Okay -- hopeless moan number two for the evening. I have a whole set of brand new bakeware that is totally useless.

I was thrilled to get it. A whole set of Bakers Secret bakeware -- new bread pans, cookie sheets, muffin tins, cake pans -- the list goes on. The only other bakeware I've ever had has been "hand me down" stuff that came from my grandma -- you know, the really old, baked-black stuff that turns out gorgeous bread and cookies???

Well -- thrilled was I until I tried it. EVERYTHING burns in this crap. I made cookies and the tops were RAW and the bottoms were BLACK. I think its because they're so shiny.

Anyone know of a real simple way to get that years-old sheen on them before my kids go onto permanent strike for a decent cookie???

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), October 07, 2000

Answers

Are they coated with teflon? Did you know teflon is toxic and poisonous? You could try seasoning them. Coat them lightly with oil and put them in the oven like that. May take several times before they are seasoned nicely.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), October 07, 2000.

I am not a baking expert. But I have learned that different types of bakeware bake differently in different types of ovens and you must adjust your baking temps and times accordingly. Cast iron will cook differently from aluminum from stainless steel from glass from whatever. In a gas oven, electric oven, wood oven and so on.

I wouldn't give up on the Baker's Secret cookware. I always thought it a good brand. Buy an oven thermometer (you can buy them at a Wal-mart type store) and use it for gauging temperatures instead of what is on your stove top. Try positioning differently in the oven also. It just takes getting used to and learning how to use it like any tool.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), October 07, 2000.

After having hand-me-downs that no one wanted because they were awful, I started slowly, one piece at a time, purchasing my own. I only buy very heavy, no fancy finish, bakeware. They are shiny and I coat them well before I bake. In time the shine gets covered by baked on oil, not matter what you never get it all off, and they darken. They will still bake wonderfully. The trick is that they must be heavy. Sometimes the local schools have a special deal where you can order the same bakeware they use. It is dirt cheap and is very heavy so it bakes well. Remember, heavy is the key so that the heat is even. I've also found great stuff at estate sales where the kids are getting rid of all of Mom's stuff. Those woment used to buy only the best because they actually used it. Good Luck.

-- Cheryl Cox (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), October 07, 2000.

I like the insulated cookie sheets. They have a layer of air between two pieces of the metal. Much harder to burn anything, cooks evenly, without being real heavy. Got them at a Big Lots store for a price equivalent to the cheap stuff. I figure WalMart or Sam's Club still has them.

On anything that isn't cooking evenly, you might try using the parchment paper I mentioned in another thread. A sheet that you use for cookies can be used repeatedly during that batch (and saved if it isn't too bad).

I have tried several different stones to bake on. My favorite, hands down, is the Pampered Chef round pizza sized one. They are pricey, but we hosted a party and got a great deal. These stones age well, and don't need to be soaked prior to use like other porous stones. I have a stone lasagna sized pan from them too, that sees tons of use. They are heavy.

Nothing worse than bad cooking gear. Use this as a lesson in what you like. Unfortunately we have all bought something wrong and paid for those lessons.

Check out the info on baking ware at King Arthur Flour (they have a web site and a paper catalog)and King Arthur is offering free baking classes around the US this Fall. Their catalog will give you good ideas, recipes, and in a sense, lessons in baking.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), October 07, 2000.

I agree whole-heartedly with Anne about the insulated "air-bake" cookie sheets -- they very quickly saved their purchase price in cookies that were edible instead of scorched on the bottoms! (However, I didn't care for the "air-bake" bread pans, as the bottoms of the loaves were soggy.) Something else you could try, since you already have these nice new pans, is putting aluminum foil or another cookie sheet under them in the oven, to help reduce the heat getting to the bottom of the pan you are baking on. We don't eat too many cookies anymore (on a low-carb, gluten-free diet), but even though my "air-bake" cookie sheets are ugly and warped, I will never part with them!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 07, 2000.

Tracy, if you are a Martha Stewart watcher you will notice that she always uses parchment for cakes etc. If you go to a better/upscale/yuppie store you can find spongy liners (like they use in commercial bakerys) I know that my daughter uses them at Subway to make the cookies. You can cut them the exact size of your pans, you can even draw circles on them to show the kids exactly where to drop each spoonfull of dough. And as always I have absolutly no idea what these things are called :) there is no name stamped on these liners. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 07, 2000.

I have never had any trouble with my Bakers Secret. You probably have too high oven temp or an oven that is not heating evenly. Be sure to preheat and check temp with one of those little oven thermometers (they are cheap from Wal-Mart). Good luck, I'm sorry you got disappointed.

-- Linda Al-Sangar (alsangal@brentwood-tn.org), October 08, 2000.

Air bake cookie sheets are the only way to go for cookies...excellent. I like bakers Secret for other things. DW

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), October 08, 2000.

I believe the product that Vicki is talking about are Silpat nonstick pan liners. From the "Fine Cooking" magazine: These should not be cut or folded since they are made of glass fiber and covered w/nonstick silicon. Cutting the mat wouldn't immediately damage it, but would result in frayed edges. Storage should be in the pan itself with nothing on top of it, rolled loosely, or hung using a clothespin or binder clip and then hooking the clip on a a nail or hook.

You can reach King Arthur Flour's mail order at www.kingarthurflour.com

I have been happy with their quality and service.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), October 08, 2000.

I, too, ordered Baker's Secret cookware and ran into the same thing.Only thing is, I had had Baker's Secret before with no problem. (It all got stolen one time we were broken into). So I didn't know what the problem was. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when this happened, here I had replaced my cookware and I get this useless stuff. Desperately needing a muffin pan, I went to Wal-Mart to buy one and all I could find was Baker's Secret. I sighed a heavy sigh and bought some, hoping for the best. I have had no problem with that peice of bakeware, none, nada zilch. The only thing I can figure is that the place that I bought it from must have bought faulty ones and resold them. Try buying it from somewhere else, one peice and see. If you bought it at Wal-mart, tell them what is going on.

-- Cindy in OK (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), October 08, 2000.

Try lowering the temperature in the oven and/or raising the baking pans to the center of the oven or even higher. If the cookies are burning on the bottom and raw on the tops the problem is the heat, especially if all the cookies are coming out that way. Baker's Secret isn't bad cookware but you do have to be careful of the temps. Good luck and try again...

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), October 08, 2000.

I love the Air Bake for cookies. I'm using them while I collect Pampered Chef. I went to one of their parties last year, and bought a few things to try. I've had pie, pizza, cakes from their bakeware from friends that own it and there's nothing like it for me. You'd have to try to screw anything up on these...(I would know, I'm a disaster in the kitchen...) When I'm done, my kitchen is going to be full of Pampered Chef, cast iron and Air Bake and those BIG Stainless Steel pots...

-- Louise Whitley (whitley@terraworld.net), October 09, 2000.

When I get black bottoms, I sometimes raise the shelf and put an empty pan on the lower shelf to shield and distribute the heat.

Also, I have had good luck with those thick aluminum cookie sheets that Costco used to sell. They heat very evenly. I normally avoid like the plague anything made of aluminum, but I seasoned these, so my cookies are resting on baked oil and they slide right off anyway.

I found that the Baker's secret was good, but only while it lasted. It seemed to me to be incredibly fragile. Cut brownies in a pan once and have marks in the pan forever after.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), October 10, 2000.