Some may be aware that I run the occasional “Knowledge Sharing Session”/Cooking Class in our region, and one of the most popular sessions is my Gluten Free Sourdough. In these sessions I encourage those attending to line their loaf tins with baking paper – the main reason is because of the long rising time for the loaf – if the tin doesn’t have a non-stick coating, or even if it does, it may be scratched or damaged, then no matter how well you grease the tin, it would more than likely begin the rusting process during the rise due to the moisture in the loaf – not really desirable.
At a recent session, I had forgotten to pack enough of my baking paper, and had to use a different brand to what I usually do. Tins were lined, loaves made and set aside to be taken home for proving and baking, then we started to prepare some dishes using the gluten free soudough discard, as well as a loaf of bread that I had baked at home and brought along.
One of the discard dishes was sourdough discard crackers – I generally roll out the dough for the crackers between two sheets of baking paper, or two sheets of plastic wrap, and when rolling them, I regularly lift the paper and set it back down to allow for easier spread of the dough as it’s being rolled. It is here that the alarm bells should have started ringing! It was quite difficult to lift the baking paper away from the dough without it sticking and tearing. But of course, the penny didn’t drop!
Once those making the crackers had their first batch rolled out nice and thin, and scored, they were baked on one of the sheets of baking paper used to roll them out on, as I always do. But when removed from the oven, they were well and truly attached to the baking paper! Fortunately, I had a small amount of my usual baking paper with me, enough to do the remainder of the dough, and, of course, there was no problem at all.
The following day I had a message from one of the participants with regards to baking temp, for her loaf of bread, I messaged a response to provide the advice required. The next morning I messaged to ask how her loaf had baked – uggh! The paper had stuck so badly to the loaf that she had to cut the crust away – otherwise, it had baked nicely. We exchanged thoughts, she is a regular user of the brand of baking paper that we used, and had not had any issues in the past. Our conclusion, that the paper tends to absorb moisture if left with the dough in it for any length of time, and while it may be suitable for most baking applications, it isn’t really suitable for the gluten free sourdough loaf or the rolling and baking of the crackers.
I am not here to name and shame, but just to caution that not all baking papers are the same! I have done a search for reviews on the product that we used on the day – let’s just say they confirmed our experience!
One thing is for sure – I won’t forget the baking paper again!
Until next time…
Bon appétit!
Hi Julie,
That has been my experience in the past too.
I like to use Glad Bake.
Can you say what brand you prefer?
I try to use silicone baking mats for some baking but it’s not always suitable.
Kind regards,
Gayle Hooper
Hi Gayle
Thank you for your comments.
My absolute favourite is Confoil Supabake (caterer’s pack) but unfortunately it is not available in supermarkets.
My other go-to’s are Glad Bake and Multix. I would love to use the unbleached, but unfortunately it doesn’t come in large enough rolls, and the Glad Bake was not on a cardboard cylinder , so it was not actually a roll and made it difficult to pull out and lay flat – if that makes sense. So for now I use the bleached/white baking paper.