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A rimmed baking sheet is a special form for cooking in the oven. Manufacturers make this cookware from thin metal sheets. They use aluminum, carbon steel, cast iron, and stainless steel as materials.
The curved edges of the baking pans do not allow the products to spread during the cooking process. The shape is usually rectangular, and the base is a sheet of metal. It is the main assistant of any cook or housewife.
Depending on the shape and height of the sides, you can use it to prepare various pastries, meat, fish, vegetable dishes.
Baking sheet uses
You can use a rimmed baking sheet for cooking dishes in the oven. Among the available cooking technologies: baking, frying, and stewing. Most often housewives use these kitchen utensils for making cakes, pies, and cupcakes.
However, you can also use a baking tray for fish, meat, and vegetables. Along with the pan and iron skillet, the baking sheet is the main helper in the kitchen.
Types of rimmed baking sheets
The classic baking tray is a smooth rectangular metal sheet with sides of various heights. You can use this item in the oven of an electric or gas stove, or wood-burning stoves.
Currently, some varieties differ from the classical form. It can be a rimmed baking sheet with a grid, sliding, with a corrugated bottom, increased depth. But basically, these products differ in the material:
- Silicone. This flexible material can withstand temperatures up to 280C. Such a baking tray protects products from burning, differs in small size and depth. Also, silicone is great for hand wash.
- Glass. Manufacturers make such dishes from special glass to avoid cracks.
- Cast iron. Cast iron baking trays are durable, you can even clean them with metal brushes. Cast-iron cookware ensures optimal heating of dishes during cooking and retains heat for a long time.
- Ceramic. It preserves all the beneficial substances of the products to the greatest extent during cooking, provides uniform heating, and retains heat well. A significant disadvantage is a weight and fragility.
- Aluminum. It has low weight, reasonable price, heats up quickly, and significantly reduces the cooking time. However, this feature often leads to the fact that the food burns.
Substitute for rimmed baking sheet
What to do if you do not have a rimmed baking sheet at hand? Several substitutes can help you cook any dish in the oven:
- Frying pan. Remove the wooden handle and place the dishes in the oven. The presence of bumpers will be able to protect the products from leakage.
- Wrap it with foil and place it in the oven. The main thing is to make sure that the foil does not burn to the grill.
Aluminum baking sheet review
Aluminum is one of the best conductors of heat. It effectively absorbs heat and then transfers it to the test in full. In aluminum cookware, you can cook dishes faster than in stainless steel pots and pans.
Professional confectioners recommend buying baking sheets made of cast aluminum of good thickness, which ensures uniform baking of pies and biscuits. High thermal conductivity is a positive quality, and the ability to react with acidic products is a disadvantage.
If the food has a low or too high pH, the material gives the products a metallic taste. For most baking, it is not a problem, but if you are preparing a cake with sour berries, then you’d better use glass, ceramic, or steel molds.
The exception will be baking trays made of anodized aluminum, which do not react with acids.
Rimmed baking sheet VS cookie sheet
A rim pan is not much different from a cookie pan. However, do not neglect this difference, so as not to spoil the cooking process. The cookie pan has low sides because the probability of product leakage is low.
If you want to cook an omelet or a liquid pie in such a pan, the product will spread over the oven. Another difference is the coverage.
A baking tray with sides is designed for cooking fish, meat, and vegetables. Manufacturers do not always cover it with a non-stick coating, while the cookie pan is always equipped in such a way.
Can you bake cookies on a rimmed baking sheet?
Cookies are one of the simplest types of baking. If you want to make the cooking process easy, choose the right baking dish. Professional chefs advise using baking sheets without sides. It helps protect the cookies from additional heat exposure and burning.
The consistency of cookies differs from pies or cakes. Their dough is dense and thick, it does not spread over the surface. You may think that a rimmed baking sheet will not be able to harm your dish – however, this is not the case.
The sides will direct excess heat back to the surface of the cookie, increasing the risk of its burning.
What size is a rimmed baking sheet?
There are three types of baking sheet sizes:
- full-size (18*26 inches)
- half-size (18*13 inches)
- quaternary (9*13 inches)
The dimensions of baking sheets play a big role, especially in the case of rimmed baking sheets. The sides return heat to the dish and create a warm air cushion. The smaller the baking tray with sides, the faster you can cook a dish in it.
However, the risk of burning the product also increases several times. Professional chefs advise using rimmed baking sheets of two sizes: full-sheet pan and half-sheet pan.
Quaternary baking trays significantly increase the risk of product burning and are not suitable for ovens with high power.
Can I use a cookie sheet instead of a jelly roll pan?
Manufacturers make jelly roll pans from flexible silicone. This material makes it easy to remove the finished product from the mold. Jelly and cupcakes have a rather sticky consistency, which complicates the process of extracting the product.
Professional chefs do not advise using a cookie sheet or a regular baking sheet instead of a mold for jelly rolls. The cookie sheet has a large size, does not hold the necessary shape, and has a too dense structure.
How do I know if my cookie sheet is non-stick?
The non-stick coating reduces the adhesion of the dish to the heated surface. The composition may consist of silicones, anodized aluminum, and ceramics. However, the main material providing the non-stick property is polytetrafluoroethylene.
Baking trays with such a coating allow you to cook dishes with the least probability of combustion. How can you know that your cookie pan is equipped with a non-stick coating?
- manufacturers place special markings on such baking molds
- a grooved bottom or a matte surface can act as a signal
- sometimes the non-stick coating can be removable
- another cue may be an unusual coloring, signaling the non-stick property of the cookie pan
Why do my cookie sheets buckle in the oven?
The main disadvantage of cookie sheets is a tendency to buckle. Deformation can occur as a result of mechanical stress, exposure to extremely high or low temperatures, and uneven heating.
Another reason may be the unfair attitude of manufacturers to the manufacture of their goods. They use materials that cannot withstand the temperatures indicated on the label. What can you do with a deformed cookie sheet?
- Cool the baking sheet in the freezer to return it to its previous shape.
- Place the cookie trays evenly so that they do not touch the edges of the oven.
- Do not pour cold water on the surface of a hot baking sheet.
What is wire in the rim sheet pan?
The wire in the rim sheet pan plays a significant role in ensuring the strength of the product. The wire performs the following list of functions:
- provides fast heating and cooling
- facilitates the process of cleaning the baking tray
- ensures uniform baking
- increases heat transfer
- prevents the deformation process
- protects the baking tray from rusting
Some manufacturers save on the production of sheet pans and refuse wire in a baking frame. However, the service life of such baking sheets is short, they will undergo deformation after the first exposure to high temperatures.
What is a lined rimmed baking sheet?
A lined baking sheet is one that you have covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil. The lining helps to protect the products from sticking to the baking sheet.
Professional chefs advise using a parchment paper lining for easy-to-burn foods – vegetables, meat, and potatoes. If you decide to cook pastries, use an aluminum foil lining.
What is a loaf dish?
Bread is a food product obtained by baking, steaming, or frying dough. Bread consists of water and yeast, which quickly stick to the surface of the baking sheet during exposure to high temperatures.
Choosing the right loaf dish for making bread plays a significant role in the quality of the future product. Professional chefs believe that a loaf dish should have high sides to retain more heat. It will contribute to better baking of the bread’s edges.
What type of cookie sheet is best?
Choosing the best cookie sheet is an individual process. Experts advise choosing flat cookie sheets with small sides for pizza and cookies. The best material is aluminum. This one is ideal for dishes prepared in a short period.
First of all, biscuits, cookies, and cupcakes. The aluminum baking tray heats up quickly, distributes heat evenly, and ensures full-fledged baking of the dish from all sides.
Casserole on a rimmed baking sheet recipe
You can cook a variety of dishes using a rimmed baking sheet. One of them is a classic casserole with pasta. To repeat such a dish, prepare the necessary ingredients:
- pasta – 250 g
- chicken fillet – 300 g
- tomatoes – 150 g
- hard cheese – 100 g
- sour cream – 150 g
- water – 250 ml
- seasoning for chicken – 1 tablespoon
- salt – to taste
- fresh herbs – to decorate casseroles
- vegetable oil – to lubricate the mold
Step-by-step cooking technology:
- Cut the chicken fillet into small pieces. Add salt and seasonings for the chicken. Mix it up.
- Lubricate the baking dish with vegetable oil and add dry pasta there.
- Put the chicken fillet on top of the pasta.
- Cut tomatoes into cubes.
- Dilute the sour cream with water and add salt.
- Pour the sour cream filling into the mold. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
- Cover the mold with foil and place it in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes at 180 degrees oven temperature.
- At the end remove the foil and send the pasta casserole with chicken and tomatoes to the oven for another 15 minutes so that the cheese turns brown.
Potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet recipe
Another common dish that you can cook on a rimmed baking sheet is potatoes with chicken fillet. To repeat this recipe, prepare the following ingredients:
- chicken fillet – 1 pc
- potatoes – 5 pcs
- onion – 1 pc
- processed cheese – 3 pcs
- cream (I have 15%) – 200 ml
- mustard (I have a spicy one) – 1 teaspoon
- vegetable oil – to lubricate the mold
- ground black pepper – to taste
- salt – to taste
- green onion – to taste
Step-by-step cooking technology:
- Cut the peeled potatoes into small cubes.
- Cut the peeled onion into small cubes.
- Lubricate a small form with vegetable oil.
- Put the potatoes and onions in a mold, season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix it up.
- Cut the chicken fillet into plates, cover it with cling film, and beat it off with a kitchen hammer on both sides.
- Rub the chicken fillet with salt.
- Grate the processed cheese on a coarse grater. Add cream, mustard, and salt. Mix everything.
- Put the chicken fillet on potatoes with onions.
- Pour the potatoes and chicken with the prepared cream sauce and spread with a spatula.
- Place the baking sheet in a preheated 180-degree oven on a medium level. The baking time is 30 minutes.
Conclusions
The baking tray is a necessary assistant for all home cooks. It will allow you to easily cook dishes such as oven fries, jellyroll cakes, and other baked goods.
Experts advise choosing an aluminum half sheet with a non-stick coating. Such a product will be resistant to temperature changes and contribute to the uniform preparation of products.
Any test kitchen often uses aluminum pans, toaster ovens, and cooling racks to avoid burning products. However, you can save on expensive equipment and choose a baking sheet with a non-stick coating. It is also significant to choose the appropriate type of baking tray for each type of dish.
So, for baking cookies, the best option would be a flat cookie sheet with low sides.