How to Use a Silicone Baking Mat

How to Use a Silicone Baking Mat

Silicone baking mats are impregnated sheets of fiberglass that can effectively substitute parchment paper or aluminum foil on baking sheets. These mats are being used by professional bakers for years, but today, they have made their way into common household kitchens as well. Why should they be used? Are they better than normal baking sheets? In this OneHowTo.com article, we are going to tell you how to use a silicone baking mat.

Step by step instructions

  • To use a silicon baking mat, first of all you should wash it using cold water, and make it dry using a paper towel. Place it on a baking sheet single layer, and heat your oven. If there is a logo on the mat, keep it facing up
  • Add the batter, pastry dough or the item that you want to bake on the silicone mat, leaving around ¼ inch more space on every side than the space you leave while baking on a parchment paper. For instance, if you leave ½ inch space while baking cookies on other sheets, leave a space of ¾ inch on a silicone mat to contain any extra spread
  • Now, place the prepared baking sheet on the middle oven rack, and start baking as per the recipe.
  • Take out the mat from the oven and keep it on your wire baking rack. Let the food cool down for some minutes, and then transfer to another bake rack to let it cool completely.
  • Once you are done, you can wash the silicone mat with water and soap, and wipe off with a soft cloth or sponge. You can use a paper towel to dry it and store it while laying flat. You may also roll it to make a tube and keep it in place using a rubber band.

Why use silicone a baking mat

There are several advantages of using a silicone baking mat instead of a normal parchment paper.

  • First of all, a silicone baking mat is reusable due to which it saves money and also the environment.
  • It has non-stick quality and can tolerate high temperatures as much as 480˚F.
  • As nothing actually sticks to a silicone baking mat, it is quite easy and quick to clean, without any scrubbing and soaking. If you are cooking something with lots of butter or sugar, then you will actually love this mat. Moreover, there are also silicone molds available on the market to make cupcakes, muffins and more!
  • They remain odorless and stainless for longer too.
  • Normally, you would need many cookie sheets to make batches of cookies. But if you are using silicone baking mats, you need only one.
  • Silicone baking mats give you much less browning and burning in the bottom of the food. If you are baking fish on a silicone mat, you don’t need to worry about it sticking or tearing while lifting off..
  • They are great for kneading bread, pie and pizza dough on as well. The dough will not stick and cling to the mat. You may also use these mats to work with chocolates, fondants, sugars or other sticky items.

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