CookFX Silicone Baking Mats

     One thing that has been important in changing my lifestyle, but I haven’t talked about yet is disposables.  We live in a world where it feels like everything is meant to be disposable anymore.  I find this especially true when it comes to the kitchen.  Paper plates, paper towels, and paper napkins.  Plastic forks, spoons, and knives.  Aluminum foil, wax paper, plastic wrap, and parchment.  All of these things add up to lots of garbage and a really big grocery bill spent continually replacing all of it.

     A hundred years ago people reused everything.  It was unthinkable to just throw dishes, cups, utensils and napkins in the trash can.  Living in an environmentally conscious world (and an extremely budget conscious home) has made me consider my choices with regards to disposable products.
 

     Recently I was offered the opportunity to review a set of CookFX Silicone Baking Mats.  I was excited to try out the product – and embarrassed to discover how much excess I was able to stop purchasing because of this product.  The first obvious change was that I don’t need to use parchment paper to line baking sheets any longer.  I think that is probably the change that most people anticipate.  Your cookies don’t stick to the baking sheet, so you either don’t have to wash it, or you can stop buying parchment paper that serves the same purpose.  Cookies lift right off the baking mat without the help of a spatula.  After a quick rinse under the faucet and wipe down with a kitchen towel they are ready to be rolled up and returned to the drawer.

     What I didn’t expect was the impact they would have on baking bread.  Usually I liberally dust my baking sheet with cornmeal to prevent sticking.  And I go through lots and lots of cornmeal because I bake all of my family’s bread from scratch.  It adds up.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to place my bread dough onto the silicone baking mat and let it rise there.  After baking, the loaf lifts right off the mat and is as lovely as any that I’ve made on a cornmeal covered baking sheet.

     Finally, I want to share the greatest feature of all about owning these baking mats.  If you find yourself in a pinch with no baking sheet available, you can place the silicone baking mat on another surface to use as if it were a baking sheet.  I baked cookies on a mini muffin pan using this method and they turned out beautifully.  No one would ever know that my baking sheets were busy performing other kitchen duties while I baked cookies.

     If you are interested, these CookFX Silicone Baking Mats can be found here.  I promise they will pay for themselves when you skip the purchase of just a few packages of parchment paper.  And you don’t have to add anything extra to the landfill.