Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

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icfrugal1
Posts: 2952
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:54 am

Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

Post by icfrugal1 »

I've been using parchment paper for baking cookies and bread.

I bake at 325- 425 .

I'm thinking that I could save some money, and waste if I went from parchment paper to the silicon mats.

any thoughts?

what do you use?

Thank you

IC
clemencia2us
Posts: 11445
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

Post by clemencia2us »

I always used parchment

But haven't baked in a while.
Grannysewstoys
Posts: 4156
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:37 pm

Re: Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

Post by Grannysewstoys »

I use neither, I have a set of old aluminum cookie sheets.

I even use them when I bake my great grandmother’s recipe for sugar cookies. The almost paper thin ones you don’t frost. I just sprinkle the with sugar.

After all that is what my great grandmother used.

I do have special Brownie pans they are 8” square with a lift out bottom. This makes the brownies very easy to cut and remove from the pan.

Penny
ChristmasTrees
Posts: 3983
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:53 am

Re: Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

Post by ChristmasTrees »

I use parchment paper.
ohjodi
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 3:57 pm

Re: Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

Post by ohjodi »

I use parchment paper. You can reuse it a few times for cookies and such, in the same baking session...I wouldn't save it if I only used it once.

We used silicon mats when I worked at Domino's Pizza, for the hot sandwiches. They kept the cheese from sticking to the pan. But they do stain and look grubby very quickly.....and silicon absorbs odors that could transfer to other foods. So I wouldn't use one for cookies, biscuits, etc that had been used for strong smelling foods like breads or rolls with a lot of herbs or garlic and such. Also, you would have to stop and wash silcon after a few batches.

I like parchment because you can portion out dough on sheets ahead of time, then just slide them onto the cookie sheets when they've cooled, if you have a lot of cookies to bake. You can also slide the whole sheet of cookies or biscuits off at once.....but pay attention to the recipes. Some say to wait a few minutes before removing the cookies because they're actually continuing to bake on the hot sheet. Also move them off the sheets to the cooling rack if they're supposed to be crispy.

I think if you have silicon mats, you might still want to have parchment on hand.
ohjodi
mbrudnic
Posts: 4499
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:57 am

Re: Baking, parchment paper or Silicon mats?

Post by mbrudnic »

I use silicon mats. I have a bunch of them so I can use Jodi's method of portioning out he dough. I have not had trouble with them holding smells, but then I do no use them daily over and over like a restaurant would. I have worn out one of two. Also, I asked for mine as gifts when they were not as widely available.

Before getting my mats, I just plopped the dough on my cookie sheets link my Mom and grandma did. I have parchment paper, but mostly use it when I make Pumpkin rolls. And even then, I use a silicone mat to roll the hot cakes in. It does make them retain moisture, but I have never had that cause an issue. I pull the sheets out of the oven, lay the (bigger) silicone sheet on top, and then my wire rack on top of that, flip the pan over and remove it. Peel off the parchment, grab the end of the silicone mat and roll. Then I let it sit and cool before unrolling, slathering on the frosting and re-roll.
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