Why Commercial Operations and Domestic Kitchens Prefer PTFE-Coated Fiberglass Fabric as Baking Sheet/Tray Liners
Baking sheets and baking tray liners are regularly used in both commercial operations and domestic kitchens. Choosing the right baking sheet and tray liner material can greatly impact your baking experience. PTFE-coated fiberglass fabric baking sheets and tray liners are a safe way to improve your baking efficiency.
Why Should You Use Baking Sheet or Baking Tray Liners?
- Increases Kitchen Productivity: Using a liner reduces cleanup time. You spend less time scrubbing and more time cooking.
- Improves Food Quality: Liner material such as the PTFE-coated fiberglass fabric is FDA compliant and it eliminates direct food-to-hot metal contact. This prevents the moisture in the food from “scalding off” and makes the food more flavorful.
- Makes Food Safer: Since the food cooked never comes in contact with the pan, the chance of surface contamination is eliminated.
- Reduces Wastage: Clean release of your dough-based product reduces the amount of residue that would have otherwise accumulated on your baking sheet or tray.
While there are a number of ways to line your baking trays and sheets, PTFE coating is popularly used for baking purposes as it can withstand the high temperatures associated with baking ovens–up to 500°F / 260°C.
The advantages of using PTFE-coated fiberglass fabric as baking sheets or baking tray liners over metal baking sheets coated with PTFE are reduced downtime and cost savings. When the PTFE coating on the metal baking sheets becomes worn, the sheets have to be taken offline and sent to the coating vendor to be re-coated. If they can’t be re-coated they are required to be replaced entirely. Re-coating usually takes approximately seven to ten days. What that means for your business is seven to ten days of downtime. In order to limit revenue loss caused by prolonged downtimes, bakeries and other food processing facilities tend to purchase and maintain more trays than necessary.
On the other hand, lining your baking sheets is a more economically viable option since all you have to do is cut a sheet to size and place it within the tray, which hardly takes a minute.
To ensure a hassle-free baking experience using PTFE-coated fiberglass fabric liners, consider these factors:
- Baking Temperature – Oven temperatures should not exceed 500°F / 260°C which is the maximum operating temperature of the PTFE-coated fiberglass fabric.
- Sheet Thickness – A 3 mil. (.003”) thick PTFE-coated fiberglass sheet is flexible and the least expensive, but it has a shorter use-life. A 5 mil. (.005”) to 10 mil. (.010”) PTFE-coated fiberglass sheet is less flexible and more expensive. However, it has a longer use-life. Choose the sheet thickness based on how long you intend to use it for.
- Cleaning Method – It is generally recommended to use soap and water to clean the surface of the PTFE-coated fiberglass sheet. Avoid the use of abrasives as they will reduce the sheets’ effectiveness and negatively impact its use-life.
Based on years of experience, and sampling many products, we can offer market recommendations for what suits your needs for which application. Our fabrics are made from woven fiberglass cloth with a clear PTFE coating. These plastic-coated fabrics are non-toxic, odorless, tasteless, and are FDA compliant (21 CFR 177.1550). They are dimensionally stabile from -100°F to +500°F (-73°C to 288°C), and provide exceptional durability and extremely low elongation (<1%).
Contact us to obtain samples for your evaluation today!