For those casual bakers like myself who have a new sack of half-sheet parchment papers from King Arthur Flour (or any other source with a similar package), I found a place to store my new papers in the pantry without fear of them falling through the slots between the wire shelf units or getting wrinkled or dogeared.  I simply used flat head thumbtacks (not push pins) on the inside of the bag to stick them to the wall as shown above.  VOILA!   Carefree storage. 

Hey everybody, didn't know if you all knew this, but I just learned about it yesterday.  Sam's Club has parchment paper in a box.  1,000 sheets for about $36!!!  Great deal.  I didn't get the exact size but it fits their baking sheets which are a bit bigger than a home cookie sheet.

She said it was unbleached parchment.  I don't exactly know if there is a difference?  Maybe you guys will know?  You have to go back to the Bakery section and order it there.  She said you can also call and they can order it and have it ready for you to pick up.  I guess you'll have to have a Sam's Club card, or a Sam's Club friend! :)

Anyways, thought it was a great deal!  I ordered the sheets from Canada, expensive shipping!!  Too bad I didn't think to ask about it before!  The also sell all their plastic bread bags and stuff too!  Great resource.  Just go and talk to somebody back there!

Well, that's all!  Have a great week everybody! 

Faith

I don't want to spend money on parchment paper, plastic wrap, plastic bags, and tin foil, only to throw them away after one use. It's a matter of frugality + wanting to be environmentally responsible.

I used to save the plastic bags from the supermarket and wash and re-use them as long as possible before they fell apart. However, the supermarkets are using thinner, sleazier bags, AND I've recently learned that my old freezing method (put the loaf in a bag and freeze it) was inadequate. I'm wrapping the loaves in tin foil and then putting them in heavier plastic bags. When they're needed, I let them thaw, heat them in a 375 degree oven ... and then throw away the tin foil. Which hurts.The bread is better (moister) but I've wasted the aluminum and the energy it took to make it.

I've also been experimenting with retarding bread dough, which seems to require lavish use of plastic wrap to cover bowls. The wrap then has to be thrown away.

I was recently given some Peter Reinhart bread books. Many of the recipes call for parchment paper ... which I resist using. Another use-once, throw-away item.

Are there any bakers out there who can advise me on environmentally-sound baking? I would like to bake using only reusable equipment.

so i tired using parchment paper for 3 loaves... i dont see a difference between using it and not using it. My loafs came out very flat, no more than an inch high. I STILL have the EXACT same problem as i always have. No oven spring. I dont over proof, i let it rise the full time and i proof in baskets! Here is a pic of a loaf that turned out crappy.

i went by weight rather than volume and i still get the same results. i used all new flour, yeast and salt. it was a very very basic bread recipe and it still doesnt work.

wholewheat

AP flour

salt

yeast

water

vital wheat gluten

Thats it. It rose at least double and then i shapped it into loafs and let proof about 40 to 50 minutes. Still flat as can be. The parchment paper didnt help them keep there shape at all. In fact, the one completly spread out like NAAN. it went in flat and came out flatt. I made sure there was enough wheat glutten as well. i had enough dogh to fill the baskets at least half. I let it proof till the basket was about 3/4ths full and then i transfered very very gently to the peel and right into the oven.

So i have decided its not the proofing baskets, the parchment paper, the flour, the yeast, the water or the gluten that is screwing up me bread. I even used an oven thermometer to see if it was realy at 450. it was.

I have buying Reynolds parchment paper and recently saw

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/sub434/products/parchment-paper-pan-liners.html

The pricing between Walmart and the above link is so different I am wondering if I am missing something.

The S&H for webstaurantstore was high so does anyone have suggestions?

TIA, al

Bread Bottoms   What do they tell us?  Lots of information there yet we tend not to show them.  Yet we flip over a loaf as soon as we have it in our hands, many times before it lands on the cooling rack.   Some bottoms we don't see, others we do.  Dark, they speak of a hot oven; pale, a cooler one.   The hallmark of an English muffin > two bottoms.  They also leave clues as to what surface the loaf was baked.

In a discussion on evidence of the use of baking parchment, the subject of wrinkles came up.

Parchment Wrinkles.  I'm guessing the wrinkles come from moisture from the bread going into the parchment and deforming it where the dough lies, the outside edges being dry.  In the oven, the paper dries out shrinking & releasing steam which escapes in channels forming wrinkles where the still impressional  dough is touching it.  It marks the bottom like a fingerprint.  No two bottoms are alike.  :)  It's great when the bread doesn't stick and clean up is made easy.

Paper wrinkles like paper does.  With wall paper, one wets the paper with watery glue and lets it "size" until the paper has stabilized before hanging it or risk wrinkles as it dries.  I have not yet bothered to wet the parchment first, let it "size", and stretch it flat to park my dough on it to rise.  There might be a difference, less wrinkles or more.   Hasn't  bothered me enough to test it... yet.  Someone who is about to bake two loaves with parchment, might want to try it and report back.

Playing with those thoughts, it also might be interesting to create a pattern in the parchment that would show up in the baked dough, the bottom of the loaf becomming the top or loaves with signature bottoms.  We've lightly touched the subject before on TFL.  Orgami cranes pops into my head set under the wet dough... or folded rows for a rilled effect.  Cut paper?  Pizza with patterned bottoms?  What could I do with a cool iron and parchment?  So, I started this new thread...  "Bread Bottoms"  What do they tell us?

Dreaming of baking on the surface of relief tiles?  Does your wfo oven leave brick marks on the bottoms of loaves?    What does the bottom of a grilled loaf look like?  What does a bottom look like baked on Iron?  Bamboo?  Perforated pans?  Or baked on seeds?

Show us your bottoms!

Is there a difference between Bakery Pan Liners and Parchment paper??  I am using Qualite Bakery Pan Liners and it makes the cook flat on one side.  I bought them at Resturant Depot.

I had my brother-in-law cut my second pizza peel (14" wide) down to 8" wide, perfect for one loaf.  I am able to get three loaves onto my stone.  Two loaves going one way and the other back to front.  My problem was with the third loaf.  I could not get it to slide off (using parchment paper) without touching the other two loaves,  So, that is why I had him cut the peel to an 8" width.  Works great!  Now, the problem was trying to cut a 8" width piece of parchment from the roll.  It would tear unevenly, or pull even more out, and no where near the 8" width that I wanted.  I used scissors and that worked, But then after seeing the add on TV about "Scotch Gift Wrap Cutter", I thought that if it would cut wrapping paper, why not Parchment paper.  It works GREAT.  I pull out the paper and use this tool and it cuts perfectly.  No more short sides, no more pulling out half the roll!, just clean straight edges.  Thought that I would just pass this along.

I posted this tutorail on another food site before they banned me from the site (no sense of humor...their loss. LOL), so rather than give the link to that site I figured some of the newer artisan bakers could benefit from this tutorial, especially if they are having difficulty working with wet dough. Hopefully many will benefit from the dialog and the pictures.

No Knead Bread & Parchment Paper
By: Joe Valencic, Mentor, Ohio

I see this topic come up frequently, especially when someone is being challenged by handling this very loose dough. Some folks can understand a verbal description of using parchment paper, but some need to SEE what is being explained in order to fully understand. I’m a person who likes lots of pictures to make sure I’m doing things as described, and for those of you who are like me, here’s a short tutorial on working with parchment paper and no-knead bread dough.

I mainly work with round baking vessels for this bread, but I do own one La Cloche Oblong Clay Baker. Here are two of my many choices for baking vessels, and the proofing baskets I use for them. Notice how the baskets are similar in size to the baking dishes. This is important so that the proofed dough is not larger than its baking vessel.

I take a sheet of parchment paper and work it into the basket, being careful to fit it closely to the inside of the basket. Once I’m happy with the paper placement, I trim off the excess so that there is about 2” of paper left over the basket edge for lifting the proofed dough. I then spray a liberal coating of cooking spray on the parchment paper to prevent the dough from sticking to the paper. Shape the dough and then drop it in the basket and cover with plastic to rise for about 60 minutes.

Once the dough has risen and is ready for the oven, I like to ‘dress up’ my No-Knead bread with a good topping of 10-grain cereal. I take a spray bottle of water and wet the top of the dough so the grain will stick, then sprinkle a liberal amount of cereal on top of the loaf. You could also use wheat bran, oatmeal or other toppings that you enjoy.

You’re now ready to put the dough in the cooking vessel. Just lift the dough by the parchment paper edges and place the whole thing into your pot. Put on the cover and bake as usual. To save energy I like to bake two loaves at a time. The dissimilar shapes work very well for this, but I can also fit two round baking dishes in my oven. If doing this, make sure there is at least 1” between vessels and away from walls so the air can circulate around the pots in the oven.

When the bread is done remove the pan from the oven using long oven mitts. Don’t try to lift the bread by the parchment paper, because it will just fall apart in your hands.

Tip the bread out of the pan using the oven mitts and place on a wire rack to cool. For best results, allow bread to cool for at least two hours before cutting.
If you did it all correctly, you will be left with beautiful, delicious bread and a shell of parchment paper to throw away.

I hope this makes your No-Knead baking experience more enjoyable.