Although it’s nothing more than paper dipped in sulfuric acid (which renders it all but impermeable to grease and heat) and coated in silicone (which makes Teflon look sticky), parchment paper is something I just can’t live without.
It does everything wax paper can and so much more.
It’s the ultimate cookie pan-liner: Newborn cookies fresh from the oven are amazingly vulnerable to physical mishandling. By lining your pans with parchment you can simply pull the paper off, cookies and all, allowing them to cool on racks or the counter unmarred by spoon or spatula. I use parchment paper as a makeshift sling to easily remove brownies from their pan and to shape mini-burger patties.
Even cheesecake can be easily de-panned simply by placing a strip of parchment around the inner wall and a round in the bottom of a basic cake pan. Here’s how to cut it:
- First measure and cut the bottom: Cut a piece of roll parchment 9 inches long. Fold it over into a triangle six times, like the first six illustrations below.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
- Align the tip of the final triangle with the center of the pan. Snip off any excess and, bingo, you’ve got a nonstick bottom for your pan.
Step 7
Step 8
- Next, cut the side pieces: Since the diameter of the pan is 9 inches and most roll parchment paper is 15 inches across, I just cut two 3-inch-wide strips across the roll and call it a day. Math worked out below to find circumference of pan.
