Differences between cloth, fiberglass and silicone baking mats?

Differences between cloth, fiberglass and silicone baking mats? - Side view of crop anonymous African American female whisking melted chocolate near metal bowl with flour in kitchen

There are various reusable baking/parchment paper substitutes on the market now, and a quick trawl through Aliexpress reveals at least three kinds:

  • Cloth, reinforced with fiberglass (very cheap, from $1)
  • Silpat-style mixed silicone and fiberglass mats (from $4)
  • "Pyramid/fat reducing" silicone mats with a textured surface (from $4)

Is there a meaningful difference between the cloth and the silicone types? The textured/pyramid ones obviously won't be much good for baking anything where you want a flat surface.



Best Answer

The key difference from my perspective is cleaning. Silicone is the easiest material in my kitchen to scrub clean, with the possible exception of stainless steel. Cloth is very far down the list.

Also, depending on the texture of the cloth, more food will almost certainly stick to the cloth, unless it's sealed with something, in which case what is it sealed with? And how is it sealing the fiberglass in?

I use the kind with a thin grid of fibers inside the silicone. It adds more stability and lets the overall thickness be thinner for better heat transmission, compared to a plain silicone silpat. As long as I don't use it as a cutting board, the fiberglass stays safely inside. It does add a very slight grid texture to the bottom of loaves, but it's barely noticeable and doesn't look bad at all.

The pyramid kind, which would reduce food contact and increase drainage and airflow, sounds like it would be good for specific applications, but not something I'd make a batch of cookies on.




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What baking mat is best?

Best Silicone Baking Mats at a Glance
  • Best Overall Value: Amazon Basics Silicone Baking Mat, Pack of 2.
  • Runner-up: Kitzini Baking Mats, 2 Half Sheets.
  • Best for Baking: Silpat Premium Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat.
  • Best for Rolling Dough: OXO Good Grips Silicone Pastry Mat.


Are silicone mats good for baking?

A silicone baking mat helps create a more even baking surface on even the worst baking sheets, resulting in cookies with more evenly browned bottoms \u2014 and fewer burnt cookies.

When should you not use a silicone baking mat?

Silicone baking mats: Benefits and limitations However, since most silicone baking mats are only oven-safe up to about 480 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, you can't use them while broiling food or cooking at very high temperatures.

What is the difference between a silicone pastry mat and a silicone baking mat?

Difference between baking mats and pastry matsSilicone pastry mat is 0.4mm thick. Silicone baking mat is designed for home baking or professional baking, it is used together with oven tray. The advantage of silicone baking sheet is non stick, heat resistant, easy to clean and reusable.



Our Testing of Silicone Baking Mats




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Images: Andres Ayrton, Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou, Tima Miroshnichenko