Sheet Pans

By Laura Mack
March 30, 2016

As a professional chef, I learned there are three keys to creating a successful dish: proper cooking techniques, quality ingredients, and the correct tools. When these three components come together, it’s hard to go wrong. In addition to posting recipes on this blog, I’ll be sharing tips on the various tools, equipment, and ingredients that I find essential in my own low carb/primal kitchen.

When I started outfitting my kitchen as a new home cook, I had no idea what I was doing. Combined with the fact that I was on a budget, I ended up with a kitchen full of tools that were sub-par. I hobbled along as best I could for years, but after culinary school, I simply couldn’t tolerate the junky stuff anymore. Over time, and thanks to deliberately-specific birthday and holiday gift lists, I’ve acquired a good collection and retired the second string. Because I invest in quality, for the most part, it’s rare that I need to purchase any more kitchen tools these days.

As far as what to buy, I’ve relied a lot on Cooks Illustrated (CI) over the years. Their kitchen-tested buying guides have rarely steered me wrong. I was a subscriber to the printed version of their magazine for some time, but I’ve been an online subscriber to their website for many years since. I love their scientific, impartial approach to teaching about all things cooking. I’ve no doubt that I’ll refer to CI often on this blog, even though I receive no financial benefit for doing so!

Some of the tools I use the most are from my collection of rimmed baking sheets — known as “sheet pans” in the restaurant business. In the home kitchen, the most used sizes of sheet pans are “half sheets” and “quarter sheets.” A full-size sheet pan is 26″ x 18″, which is too large for most home ovens. Although it will fit in my commercial-style range, I rarely use my full sheet because it’s so awkward to wash! I have 6 half sheets (18″ x 13″) and 4 quarter sheets (9″ x 13″) that I use virtually every day.

Uses for Sheet Pans

• Baking cookies, scones, muffins, etc.;
• Toasting nuts and coconut;
• Roasting meats, seafood, and vegetables;
• Prepping ingredients before cooking;
• As drip trays for raw meats/seafood in my refrigerator to prevent cross-contamination;
• To transfer items to as they are cooked, such as steaks off the grill, a roast from the roasting pan, fish fillets from the skillet, etc.;
• As liners for baking casseroles or ramekins, to prevent drips as well as providing extra insulation to prevent scorched bottoms; and
• To lay out items to freeze individually before transferring to freezer-proof containers.

Accessories That Make Sheet Pan More Useful

Parchment Paper

• I use parchment mostly for lining pans to prevent sticking, such as when baking cookies, as well as to protect the bottom of pans for easy clean-up.
• It’s great for rolling out doughs to prevent them from sticking to the counter or board, especially in low carb baking.
• Parchment paper can even be used as a cooking pouch in a technique referred to as “en papillote,” which is sometimes used to steam seafood and vegetables.

Reusable Pan Liners

• All reusable liners will stain over time and can transfer flavors from previous uses, despite thorough washing. I find parchment paper more convenient than reusable liners, so I primarily use parchment with a couple of exceptions:
• When the oven temperature is so high (above 450F) that it will scorch the parchment, but oiling the pan isn’t sufficient for preventing stubborn sticking.
• When using sheet pans as a tray for baking casserole or ramekin dishes, as it prevents them from sliding around on the sheet pan (which parchment does not), as well as protecting the pan from spills.

Wire Racks

• 
  Racks can be used inside sheet pans to elevate items for air circulation to promote even cooking, as well as allowing grease to drip into the pan below.
• Used out of the oven underneath hot sheet pans, wire racks allow air to circulate below for faster cooling. Racks also prevent scorching your countertops.

Tips for Purchasing

Local restaurant supply stores can be great sources, but I order most of my tools and equipment these days online (usually Amazon). The selection is terrific, I can comparison shop and check prices more easily, and I don’t even have to leave my house!

Sheet Pans

• Heavy-duty aluminum is important so that they do not warp at high heat.
• I avoid nonstick sheet pans because parchment and reusable liners do a better job than the coating. Plus, I don’t have to worry about damaging the nonstick coating, nor the health implications of cooking food on those coatings at high heat.
• These are some sheet pans that I use and recommend:
• Vollrath 5314 Wear-Ever Half Sheet Pan, 18 x 13 x 1-inch, Heavy Duty (13 gauge)
• Vollrath (5220) Wear-Ever Quarter Sheet 9-1/2″ x 13″, Heavy Duty (16 gauge)

Parchment Paper

• Parchment can come in various sized sheets or in rolls. I find rolls awkward to work with because the paper doesn’t lay flat in the pan. Rather than stock various sizes, I get 12″ x 16″ paper (for half sheet pans) and cut them in half again for quarter sheet pans.
• I also cut parchment sheets to fit inside cake pans as liners to prevent sticking and to make the removal of baked cakes relatively easy.
• I go through so much parchment that I buy it in packs of 300 half sheets. In that quantity, it costs less than 6 cents per sheet. Parchment saves me time because I don’t have to scrub pans, plus I don’t usually have to grease pans to prevent sticking.
• Parchment Paper Baking Liner Sheets, White, 12 X 16 Inches
• Parchment Paper Baking Liner Sheets, Unbleached Brown, 12 X 16 Inches

Reusable Pan Liners

• There are lots of reusable pan liners on the market, most of them made from silicone, non-stick fiberglass, or a combination of the two (silicone-reinforced woven fiberglass). They all have their flaws.
• Lightweight liners can result in spotty browning on the bottoms of food. Also, flimsier liners are more difficult to wash and sometimes crease in the process.
• Heavyweight liners avoid those issues, but they can impart plastic, chemical flavors to foods. Cooks Illustrated tested a number of them and the only ones that came close to meeting the bar were Silpat by DeMarle.
• Silpat AE420295-07 Premium Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat, Half Sheet Size, 11-5/8″ x 16-1/2″
• Silpat AE295205-01 Premium Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat, 11-3/4-Inch x 8-1/4-Inch (2 pack)

Wire Racks

• Look for racks that are in a grid design (rather than wires going in just one direction) because they do a better job of supporting the food.
• For half sheet size, I prefer racks that have a central brace and six feet so that heavy foods don’t cause it to bow downwards in the center.
• I avoid nonstick-coated, as well as chrome- or nickel-plated, steel racks because they eventually rust.
• Stainless Steel Cooling Rack – 12 Inches X 17 Inches – Heavy Duty, Commercial, Metal Wire Grid Rack – Half Sheet Size
• Stainless Steel Cooling Rack – 8.5 Inches X 12 Inches – Heavy Duty, Commercial, Metal Wire Grid Rack – Quarter Sheet Size