How To Bake A Cake Using Parchment Paper

Accept you always wondered what's the best mode to line pans with parchment paper? What well-nigh square or rectangular pans? Or round cake pans? In this post I'one thousand sharing all of my tips - including detailed instructions and a video! - for how to easily line blistering pans of all different shapes and sizes with parchment newspaper.

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What is parchment paper?
Do I need to grease parchment paper?
How to Line a Blistering Sheet with Parchment Newspaper
How to Line a Round Cake Pan with Parchment Paper
How to Line a Square Baking Pan with Parchment Paper
How to Line a Rectangular Baking Pan with Parchment Paper
Video: How to Line Baking Pans with Parchment Paper
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I get the same question every time I share a behind-the-scenes baking video in my Instagram story: how the heck do you line baking pans with parchment paper then neatly?! The short answer is through a lot of trial and mistake and years of baking experience. You may already know that the seemingly unproblematic task of placing parchment paper into a baking pan is easier said than washed, especially if your parchment newspaper keeps rolling upward on you lot. Plus, a quick internet search with yield a k tutorials for a thousand different means to line your pans. Guess what: I've tried them all so that you don't have to! And in doing then, I've discovered fool-proof methods for lining baking pans of all shapes and sizes.

And then, without further ado, hither's my long-awaited, much-anticipated tutorial for how to line pans with parchment paper! (And don't miss the video at the bottom of this mail service that shows exactly how I practice information technology!)

close up view of the corner of a square pan lined with parchment paper

What is parchment paper?

Parchment paper is paper that'due south been coated with silicone to provide a food-condom, non-stick surface that'due south also heat resistant*. Information technology is a staple in a baker's kitchen and has many uses, including lining baking pans and layering between stacked broiled goods and then that they won't stick together. Parchment paper helps to promote even baking, reduces spreading (great for baking thick cookies), and keeps desserts from sticking to the pan.

I highly recommend buying pre-cut sheets of 12 in. x 16 in. parchment paper and storing them flat (rather than on a ringlet). This is the perfect size for lining half canvass pans and ix in. x 13 in. pans, and information technology tin be easily trimmed down for use with smaller pans. And there'south nothing more frustrating than parchment newspaper that keeps rolling back on you while you're trying to line your pans, so storing the newspaper apartment will make your life and so much easier.

In some cases waxed paper or aluminum foil can be used in place of parchment, only these are non accommodating substitutes for parchment paper. Waxed newspaper is coated with paraffin wax, so information technology is not heat resistant and should not exist used to line pans that will get into the oven. Aluminum foil lacks the non-stick coating of parchment paper, then it won't aid your desserts to be hands removed from their pans as parchment will.

*Most brands of parchment paper are heat-resistant to temperatures in a higher place 400ºF, but exist sure to check the packaging of your newspaper, every bit this can vary.

Do I need to grease parchment newspaper?

Nope! Parchment paper is already non-stick, so at that place's generally no need to grease your parchment paper. And if you lot're baking cookies, greasing the parchment paper will likely crusade your cookies to overspread and get greasy, so definitely skip the grease. With that said, if the recipe you're using says to grease the parchment paper and then you may want to practise then, peculiarly if it's your commencement time making the recipe.

overhead view of stacked baking pans lined with parchment paper

How to Line a Baking Sheet with Parchment Newspaper

Baking sheets are the easiest type of pan to line with parchment, and then this will be a breeze!

If you're using 12 in. x 16 in. parchment paper sheets to line a half baking sheet, then your parchment is already sized for your pan and all you demand to do is place the sail onto the pan.
For smaller baking pans, merely trim down the parchment paper to a rectangle that fits the lesser interior of the pan.

How to Line a Round Cake Pan with Parchment Newspaper

This method works for any size cake pan and will help to ensure that chunks of your block don't stick behind in the pan after you plough the cake out onto a cooking rack. Note: Yous probably still want to grease the interior sides and edge of your block pan to ensure that your block doesn't stick to the sides of the pan, since the parchment will just comprehend the lesser of the pan.

Place a slice of parchment paper underneath your block pan and utilize a pencil to trace an outline of the bottom edge of the pan onto the parchment newspaper.
Use a clean pair of scissors to cut a circle just inside of the outline you drew (to accommodate the thickness of the pan, since y'all traced the exterior border and the paper will sit on the interior of the pan).
Place the circle of paper into the lesser of the pan.

Spotter the video at the bottom of this post to see these steps in action!

round cake pan lined with parchment paper

How to Line a Square Blistering Pan with Parchment Paper

This method will work well for any size square pan, including the popular sizes of 8 in. ten 8 in. and nine in. x 9 in. I've seen many methods for lining square pans, but this method is my favorite. I pop method is to cut two strips of paper, each the width of the pan, and to lay them in the pan perpendicular to each other, but this method doesn't cover the corners of the pan and also uses extra paper, since you're roofing the bottom of the pan twice. Other methods seem to crave complex origami. This method keeps it simple and efficient.

Place a piece of parchment newspaper underneath your pan. Lift up the edges of the newspaper to ensure that they reach up each of the sides of the pan, and utilise a pair of scissors to trim off any excess.
Using the scissors, make a cutting in the paper from each corner towards each corner of the pan. Remove the pan from atop the paper, and add another ½ inches to each of the 4 existing cuts (this will give you a little more wiggle room when shaping the corners).
Place the paper into the pan and fold one flap behind the other at each of the 4 corners and then that the newspaper fits neatly inside the pan.
Using your fingers, crease the newspaper along the 4 horizontal edges of the pan. Then crease the paper forth the 4 vertical edges so that the paper fits perfectly into all corners of the pan. (The sides of the paper may not lay flush with your pan, but they should be shut (see photograph in a higher place). Once you fill up the pan with dough or batter the parchment will lay against the pan.)

Watch the video at the bottom of this post to run into these steps in action!

8 x 8 square baking pan lined with parchment paper

How to Line a Rectangular Baking Pan with Parchment Newspaper

This method volition work for any size rectangular pan, such as a ix in. x xiii. in pan, and it is the same method that I outlined above for lining a square baking pan.

Place a piece of parchment paper underneath your pan. Lift up the edges of the paper to ensure that they reach up each of the sides of the pan, and employ a pair of pair of scissors to trim off any excess. (If you lot're using 12 in. x 16 in. parchment paper canvas to line a ix x 13 in. pan., and so yous shouldn't demand to trim your paper.)
Using the scissors, brand a cut in the paper from each corner towards each corner of the pan. Remove the pan from atop the paper, and add another ½ inches to each of the iv existing cuts (this volition give you a little more than wiggle room when shaping the corners).
Place the newspaper into the pan and fold one flap behind the other at each of the four corners and then that the paper fits neatly within the pan.
Using your fingers, crease the paper along the four horizontal edges of the pan. And then crease the newspaper along the four vertical edges and then that the paper fits perfectly into all corners of the pan. (The sides of the paper may not lay flush with your pan, simply they should exist close (meet photo above). In one case y'all fill the pan with dough or batter the parchment will lay against the pan.)

Watch the video at the lesser of this postal service to see these steps in action!