquid dish detergent like Dawn doesn’t remove it. A paste of baking soda is supposed to work but failed me.

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50

I have been roasting a lot of tomatoes lately using my old aluminum cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and or silpat. however, the EVOO as well as the tomato juice rendered would eventually ooze under the parchment paper/silpat. I am worried about the side effect of aluminum with acid food in the long run as well as dislike the rust that is on the aluminum sheets unless I oil them. Debating between GREAT JONES’s Holy sheets made in the U.S. of aluminized steel and reinforced with steel rods; this ensures it can withstand extreme temperatures and custom nonstick ceramic coating crafted in Switzerland or Le Creuset Carbon Steel sheets. However, I read that Le Creuset’s carbon sheets would rust as well and it would that carbon steel react with acid food. Problem is there is no way I can contact Great Jones, email or text if the non stick ceramic coating would prevent acid reacting with the aluminum and rust? Any comment?

51

How about stainless steel sheets? I can’t personally vouch for them, though.

52

I guess I am spoiled.
I own quite a few of SS , operating room quality trays but buying them is a different story as they can come in different quality. The ones I have are mayo trays which I ordered when the surgicenter I worked at expanded and had to order more supplies. I ordered when they did not just trays but canisters, large ones for rice and for sugar and salt etc etc

When I searched Ebay recently, they come. in different prices which is reflected by the gauge and quality. The ones sold for doctors office are of a lower grade .

I have tried le Creuset but theirs is carbon steel and it would rust when not treated, as well as react with acid food. have tried googling the French made Matfer Bourgeat but unsure as it is supposed the blue steel but customer reviews on Amazon were not great.

May have to settle for Great Jones. Wander why they would not allow me to buy different colors except for extra $15.00 for the 4 sets I want. There is also no phone contact . Weird!

53

You must be a whole lot of fun to live with!!

54

My go to liner would be parchment, but keep in mind I’m severely baking challenged.

55

I m also baking challenged!

I just ordered Great Jones’ 2 half and 2 quarter sheets despite procrastinating they would not allow me to split the colors with the small quarter sheet set. Hopefully, when I bake tomatoes in the oven which will happen often now that tomatoes are in season, the juice and olive oil that seeps under the parchment paper will not react with the aluminum because of the ceramic coating . Although Great Jones sheets are aluminum with reinforced steel, they are ceramic coated. I researched the Le Creuset carbon steel ones and realized I still have to season it before and after cooking.to prevent rust . Carbon steel also is supposed to react with acid food. The All Clad trim ply SS with aluminum insert would be the best but it is shockingly expensive! I would have to pay $500 for a set of 2 half and 2 quarter baking sheet! Maybe if I win the lottery! All Clad is fantastic! I use my flat bottom wok for everything! One thing I h ave learned from my mother to save energy and to have a clean cooking vessel is to dish the food I just cooked, add water and soap to my All Clad ( and Le Creuset frying pan and even my very old cast iron frying pan), placed them back on my hot stove that I had turned off as my cast iron French top remains hot for a long time. By the time I finished eating, my pans just had to be rinsed and comes out perfectly clean!

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56

My daughter convinced me to try the Costco parchment paper rolls. Wow! So much less expensive than flat sheets from King Arthur and they don’t curl up and make me crazy like another brand I tried years ago.

57

Do you like cats now? Interesting that your wife never gave up trying to convince you.

58

So I’ve been using non-stick aluminum foil for the past several months, and I have to say it’s a real game-changer. Absolutely nothing sticks to it. In fact, you have to be careful with some kinds of foods because it’s so slippery foods will slide around while carrying the pan to the oven.

You can re-use the non-stick aluminum foil several times, by just rinsing or wiping them, or if something has managed to cling to them, just washing them very lightly. With parchment paper, it’s pretty much disposable after one use. Occasionally I’ve been able to re-use parchment paper 3 times at the most. Yet I can re-use non-stick aluminum foil about 7 or 8 times before the non-stick quality degrades noticeably. When combined with the fact that non-stick aluminum foil is relatively inexpensive (cheaper than parchment) it’s a very good value.

There are still some things I prefer parchment for e.g. most types of cookies, and foods which are already greasy, etc. In other words, when you want the lining to be somewhat absorbent, parchment is still the better option. For most everything else, non-stick aluminum foil is my go-to lining now.

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59

Years ago I hated using a roll of parchment paper, had to wrestle with it, switched to King Arthur flat sheets. My daughter likes the Kirkland rolls from Costco and some on HO liked, too. I gave it a try and it’s fine. They say it curls more when you get to last of it. Two big rolls were only $10.

Thanks for the info on the foil, I hadn’t thought to wash and reuse.

60

It all depends on what I am making and what pan it will go into. Silpats - the real ones, not the slick silicon ones you can get cheaply are still an amazing thing for me with anything small (cookie, biscuit, scone, choux) and mean no waste.
Parchment, unbleached is my second go-to when I need something more flexible. I buy the rolls because they are cheaper by far, and then cut them myself to the desired size. The waste bits get used rubbing my beloved no-stick baking spread on the bottoms of pans or on top of the parchment for those cakes and loaves that need it most. And all of it is compostable where I live.