Equipment Review: Best Rimmed Baking Sheets (Sheet Pans, Jelly Roll Pans) & Our Testing Winner
- 7 years ago
Buy our Winning Rimmed Baking Sheet: \r
Behind the Testing: \r
Full testing details and ranking chart: \r
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We tested 8 rimmed baking sheets to find the best one:\r
Nordic Ware Bakers Half Sheet\r
Vollrath Wear-Ever Heavy Duty Sheet Pan (13 gauge)\r
Chicago Metallic Traditional Large Jelly Roll Pan\r
Nordic Ware Prism Half Sheet Baking Pan\r
Norpro Heavy Gauge Aluminum Jelly Roll Pan\r
Chicago Metallic StayFlat NSF Half-Size Sheet Pan\r
Island Ware Bakers Half Sheet Pan\r
Fat Daddios ProSeries Jelly Roll Pan\r
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A rimmed baking sheet is essential for sheet cakes and handy for cookies. But if yours is flimsy or you use it only for baking, youre not getting your moneys worth.\r
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We review the best (and worst) digital kitchen scales:\r
\r
\r
Curious about carbon-steel skillets? Watch our review:\r
\r
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WINNING TRAITS OF A GOOD RIMMED BAKING SHEET\r
- Tall, straight sides with defined corners\r
- Cooking surface measuring roughly 16½ by 11½ inches, so it fits a wire rack snugly\r
- Resists scratching and warping and returns to a flat state after use\r
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WHAT WE EXAMINED\r
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We tested eight rimmed baking sheets, all measuring roughly 18 by 13 inches from rim to rim, using each to bake a jelly roll cake and lemon sugar cookies, roast parsnips, and roast and broil chicken thighs. We evaluated how evenly the food cooked and how cleanly it released from the sheets. We also rated their handling, strength, and resistance to warping and measured the dimensions of their cooking surfaces. \r
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BAKING: We baked a jelly roll cake and cookies in each sheet, giving higher scores for appropriately light golden-brown baked goods that baked evenly across the entirety of the cooking surface.\r
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ROASTING: We preheated the sheets and roasted parsnips and chicken thighs on them, observing how evenly foods cooked across the entirety of the cooking surface. Those that browned and cooked foods evenly scored the highest.\r
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WARPING: We preferred sheets that withstood high-heat ovens and rapid temperature changes with minimal warping.\r
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HANDLING: To test comfort and ease of use, we fitted each sheet with a wire rack, prepared a mock roast (placing a 5-pound bag of our atop the rack and 1/2 cup of water underneath it), and did a lap around the test kitchen. The best sheets felt comfortable and secure in hand, with tall, straight sides that were easy to grip and helped contain liquid.\r
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RACK COMPATIBILITY: We often use wire cooling racks inside baking sheets. We deducted points if standard-size racks moved around inside the sheets or didnt fit inside them completely.\r
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Americas Test Kitchen is a real 2,500 square foot test kitchen located just outside of Boston that is home to more than three dozen full-time cooks and product testers. Our mission is simple: to develop the absolute best recipes for all of your favorite foods. To do this, we test each recipe 30, 40, sometimes as many as 70 times, until we arrive at the combination of ingredients, technique, temperature, cooking time, and equipment that yields the best, most-foolproof recipe. \r
\r
If you like us, follow us:\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
Behind the Testing: \r
Full testing details and ranking chart: \r
\r
We tested 8 rimmed baking sheets to find the best one:\r
Nordic Ware Bakers Half Sheet\r
Vollrath Wear-Ever Heavy Duty Sheet Pan (13 gauge)\r
Chicago Metallic Traditional Large Jelly Roll Pan\r
Nordic Ware Prism Half Sheet Baking Pan\r
Norpro Heavy Gauge Aluminum Jelly Roll Pan\r
Chicago Metallic StayFlat NSF Half-Size Sheet Pan\r
Island Ware Bakers Half Sheet Pan\r
Fat Daddios ProSeries Jelly Roll Pan\r
\r
A rimmed baking sheet is essential for sheet cakes and handy for cookies. But if yours is flimsy or you use it only for baking, youre not getting your moneys worth.\r
\r
We review the best (and worst) digital kitchen scales:\r
\r
\r
Curious about carbon-steel skillets? Watch our review:\r
\r
\r
WINNING TRAITS OF A GOOD RIMMED BAKING SHEET\r
- Tall, straight sides with defined corners\r
- Cooking surface measuring roughly 16½ by 11½ inches, so it fits a wire rack snugly\r
- Resists scratching and warping and returns to a flat state after use\r
\r
WHAT WE EXAMINED\r
\r
We tested eight rimmed baking sheets, all measuring roughly 18 by 13 inches from rim to rim, using each to bake a jelly roll cake and lemon sugar cookies, roast parsnips, and roast and broil chicken thighs. We evaluated how evenly the food cooked and how cleanly it released from the sheets. We also rated their handling, strength, and resistance to warping and measured the dimensions of their cooking surfaces. \r
\r
BAKING: We baked a jelly roll cake and cookies in each sheet, giving higher scores for appropriately light golden-brown baked goods that baked evenly across the entirety of the cooking surface.\r
\r
ROASTING: We preheated the sheets and roasted parsnips and chicken thighs on them, observing how evenly foods cooked across the entirety of the cooking surface. Those that browned and cooked foods evenly scored the highest.\r
\r
WARPING: We preferred sheets that withstood high-heat ovens and rapid temperature changes with minimal warping.\r
\r
HANDLING: To test comfort and ease of use, we fitted each sheet with a wire rack, prepared a mock roast (placing a 5-pound bag of our atop the rack and 1/2 cup of water underneath it), and did a lap around the test kitchen. The best sheets felt comfortable and secure in hand, with tall, straight sides that were easy to grip and helped contain liquid.\r
\r
RACK COMPATIBILITY: We often use wire cooling racks inside baking sheets. We deducted points if standard-size racks moved around inside the sheets or didnt fit inside them completely.\r
\r
Americas Test Kitchen is a real 2,500 square foot test kitchen located just outside of Boston that is home to more than three dozen full-time cooks and product testers. Our mission is simple: to develop the absolute best recipes for all of your favorite foods. To do this, we test each recipe 30, 40, sometimes as many as 70 times, until we arrive at the combination of ingredients, technique, temperature, cooking time, and equipment that yields the best, most-foolproof recipe. \r
\r
If you like us, follow us:\r
\r
\r
\r
\r