Posted: 3/4/2015 5:27:16 PM EDT
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im taking care of my elderly father, and doing a lot of healthy cooking and baking for him, the only sheet pan I have right now is one of those generic thin steel ones from walmart that I picked up one night. I do a lot of wire rack broiling of steaks/chops and also 400-450 cooking of vegetables and non gluten treats. I went to look at the sheet pans that walmart had and I saw that they had some dimpled style for non stick and some thick aluminum pans.
its been a while since I owned some nice pans, when I was younger at our other house we had these air bake brand sheet pans ? they were good but seemed like they sometimes let items cook unevenly or would stick and were a pain in the ass to clean/scrap. right now the one pan I have tends to warp/pop when the temps get high in the oven and it tends to get annoying when stuff shifts or gets crowded cause of the warping. im willing to spend a few bucks for quality ones but I don't need top of the line commercial bakery priced ones. |
$19.99 range for standard size
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at the restaurant depot buy the aluminum 1/2 pan baking sheet
this is going to cover 99% what you need baking on a flat pan. get 2 and 2 silicone pan liners and bake your cookies off(I was gifted one a few years back by one of our GREAT members) and Love it.. pan also serves as an underliner for meat loaf trays, baking 2 loaves of bread in pullman pans, lower shelf under roasts that splatter keeping your oven cleanger CHEF.. 
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I have two half sheets and one larger sheet on these brands. I picked mine up at the local Farm and Fleet, but I think they are fairly common. Made in the USA too if I am not mistaken.
http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Natural-Aluminum-Commercial/dp/B000G0KJG4 |
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I am partial to the Vollrath (sometimes labeled WearEver) brand. Made in the USA. Excellent Commercial quality and great prices.
You mentioned wire racks and Vollrath has the best SS 1/2 and full sheet racks available (Full SS). I just wish they made one for 1/4 sheet pans. It doesn't get much better then this... Vollrath Wear-Ever 5314 Heavy Duty Half Size 13 Gauge Aluminum Bun / Sheet Pan (FYI - Most of the stuff in stores is around 18ga or less) Vollrath 20248 Super Pan V 11 3/4" x 16 1/2" Half-Size Footed Draining Grate for Bun / Sheet Pan |
| I agree with the Sil-Pats silicone baking sheets. They are fantastic, and you would use whatever cheap baking sheets you have, or can get easily. The only reservation would be for use under the broiler. I think they'd be good for 500*, but you might see some discoloration or degradation. The Sil-Pats are great for cookies and any other cooking or baking where a non-stick surface is desirable. For the broiling, I'd probably use foil anyway. Even a good non-stick baking sheet won't hold up to really intense heat. |
arfcom is evil. I just bought a set of NordicWare baking sheets after reading this thread.  I've been unhappy with the ones I have, but hadn't really thought about replacing them. I told my husband he could have the old ones out in his shop, and his response was "That's a great idea! I would love that!"  |
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Quoted:
at the restaurant depot buy the aluminum 1/2 pan baking sheet this is going to cover 99% what you need baking on a flat pan. get 2 and 2 silicone pan liners and bake your cookies off(I was gifted one a few years back by one of our GREAT members) and Love it.. pan also serves as an underliner for meat loaf trays, baking 2 loaves of bread in pullman pans, lower shelf under roasts that splatter keeping your oven cleanger CHEF.. This man speaks the truth. |
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I was curious because I've seen Nordic recommended a couple of times and I'm always willing to try another American owned/made product but neither their site nor Amazon's lists the gauge of Aluminum used for their pans so I e-mailed their CS link and asked. Their reply... 20 gauge Aluminum. That's pretty light duty IMO. Vollrath's standard trays are 18ga and their heavy commercial trays are 13ga. Now I'm not sure if the number she gave me was correct and have asked her to confirm and also asked if they have a heavier option but assuming no (as in that is their heaviest option and the number is correct) then IMO, the Vollrath standard Duty Half-Size Sheet Pan #5303 is a much better deal because it's heavy gauge (18ga) and can be found for less money and is still made in the US quality Vollrath 5303 - $7.49ea |
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Quoted: I was curious because I've seen Nordic recommended a couple of times and I'm always willing to try another American owned/made product but neither their site nor Amazon's lists the gauge of Aluminum used for their pans so I e-mailed their CS link and asked. Their reply... 20 gauge Aluminum. That's pretty light duty IMO. Vollrath's standard trays are 18ga and their heavy commercial trays are 13ga. Now I'm not sure if the number she gave me was correct and have asked her to confirm and also asked if they have a heavier option but assuming no (as in that is their heaviest option and the number is correct) then IMO, the Vollrath standard Duty Half-Size Sheet Pan #5303 is a much better deal because it's heavy gauge (18ga) and can be found for less money and is still made in the US quality Vollrath 5303 - $7.49ea Quoted: I was curious because I've seen Nordic recommended a couple of times and I'm always willing to try another American owned/made product but neither their site nor Amazon's lists the gauge of Aluminum used for their pans so I e-mailed their CS link and asked. Their reply... 20 gauge Aluminum. That's pretty light duty IMO. Vollrath's standard trays are 18ga and their heavy commercial trays are 13ga. Now I'm not sure if the number she gave me was correct and have asked her to confirm and also asked if they have a heavier option but assuming no (as in that is their heaviest option and the number is correct) then IMO, the Vollrath standard Duty Half-Size Sheet Pan #5303 is a much better deal because it's heavy gauge (18ga) and can be found for less money and is still made in the US quality Vollrath 5303 - $7.49ea |
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This is what I ended up with. Very top notch pan. Added a wire rack to it, and its also great for cooking chops and the like. |
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Well I got my response to my follow up Q's from Nordic...
"Yes the 20 gauge aluminum is correct. That’s what keeps our pans so lightweight.
However, there is a steel rod rolled under the rim to keep it sturdy and to prevent warping." "Yes the 20 gauge aluminum is correct. That’s what keeps our pans so lightweight.
However, there is a steel rod rolled under the rim to keep it sturdy and to prevent warping." From all the positive reviews I've seen, I'm sure the Nordic's are fine but I'll stick with the Vollrath's (Wear-Evers). Sturdier construction and lower price. Quoted:
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Do you have any restaurant supply outlets near you ? They would have some good pans for you. junky commercial trumps the best home owner grade. I think that's the difference between Nordic and Vollrath. Nordic is higher end consumer grade. Vollrath is middle to upper commercial grade. In my experience, Commercial grade stands the test of time much better because they are built for hard and heavy use. As an added bonus, commercial grade is often cheaper then the lower quality consumer grade stuff. |
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FWIW, i just measured both brands of half-sheets we have.
Bakers & Chefs (Sam's Club commercial) says MADE IN U.S.A. and measures .042" thick Lincoln Wear-Ever also Made in U.S.A. measures .038" That would indicate a 19 ga for the Bakers & Chefs and between 19 & 20 ga. for the Lincoln Wear-Ever. These are both commercial pans and are VERY sturdy. I can't imagine why one would need anything heavier than those options. |
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Quoted:
I am partial to the Vollrath (sometimes labeled WearEver) brand. Made in the USA. Excellent Commercial quality and great prices. You mentioned wire racks and Vollrath has the best SS 1/2 and full sheet racks available (Full SS). I just wish they made one for 1/4 sheet pans. It doesn't get much better then this... Vollrath Wear-Ever 5314 Heavy Duty Half Size 13 Gauge Aluminum Bun / Sheet Pan (FYI - Most of the stuff in stores is around 18ga or less) Vollrath 20248 Super Pan V 11 3/4" x 16 1/2" Half-Size Footed Draining Grate for Bun / Sheet Pan Absolutely this. We bought Vollrath cookie sheets and baking pans based on a review in Cook's Illustrated, and the only way I can see they could be improved was if they mixed and baked the recipes themselves. Oh, and just for good measure: Airbake sucks. |