Non-stick Cookie Sheets

[Richard Kilgore]

I saw some Wilton (XLX Lifetime Warranty) very heavy non-stick cookie sheets at TJ Maxx. Clearly these are a good thing in that they are heavy enough that they are not going to warp. But is the non-stick surface a good thing? Or is it a matter of good for some things, but not for others?

[Steve Klc]

Never used them, sorry I can't help Richard. Plain old sheetpans, silpats and parchment for me.

[Dave the Cook]

The nice thing about the sheet materials that Steve refers to is that you can slide a sheet of cookies or pastries right off the pan and onto a cooling rack. The baked goods cool more evenly (helps avoid condensation on the bottoms, I think). Once you've done that, you can slide a pre-prepped sheet of unbaked items right onto the pan and stick it back in the oven.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks. I focused on the cookie sheets after noticing that in the Herme Chocolate book he recommends using them rather than sheet pans, since due to the lipless side(s) you can slide cookies and tarts directs onto a cooling rack without having to lift them as you would do if they were in a sheet pan. He sees it as protection given the fragility of tart shells.

So Dave are you saying parchment on top of the silpat on top of the sheet pan, which would effectively raise the cookies high enough to slide them off easily?

Herme also suggests having at least one non-stick cookie sheet as necessary for making certain cookies, such as tuiles. So part of my question had to do with the effect of non-stick vs unfinished metal -- dark vs light and any effect on various applications. Anyone?

[irodguy]

I happend upon these a couple of years ago at one of the Chefs sales.

They are great! I have used the various coated pans and did not like them. Frankly a plain old sheet pan was much better.

But now that I started using the doughmaker pans no looking back

[Wendy DeBord]

Quite frankly I prefer a med/heavy weight aluminum baking sheets that are used in most professional kitchens. It's so rare that I need a lipless pan that for me-that isn't an issue. If I do need a lipless pan I invert my regular baking sheets and use the back side............which works just as well. I drag patterned joconde sheets over lipped pans with-out difficulty.

With my professional pans (which are inexpensive and don't warp) I use parchment paper to line them or silpats depending upon my needs.

You can buy alot of "toys" to work with in your kitchen. If you listen to the manufactors they'll tell you how you can't live with-out their products. But the simple truth is most professional kitchens and bakeries don't own an assortment of sheet pans. The trend to use chefs in photos to sell cooking equipment is just about advertising and for the most part the money the company pays them to reccomend their product.

I think you become acustomed to what ever equipment you have and learn how to adjust your baking on/to them. I don't have the time, don't have the cooling racks, don't have the space to place my baked goods onto a independent cooling rack. Instead I allow for additional time my product continues baking outside of the oven...........much like cooking a piece of meat.

[Richard Kilgore]

Yes, Wendy. I use sheet pans otherwise. A non-stick cookie sheet would not have occured to me as important, except that Herme recommended having one (no brand mentioned) in the Chocolate book. If he was recommending a specific product as a paid spokes-chef, I would have thought less of it.

[Dave the Cook]

So Dave are you saying parchment on top of the silpat on top of the sheet pan, which would effectively raise the cookies high enough to slide them off easily?

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I just use parchment paper, as I don't (I don't think, anyway) own any Silpats. Usually a tilt of the pan and a deft hand are sufficient. If something's really delicate (this would be my definition of delicate, not a professional's definition), I do what Wendy does -- turn the sheet pan over so there's no lip to deal with.

[fredbram]

I actually use my nonstick sheet pans more for things like roasting slices of eggplant or non-baker type applications.