We all have that one drawer in the kitchen, right? No, not the one with all the dead batteries, expired coupons, and broken sunglasses… the one below it that has the hoarder’s stash of various rolls of aluminum foil, wax paper, and perhaps some parchment paper, too.
Some of those boxes and rolls seem to last a lifetime so why do we have all of those options?
Surely aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and even wax paper can serve a purpose in a busy kitchen, but parchment paper is, and always has been, the baker’s best friend and here are a few reasons why.
COOKIE SHEETS
Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time baking cookies has probably also spent a significant amount of time scraping and scrubbing those cookie sheets after some wayward chocolate chips or caramel goo oozed a bit too far.
Smart bakers keep a roll of parchment paper handy at all times ready to measure, snip, and line the bottom of their cookie sheets with an oven-safe, non-stick, re-usable solution whether you have one batch to bake, or multiple in mind.
Pre-cut parchment paper pan liners are the smartest solution for the busiest bakeries, offering ideal measurements and uniformity, leading to efficiency by allowing you and your bakers to keep baking!
CAKE PANS
Much like lining cookie sheets with parchment paper to take advantage of its oven-safe, non-stick features, cake bakers love baking with parchment paper as well for all of the same reasons.
Finding pre-cut parchment paper sheets to match up to the wide variety of cake pans on the market can be pretty difficult, but the easy to mark and cut nature of parchment paper makes this DIY project a piece of… well… cake!
Simply place the bottom of your cake pan on the parchment paper and trace around it. Then cut it out according to the pattern you just made. (TIP: make your cut just inside the line you traced, leaving the pen/pencil marks out of the recipe)
Now butter the inside of your cake pan and place the parchment paper inside. Butter the parchment paper and then coat the paper and the walls of the pan in flour. Now bake your cake in the pan and when it is complete, flip the pan and the cake will slide right out without sticking! (TIP: If people are watching, wait for the cake to start sliding out then say BOOM! Like Emeril)
COUNTERTOPS
Laying out a quick, clean layer of parchment paper on your countertop or workspace before you begin can save a lot of clean-up after you are done.
Particularly for those of us with a tile & grout countertop, spilling spices, oils, or other ingredients can lead to a frustrating experience when all you want is to be done in the kitchen. With sugars and spices, you can contain spillage and form your parchment paper into a funnel to return each one to its proper container. This sustainability adds up fast in a commercial bakery and at home.
FREEZER SAFE
Whether you are prepping for a weekend rush in your corner store bakery or getting ready for a bake sale to support a local school, parchment paper allows you to prepare plenty of dough and safely store it in the freezer where it will be ready to bake when you are.
Roll your dough out flat in sections small enough to fit in a one-gallon zip-top freezer bag.
Stack one section on top of the last with a clean sheet of parchment paper in between each. Stack them as high as your bag size will allow. When you are ready to bake, each rolled section will separate easily with no sticking as long as your paper was cut correctly.
Again, pre-cut sheets of parchment paper can save you a whole lot of time and energy whether you are a cookie pro or a weekend warrior!
MUFFIN TINS
Instead of buying those same ol’ muffin or cupcake tin liners that you’ve seen at every birthday and office party for the past 40 years, make your own with pre-cut parchment paper squares!
Just grease up the cavities of the tin as you normally would, then using a small drinking glass or something similar, push a 5” square piece of parchment into each muffin port. You can use your fingers or a safe, flat tool to work the parchment into the corners of the tin to form a crafty looking liner made out of oven-safe parchment paper.
Fill each one with your favorite ingredients and bake as normal. Once complete, each parchment wrapped treat will pop right out of the tin to show off all of your handy work.
So, there you have it, our Top 5 Reasons Why Parchment Paper is a Baker’s Best Friend.
From the freezer, to the counter, to the oven, this affordable solution will save you time and make you a better baker.
Of course, the only thing better than parchment paper, is American made parchment paper like the products that we sell here at ParchmentPaper.com
From the world’s top restaurants to mom’s kitchen, parchment paper makes baking fun again.
Do you have any fun tips or tricks to share with us? Let us know next time you place an order and maybe it will show up in a future blog!