aluminum foil vs parchment for lining

[prasantrin]

I'm planning on making Brrrrrr-ownies tomorrow, and noticed a lot of Dorie Greenspan's brownie recipes (at least the ones I have saved on my computer--my book is back in Canada) call for lining pans with foil and then buttering the foil.

Why? Why use foil, and why butter the foil?

Is there any particular reason one would line with foil rather than parchment paper? I usually use parchment, but I'm wondering if I'm missing out on something important--like maybe aluminum conducts heat better and will give you a better textured brownie or something like that?

[lebowits]

I'm planning on making Brrrrrr-ownies tomorrow, and noticed a lot of Dorie Greenspan's brownie recipes (at least the ones I have saved on my computer--my book is back in Canada) call for lining pans with foil and then buttering the foil.

Why?  Why use foil, and why butter the foil?

Is there any particular reason one would line with foil rather than parchment paper?  I usually use parchment, but I'm wondering if I'm missing out on something important--like maybe aluminum conducts heat better and will give you a better textured brownie or something like that?

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I suspect that for your purpose, parchment will work just as well. Casual bakers generally don't have parchment in their kitchens but they will often have aluminum foil.

With that, it will likely be easier to butter foil given it's stiffness. Parchment might tear more easily if you're trying to butter it in the pan. If you plan to use parchment, cut what you need and lay it out on the counter to apply the butter.

[prasantrin]

I suspect that for your purpose, parchment will work just as well.  Casual bakers generally don't have parchment in their kitchens but they will often have aluminum foil.

With that, it will likely be easier to butter foil given it's stiffness.  Parchment might tear more easily if you're trying to butter it in the pan.  If you plan to use parchment, cut what you need and lay it out on the counter to apply the butter. 

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Thanks!

Do I really need to butter parchment paper? I've never buttered it in the past, because I always thought it was supposed to just peel off. So far I've not had a problem, but there's always a first time, which is usually also the time you want it to look perfect!

[weinoo]

She probably recommends foil as it's more easily found in most home kitchens.

In school, we were taught to butter the parchment as well as the pan.

[JAZ]

The reason for using foil, as I've read, is so that you can lift the whole batch of brownies out of the pan after they've cooled. That way that they're easier to cut and (obviously) to get out of the pan without crumbling.

You could probably make it work with parchment, but foil has the advantage of being more malleable, so that you can fit it into the corners of the pan. The recipes I've read that use this method call for lining the pan with a piece that's big enough to extend over the edges of the pan by a few inches, which gives you something to hang onto when you're lifting them out of the pan.

I've done this and it works really well, although now I just use a silicone pan.

[baroness]

If you wish to use foil, why not use the Reynolds 'Release' foil?

Nothing seems to stick to it, so one could probably skip the buttering/greasing.

[Chris Hennes]

Do any of these methods have differing impacts on the development of the crusty edges? I'm of the "more crusty edges == better brownies" school of thought.

[CanadianBakin']

Hmmm, good question Chris. I suspect that buttered foil would give you more crusty eges.

The "sling" method JAZ mentions is easily done with parchment. I haven't found the corners a problem I just pleat the excess.

I almost always use parchment. The only time I use foil is when I'm make something candy-like. for instance Florentines where the topping has been cooked to 240F.

[butterscotch]

Do any of these methods have differing impacts on the development of the crusty edges? I'm of the "more crusty edges == better brownies" school of thought.

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foil + lots of butter..so much butter that it oozes up the sides of the pan when you fill it with batter.

it forms an extra crisp buttery ridge along the edges. i also lay down a lil sprinkle of fleur de sel.

heaven.

[KarenDW]

I prefer to use parchment. Sometimes I am not quite so careful as I would like, when removing the lining from the cake. I'd hate for foil to get into someone's mouth by accident. Eek.

[Hest88]

I prefer using aluminum foil for many things, actually, after going using parchment paper exclusively for a long time. For one, I find that parchment paper gets even more brittle after baking and I like the way I can make foil conform to corners. Nowadays I only use parchment for sheet pans (and even then I often use foil unless I'm baking something really devoid of grease--and I actually find that most cookies and brownies don't need additional pan greasing to release cleanly) or if I need to actually cut the parchment to an exact size.

[Just loafing]

how about cost ... $89 worth of parchment paper (a box of some number of thousands of sheets) compared to the price of aluminum foil. And parchment paper is greener, unless you are prepared to wash and recycle your aluminum foil. Blessed is the day that I discovered parchment!