Lining a tin
Preparing a tin so the bake releases intact — a preparation step whose failure is discovered only when it is too late to fix.
Lining exists because a baked mixture adheres to metal. Sugar caramelises against the hot surface and sticks, and egg protein bonds to it directly.
Which method to use depends on what is being baked rather than on preference. A high-sugar cake needs a physical barrier — baking parchment — because grease alone will not prevent sugar bonding to the tin. A lean or savoury bake is usually fine with grease and a dusting of flour. A loose-bottomed or springform tin needs only the base lined, because the sides release mechanically.
The exception worth knowing is the one where lining is wrong. An angel food cake and some chiffon cakes are baked in deliberately ungreased tins, because the batter climbs the sides as it rises and needs to grip them to do it. Greasing such a tin produces a cake that cannot rise.
Corners are where lining fails. A tin lined with parchment that does not sit flat into the corner leaves a gap the batter fills, and the bake sets around a fold that then has to be torn away.
What it is for
To prevent the bake bonding to the tin, so it releases with its structure and its surface intact.
A statement of what the step is for rather than a claim about the world.
RecordedTrue by definition rather than by measurement
How to tell it has worked
- The parchment sits flat against the base and up the sides with no trapped air or standing folds.
- Grease reaches into the corners and any moulded detail, where sticking begins.
- The bake pulls slightly away from the sides as it cools, indicating it is not bonded.
What it changes
| Property | Effect | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Changes | A bake that tears on release loses the structure it had; the fault is in the tin rather than in the formula. |
Related
Used in
A sponge is baked in a tin and a sponge that tears on release has lost the structure it had. The fault is in the preparation rather than the formula.
A loaf tin with high sides and a long bake is where lining most often fails, usually at the corners.
Deep tins and long bakes need lining.
A long bake in a deep tin.
Heavily, as insulation for a bake of several hours.
Usually baked as thin layers.
A flat tin lined so the sheet can be lifted out hot.
Eased in rather than stretched, or it will shrink.