Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat Reviews

• A must have for bakers

  
  By AA0BUPTBFYYI8 on 2003-06-18
  I think I own one of almost every kitchen gadget known to man, and used to rely on parchment to bake cookies without worrying about sticking. I got a Silpat for my birthday and love it. I use it for cookies, just like the other reviewers mention, but find it is most useful for kneeding bread dough or rolling out sugar cookies or pie crusts. No more over or under-flouring my kneeding/rolling surface, because I can just peel off the dough if it gets stuck! Pie crusts transfer without cracking. My bread dough is amazing, because I never over-flour, which can ruin bread dough. Clean up is very fast. I store mine rolled up in an old paper towel tube in a drawer.
  
  

• a must-have

  
  By A2R24A825EB0B1 on 2004-03-16
  This is an excellent item to have about the kitchen. I only suggest two things. First, I would purchase two: one for savory items and one for sweet, as certain strong odors and oils tend to linger. Second, do not use soap on these, a good wipe with warm water and a gentle cloth will suffice.
  
  

• Fumes and Smoke

  
  By A2YH1W5W9GLRHQ on 2003-06-29
  After reading all of the wonderful reviews of this product, I decided to try it out despite the somewhat high cost. I've been both pleased and disappointed.

  I've baked 3 or batches of chocolate chip cookies on these sheets, and they've turned out great, regardless of what type of pan I use underneath. The bottoms of the cookies haven't burnt, and the insides are well done. I've also tried homemade pizza crust on the silpat, and they've also turned out wonderfully.

  My dissappointment and concern comes every time I bake with the silpat. Every time I use it to bake at around 375* and when I open the oven door, a light fog like smoke comes out of the oven which burns my nostrils and my eyes. About 5 minutes into the cooking, the smoke detector consistently goes off. I already have concerns putting my food in contact with a silicone surface, but the fumes were just unbearable.

  After searching around on the internet to see if anyone else had the same problem, I've only found one other person. Even after returning the silpat in exchange for a new one, I had the same problem, and that time I only put the silpat in, no cookies, no cookie pan. I think this time I'll just have to return it for good. I won't be surprised if 20 years down the road they say that cooking with silicon products causes cancer.
  
  

• Better for Bread than Cookies

  
  By A2DUTTB7L0QSZS on 2004-06-24
  I use two cookie sheets at once: one with the Silpat and one with parchment paper. The Silpat cookies are over-cooked on the bottom; The parchment cookies are much better. On the other hand, parchment paper is a pain in the neck to use. The cookies contain a lot of butter so they leave an oily circle on the Silpat that really sticks to it. I had a dried cherry stick to it like glue once.

  I think that a nonstick cookie sheet is easier to clean than a big floppy thing like the Silpat. Since the Silpat does not produce better baked goods, I don't see the advantage over the nonstick cookie sheet.
  
  

• Heaven Sent

  
  By on 2003-08-12
  I always thought that parchment paper was for snooty folks who were too lazy to either butter their cookie sheets or baked their cookies too long so they stuck to the sheets. If it works anything like these sheets, I owe a lot of folks apologies. While they cost a few dollars, who cares? The cookies SLIDE off-- no stick, no smooshing, no mangling. The cookie sheets, meanwhile, are pristinely clean, so it's a clean up constituted of running a soapy rag over the Silpat and over the cookie sheet. Done. Beautiful. Absolutely worth it for anyone who bakes cookies.
  
  
• Any baker's delight
  By A3EFSLEMHNPP6A on 2005-03-24
  Since I received a Silpat as a gift, I haven't had to purchase anymore parchment paper for cookie baking. I probably bake more often just knowing I don't have to buy, cut and throw away parchment or grease cookie sheets.
  
  
  The Silpat fits on top of my standard cookie sheet, and every dough I've tried bakes well and rolls or lifts off so easily. In addition, I use the Silpat underneath bubbly apple pies in the oven, to catch drippings and prevent them from caramelizing onto the stove.
  
  I also use it for laying out sticky pastry so I don't have to over-flour, and this helps prevent drying the dough, over-handling, and tearing the pastry. I imagine it would probably be great for making sticky candies or rolling other doughs as well. Clean up is accomplished with a simple warm wipe or soapy rinse.
  
  Once dry, I store my Silpat rolled up in drawer with a rubber band around it to keep it from flopping open. If you bake a lot
  (especially cookies or small pastries), this is a must. You won't imagine how you got along without it! Just don't use a knife on it. It will get marked up.
  
  
  
• A baker's Dream!
  By A1JEAPHO8U2WZ6 on 2003-11-17
  I love my silpat. Been using it for almost 5 years. I use mine several times a week.(great for cookies, pizza, rolls...everything!)I have made some awful sticky messes on mine. Baking jelly filled rolls and jelly bubbling out. I let it dry and then peel it off. Clean as a whistle! It is the best $20 I've ever spent!
  
  
• Not Worth the Money
  By A3VYF7U2EXIJEH on 2005-01-19
  I worked in a professional bakery for three years and we used silpats for our croissants. In my experience, I found that the silpats are easily ruined and they don't hold up well.
  
  
• fabulous kitchen tool.
  By on 2003-03-22
  This baking sheet is truly non-stick. I have baked cookies, bread and biscuits on this and everything slides right off. Also it seems to insulate the bottom of the food so that it can bake all the way through and the bottom does not burn.
  
  
• Silpat
  By APLQARFG1G1M7 on 2003-10-12
  Silpat is non-stick the first time you use it. After that it is no different than any other surface despite the advertising.
  
  
• Smoke alarm
  By AOYQHR4ABWK6V on 2004-01-10
  I gave my mom a Silpat for Christmas. She's used it many times since then and is very pleased with its performance. Her cookies bake evenly and slide right off every time. UNFORTUNATELY the Silpat sets off her smoke alarm EVERY TIME -even at 350 degrees. Mom is a frequent baker and is sure her oven is not running 130 degrees too hot! (the silpat is supposed be safe to use up to 480 degrees?) I guess for Mother's Day I will be getting her a set of ear plugs!!
  
  
• Professional Tool great for home!
  By A1TU8JYZ4XUSMU on 2003-05-14
  As a professional chef in a very busy hotel, I find myself using this product more often than reaching for a can of PAM - if not for the solitary reason that it lasts and lasts through hundreds of cycles in and out of convection and conventional ovens - and never needs more than a wipe with a damp cloth! At home this ease of cleaning as well as its non-failing performance makes this and easy product to grant a full five stars!
  
  
• Baking Delight
  By on 2004-01-06
  My kitchen is very tiny and loaded with gadgets, utensils and cookware. Periodically, I give away what I don't use and once in awhile, I even replace something I've eliminated. I have four cookie sheets and 4 Silpats -- just enough to make double batches of cookies and keep the rotation moving. Cookies cool for a couple of minutes, then slide right off the sheets. These are ideal for fat-free cookies like the chocolate meringues I just put away, and the best for fortune cookies which require fast removal. My cookie sheets look brand new because nothing other than the Silpat ever touches them. To my sisters who were going to receive these as gifts last year, I must add my regrets because I kept this quartet for myself.
  
  
• Great except for smoking problem
  By A1YKP5FGIE3EDE on 2004-12-18
  I just tried mine and it also gave me a smoking problem. Every time I took it out of the oven it triggered the smoke alarm.
  
  I alternated between using the Silpat and parchment paper. I must admit that I liked the cookies from the Silpat a little better, but the parchment never triggered the smoke alarm.
  
  I have written to the manufacturer, Demarle, to find out what they know about this. I will let you know all what they say.
  
  
• So many uses!
  By A162OTHRCQLLZ1 on 2005-03-05
  This thing makes life so much easier for anyone doing serious baking.
  
  First, obviously, it's great for baking on. No longer do you need to expose your baked goods to unnecessary grease, butter or other chemicals to prevent them from sticking to sheet pans.
  
  Also, for me, rolling doughs was always something of a challenge, because my counters did not have enough texture for flour to cling to, so I couldn't coat them with it, so my dough always stuck and clung while rolling, and I wound up repairing a lot of torn dough. No more, though. This makes an excelent dough-rolling surface.
  
  Although, probably the most useful, is for making caramel decorations. This is where I find a good Silpat absolutely essential. When dealing with sugar at temperatures at or exceeding 320 degrees, it is essential that you have a good surface to work with. Piping liquid sugar this hot onto a bare sheet pan would make it impossible to remove without destroying the fragile decorations. And over parchment paper? The paper will actually bond to the cooling sugar when it's that hot, and you'll never get it all off. Not tasty. But they come clean off of a Silpat.
  
  There are probably hundreds of potential uses for theese. They're not cutting boards, so don't cut on them. But I've used them for everything from opening stubborn jars to caramel spirals that my friends always beg me to tell them how they were made.
  
  
• This is supposed to be non-stick, right ?
  By A2PK4P3R9SUIWE on 2005-05-07
  I either got a bad one, even though it looks all right externally or I am doing something wrong.
  I tried it 3 times on homemade-from-scratch pizza yeast dough. The dought stuck to the pad no different than it stuck to my kitchen countertop. Tears off leaving pieces behind and requires flower on it make it let go.
  I've had it for too long now or I would return it. I kinda went the rave reviews this thing got so far when I bought it, but to my dough it sticks like glue. I am sorry I bought it.
  
  
• Works beautifully
  By on 2004-02-16
  As advertised, these baking sheets keep your baked goods from sticking to the pan. Even particularly brittle or sticky recipes such as almond tuiles or molasses cookies will come clean.
  I initially had the same problem as a couple of other reviewers of having the sheets smoke and set off my smoke alarm, but after several cycles in the oven and dishwasher it stopped happening.
  Make sure you use these sheets with the smooth side up. The woven side will stick to food. (You can tell when you have the wrong side up because the writing will be backwards.)
  
  
• A great addition to the kitchen, especially for bakers
  By AK7CAW3N1XZV6 on 2005-04-20
  The Silpat Baking Sheet is a great little tool for bakers to have on hand. Its slippery, silicone, oven-safe surface is completely non-stick--simply place the Silpat over your favorite cookie sheet, add dough, bake, and viola, no more sticking! (The only down side is that unless you have more than one Silpat, you can't start putting the second batch on a second cookie sheet while the first batch is still in the oven.) You can also easily transfer your baked cookies to a rack to cool without removing them from the Silpat. My favorite use for the Silpat, however, is not in the oven; rather, I love using it to roll out dough. For pie crusts (when I make them from scratch, that is!), I sprinkle a little flour on the Silpat, roll out my dough, and then use the Silpat to transfer the dough to my pie pan; the Silpat makes this job SO much easier than rolling out directly on the counter or even on other types of plastic mats I have tried. Overall, this is an excellent, versatile product that is well worth the cost for baking enthusiasts.
  
  
• Wow.
  By A21W4VL1K5PAYH on 2003-12-29
  This product works exactly as described. Delicate, thin cookies simply don't stick. Amazing.

  One reviewer complained of smoking; their oven must be running hot. This is made of silicone, which will smoke if you get it hot enough, but not if used within sane baking temperatures. The fact that theirs was replaced and still smoked makes me quite sure that it was their oven and not that their mat was faulty in some way.
  
  

• For people w/'smoke' problems
  By A32L1FAP5SURHD on 2004-12-15
  I love these mats! they are perfect for baking holiday cookies- esp ones with candy (like stained glass cookies)or caramel. No more stuck cookies or scrubbing cookie sheets!!!
  For people that mentioned 'smoke' problems, my mat came with instructions on how to pre-treat the mat in the oven with heat. I did this once and I have never had any smoke from the mat since (I wish I still had the original instructions! I got the mats from a friend who had spent a semester in France many years ago)
  
  
• A great kitchen tool for the frequent baker
  By A2CES457M2X1AW on 2005-03-13
  I love to bake cookies. In the past, it meant that I got out my favorite cookie sheet and used it over and over until I had baked the entire batch of cookies. Well, the last two sheets of cookies were not as nice as the earlier ones. Crumbs stuck to the sheet, cookies began to stick to where their earlier siblings had been, and some cookie residue began to blacken. But no more!
  
  With the silpat, I can still use my favorite cookie sheet and make sheet after sheet of perfect cookies with no wear and tear on my pan. Each sheet of cookies looks as good as the first.
  
  With simply wiping down the sheet after use, cleanup is definitely a snap.
  
  I have also used this for bread, foccacia, and rolls...each with the same uniform results.
  
  
• Parchment Replacement
  By A3LDQM3GCURG92 on 2005-11-15
  For the most part, I no longer use parchment paper when baking. This has saved me money since parchment can be pricey. I have the half sheet and quarter sheet sizes.
  
  The Silpat keeps baked goods from sticking, but it isn't just for baking. I use it when roasting veggies. I sift flour on it because it makes it eaiser for me to get the flour into my Kitchen Aid. I also shape dough on it. Pans are super easy to clean up after using a Silpat.
  
  Just wash it in hot soapy water and it should work fine for you. Do not put it in the dishwasher or cut it.
  
  
• Bake like a professional!
  By A30KSM229P7S0F on 2005-12-16
  Silpat is a must for any baker. I am an avid cookie baker and I finallly invested in Silpat. No more cheap, non-stick cookie sheets for me. It's best to use your Silpat with large, commercial quality, traditional cookie sheets (as in, no non-stick coating). My cookies brown beautifully and they never, ever stick. No extra grease or oil needed! This has to be one of the best kitchen gadgets out there. My cookies bake evenly and cleanup is a snap. Invest in two sheets so you never need to wait for one to cool while baking on the other.
  
  
• Very Simple
  By ABYU970AADBP6 on 2003-07-31
  Much easier to use than parchment paper. I've baked about everything on mine now and it doesn't matter what it is, it comes right off. I would highly recommend this product. It's pricey, but it's a huge help in the kitchen.
  
  
• Great for cookies!
  By on 2004-06-28
  I have owned my Silpat since my mother gifted me with it over a year ago. I'm a frequent baker and love to make cookies in particular (usually chocolate chip). My cookies were always good, but now they are perfect, even when baked in a very low quality oven. My cookies don't cook too quickly on the bottoms, they have always come out evenly cooked for me. Perhaps if you are having a problem with uneven cooking you need to upgrade your baking pan. The Silpat can be a little difficult to clean because of its floppy nature, but I usually just keep it on the baking pan. That keeps it flat and much easier to handle. All in all I would recommend this product very highly.
  
  
• Low temperature only!
  By A17UNMURMLX0ZE on 2006-11-03
  Don't exceed 300-350deg or you will get plumes of smoke that will burn your eyes and throat.
  
  Or use it as a fog machine - seriously there is that much smoke!
  
  
  
• Problematic
  By A35OJDGY9Y4RPU on 2004-12-09
  Since writing my review last year I have had a re-think on the Silpat and no longer recommend it. It is, however, not possible to change the 'stars' rating above.
  
  Here is my reservation. One of the Silpat sheets that I bought experienced a disintegration of the silicone at the edges. A second one deteriorated, and I hadn't used it that much. So, when cost is weighed against benefit, I now say thumbs down to the Silpat.
  
  I decided to return them to the store and have gone back to parchment paper or aluminum foil for my baking.
  
  
• Love my Silpats
  By A246APVY4YM3S4 on 2004-12-27
  Just finished another season of Christmas cookie baking with my marvelous Silpats (I own two) ... this is a silicon-based liner for your baking sheets and I've yet to find ANYTHING that will stick to them. I do love them for cookie baking ... one quick wipe with a wet cloth and they're clean and ready to go again ... but the true beauty of them lies in cheesy pizza! You know, where the cheese oozes off the crust and hardens itself to your pan, to be removed only by jackhammer?? Not with a Silpat!
  
  
• My new favorite kitchen gadget
  By A77M0XY81JY6B on 2005-01-17
  Of all the gadgets I bought last year, this is by far my favorite. You can bake anything on this surface and it releases like magic. Meringue? Chocolate filling? Genoise? No problem. They also prevent scorched bottoms on delicate cookies.
  
  I am astonished at how much these simplify life. I sometimes use them to roll out sticky piecrust and cookies, and again the dough releases easily. Of all the nonstick surfaces I've used over the years, Silpats are by far the easiest to clean. Most of the time, they rinse clean; when not, a few scrubs with a sponge and they're back to their usual slickness.
  
  Great chefs have used Silpats to create complicated dishes like potato tuiles; I'm happy just using them to get my pastries out of the oven cleanly.
  
  
• Corner problems, anyone?
  By A1YEZ3QWD7FY36 on 2005-11-11
  I used my Silpat once, and noticed a lot of smoke coming from my oven. Then, after only one use, I noticed the silicone disintigrated in one corner. It looks like tiny pieces of silicone have peeled off. I'm going to return it and get a new one, but has anyone else experienced this problem? Also, any suggestions to stop the smoking?
  
  

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