If you’ve ever set foot in a Sur La Table, other fancypants kitchen store, or kitchen of a home cook with delusions of grandeur, you’ve doubtless seen one of these:
That is a silicone baking sheet liner, of which the best-known brand is Silpat. These silicone and fiberglass roll-up sheets come in several sizes to go with various sizes of cookie sheets. Put one on your baking sheet and you don’t have to use cooking spray or parchment paper to get lovely, quick-release baked goods that never, ever stick.
Stick-free cookies! Save the environment from spray-on oils and wasted parchment paper! We all need this, right!….Right?
When I got married, I took the opportunity to register for the kind of specialty cookware I would never have bought for myself, including a couple of Silpat silicone mats. I was going to be an advanced home cook! I had arrived.
Well, I may sacrifice any advanced home cook street cred I might have by saying this, but after several years of using those things I found them…meh. In fact (um, running through mental rolodex to remind myself who gave them to us, confirming that they do not, in fact, read this website, yep, I’m in the clear here…) I gavethemawaytoafriend.
Phew. I feel better.
Honestly, they were a total pain in the neck to clean, and you had to let them dry completely before you rolled them back up and put them away (they never really seemed to get dry with a towel). I used them mostly for cookies and I actually didn’t like the way cookies responded to them. It was like the bottom of the cookie didn’t get hot enough quickly enough, so the cookies spread too much and got thin at the edges instead of setting up properly. Plus, they didn’t brown as well as they did with a regular cookie sheet. (That might be a good thing for delicate sugar cookies, but I’m more a rustic chunky chocolate chip kind of girl, where a slightly browned bottom is a good thing.)
As ashamed as I am to admit it, for those times when I want a non-stick layer, it’s hard to beat plain old wasteful parchment.
The best use, in my experience, for a silicone baking mat like this is as a kneading or rollout mat for pie crusts and bread doughs. The non-stick surface means you have to use less flour on the kneading/rolling surface. This is particularly helpful with pie dough, when adding too much flour can make it tough. But for that purpose, I prefer a larger rolling mat with measurements and rolling guides. (I use this one.)
Look, if you make a lot of super delicate thin lacy cookies, or caramels or other candies- the kind stuff that’s really hard to get off a sheet even with parchment- you might find that silicone baking mats are just the ticket. But otherwise? Save your money.
The verdict:
Do I need silicone baking mats? No!
Silicone baking mats, price varies by size, but a standard-size Silpat model is available for $15 on Amazon.
Bridget
I have not tried this brand but a good friend of mine, and fellow Live Well Spend Well reader, gave me a set of silicone bakeware and I love it. I would love more of the silicone mats. Since I am not much of a baker I use the mats for rolls, biscuits, and even meatloaf. I have made cookies using these and found that they need to cook a little bit longer but they come out perfect. The set I have said you can wash in the dishwasher but I don’t recommend, they come out all spotted. Definitely a hand wash item.
October 23rd, 2009 @ 8:07 am
jen
Parchment paper doesn’t have to be horribly wasteful. It can be re-used at least a couple of times, it’s recyclable, and unbleached parchment paper can be composted. There are also brands available that are made with recycled paper – If You Care, and Natural Value are a couple.
October 23rd, 2009 @ 8:20 am
Sarah
I like the stoneware products available from Pampered Chef for baking cookies. They are a little pricey but definitely worth it for the perfect cookie.
October 25th, 2009 @ 4:43 pm