These Nonstick Tools Have Upgraded My Baking For Good
Williams Sonoma
One of my biggest pet peeves in baking is when the finished product sticks to the pan or mold, even when you used what felt like half a stick of butter greasing the pan beforehand. Because of this pet peeve, I almost always use parchment paper. And though parchment allows for much cleaner bakes, using it every time feels wasteful—and sometimes my baked goods end up sticking to the parchment anyway.
Luckily for us avid bakers, Silpat makes silicone-based mats, molds, and other baking essentials that are all non-stick. In other words, no more buttering your molds! No more parchment paper. No more flipping pans upside down and banging them against the counter to release muffins that just won't come out.
Silpat Perfect Pastry Non-Stick Silicone Countertop Workstation Mat, $39 at amazon.com
The tiny banana bread loaves that I made using the Mini Loaf Pan Plaque didn't just pop right out of the mold; they held their shape perfectly, were evenly baked, and I didn't have to scrub down the pan afterward. The same thing happened when I made brownies in the Brownie Pan—with the added perk that every brownie in the bunch had the ideal balance of middle to edge.
Beyond their easy-to-use molds, Silpat also offers several products that simplify the whole baking process. Take the Perfect Pastry Mat, which features concentric circles that are incredibly helpful guides when rolling out pastry dough. And then there's the genius Perfect Cookie Baking Mat, which has 21 bullseyes for where you should place dough so that baked cookies don't run into one another (an annoying problem that I've experienced many times).
Silpat Cook N' Cool Baking Tray, $40 at amazon.com
Silpat baking mats fit on top of the Perforated Aluminum Tray, which is designed to evenly cook the bottoms of baked goods while also acting as a cooling rack (just invert it!). And all of the products are super easy to clean and store. Since crumbs don't stick to the silicone mats, all they need is a light scrub. They're flexible, so can be rolled up and stashed away.
I've found Silpat to be a miracle product. The non-stick molds have made baking so much easier, and I can't wait to try out more shapes this winter and beyond, especially the ones that are typically more complicated to lift out of a pan (lookin' at you, Madeleine Pan and Fluted Cake Pan).
Silpat Silicone Mini Loaf Pan Plaque
To buy: $60 at williams-sonoma.com
Silpat Perfect Pastry Non-Stick Silicone Countertop Workstation Mat
To buy: $40 at amazon.com
Silpat Perfect Cookie Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat
To buy: $34 at amazon.com or williams-sonoma.com
Silpat Perforated Aluminum Baking Tray and Silpat Fluted Cake Pan
To buy: $99 at williams-sonoma.com
Silpat Brownie Pan
To buy: $60 at williams-sonoma.com
Silpat Silicone Madeleine Pan
To buy: $60 at williams-sonoma.com
Silpat Cook N' Cool Baking Tray
To buy: $40 at amazon.com or williams-sonoma.com
