Some things in life are the best-looking brand new. This rule certainly applies to the baking sheets you use for every meal!
There is nothing worse than taking out your baking sheets to cook something and being disgusted by the brown and burnt stains that remain.
While you may try to keep your baking sheets clean, some old techniques may not cut it anymore.
That is why we have put together all of our top tips on how you can keep your baking sheets looking brand new so that you don’t need to keep replacing them all the time.
So before you throw out your old ones, or even before you buy a new one, keep these top tips in mind.
We guarantee to keep your baking sheets looking brand new for more than a day if possible.
And you don’t need the harshest chemicals to get it looking sparkling clean, too.
Table of Contents
Use What You Have
Just like cleaning other parts of your home, cleaning your baking pan can be done with items you probably already have at home.
Two of the best and most accessible are likely baking soda and vinegar.
To get started, all you must do is fill your sink with warm water and add around half a cup of each ingredient.
Because baking soda and vinegar have opposite levels of pH, you get an incredible chemical reaction that helps you scrub your baking sheets clean.
Let your baking sheets sit in your homemade solution for half an hour and then come back and start scrubbing with a sponge or even some steel wool.
The motions should be soft as you don’t want to risk marking up the pan.
After you get all the residue off, you can dry it off with a dish towel and store it away for use once again.
As a bonus, the vinegar and baking soda automatically clean your sink too. What a win-win scenario.
Throw in Hydrogen Peroxide
If you want to do even less scrubbing than with vinegar, replace it with hydrogen peroxide.
This combination creates a harsher chemical reaction that removes a lot of the dirt and grime on its own.
However, this means that you need to be a bit more patient.
Rather than letting your baking sheet soak for just an hour or so, you will instead want to let it soak overnight.
By the time you wake up in the morning, all the dirt and grime on the baking sheet should have been removed already, leaving you to simply do a simple wipe and dry.
Buy Heavy Duty Cleaning Agents
If you do not have vinegar or hydrogen peroxide lying around, or you simply need something more powerful, then consider purchasing a cleaning solution that is designed specifically for your baking sheets.
You simply sprinkle the solution on the pan and add a couple drops of water.
This will create a paste-like solution that you can then scrub with.
But if you choose this cleaning method, keep in mind that you will absolutely want to wear gloves as well, because this solution is super strong and intense.
So best to protect your skin.
Use Parchment Paper
If you want to keep your baking sheets clean for longer and prevent any grime from building up at all, then you should invest in parchment paper and use it when you bake something.
The parchment paper adds a protection layer between the sheet and the food, where it absorbs all the grime instead.
You can then either re-use the parchment paper or throw it away.
You can also invest in a silicone baking mat for your sheets that are equally fantastic to use as a protective layer and very easy to clean.
The latter is also a much more sustainable option.
Buy a Quality Baking Sheet
It is also important to remember that all baking sheets are not created equal.
The brand you purchase from is important to ensure the quality of the materials used.
The best baking sheets are designed to stay relatively clean on their own, prevent any excess liquid from escaping, and being resilient in the oven.
You should be able to get a long-life span from your baking sheet and it should equally be pretty easy to clean.
The best options for no stains are stainless steel. But you can also choose from baking sheets made from copper, class, or even silicone.
You will also want to make sure you choose the correct size for your baking sheet and that it can fit both the types of recipes you want to make like chocolate chip cookies and the size of your oven.
Keeping your baking sheets clean is easy with these five tips on How to Clean Baking Sheets So They Shine Like Brand New.
