TIP OF THE DAY: Baking With Parchment Paper

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April 26, 2011 at 7:58 am · Filed under Cookies-Cake-Pastry, Kitchenware-Tabletop, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

If you have trouble removing cakes from pans, no matter how much butter and flour you use to grease them, try the parchment paper technique.

Parchment paper, also called baking parchment or baking paper, is a grease-resistant, moisture-resistant, heavy duty kitchen paper. It is available in rolls, rounds and sheets.

You can find parchment paper in the supermarket alongside the foil, plastic and wax paper wraps, and also in specialty stores.

Parchment paper is different from wax paper. Wax paper is coated with wax, whereas parchment paper is impregnated with silicone. Parchment can withstand oven temperatures up to 500°F. Wax paper purportedly can be used up to 350°F, but we haven’t tried it. Parchment is our go-to-paper.

With parchment paper, cakes lift out easily.
Photo courtesy Beyond Gourmet.

There is no need to grease a cookie sheet/baking sheet that is covered with parchment, and cookie sheets don’t need “handles.” Cut the paper to the size of the metal sheet. But if the sides of a cake pan are not fully covered in parchment, butter them.

Another benefit of parchment: it keeps the surface clean, so there’s much less to wash up.

For rectangular cake pans: Line the pan with parchment, leaving 2-3 inches hanging over the long sides. To remove the cake from the pan, just lift by the parchment “handles.”

For round cake pans: Cut enough parchment to create the handles and place in the pan. Top with a round circle of parchment.

How about baking zucchini bread using parchment?

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