If you plan to use your pastry mat for baking, consider what size pans you have. A full-size sheet pan is 18 by 26 inches, but a half sheet pan or smaller is what most home cooks use. A half sheet pan's dimensions are 18 by 12 or 13 inches, which fits in most home ovens.

We all procrastinate cleaning the utensils after a baking session, but it’s an essential aspect of maintaining your tools. If you hate scrubbing off burnt-on sugar or crumbs, go for pastry mats that are dishwasher safe, making the cleaning experience easy and pain-free. Size This granite pastry board (which has the benefit of doubling as a pizza stone) stays nice and cool while you're prepping dough, and — once in the oven — evenly distributes heat for consistent baking. It's heavy duty and fairly resistant to chips and scratches, but you will want to be gentle with it. The stone comes with a chrome rest that makes transfer from the counter to the oven easy, and it works great to keep the hot stone from scorching any surfaces once it's out of the oven. Wood pastry board: A hardwood board is durable and makes for a great cutting surface. There is some upkeep involved, as it needs an application of butcher oil from time to time. LIMNUO offers a highly versatile mat that can be used in the microwave, on top of the stove, or in a cold refrigerator as a casserole carrier. This mat is constructed from 100% food grade, BPA free and FDA-approved silicone with reinforced fiberglass for durability and strength. It features measurement markings in inches and centimeters, which is perfect for bakers who want to masteri a new cuisine or seasoned professionals looking to expand their culinary skills. Lakeland is a trusted name in kitchenware, so it's no surprise that this high-quality pastry mat comes with an impressive three-year guarantee. We particularly like that this mat is non-slip, preventing it from crumpling up when you're at a critical stage of rolling out.Pastry mats which can go into the oven are another great help to those who find it hard to remove their rolled-out pastry. For example, if you're making shortcrust Cornish pasties, you could roll out the pastry on an oven-safe mat, add the filling, then transfer the entire thing to a baking tray in the oven. No more trying to scrape over-filled pastry off the work surface!

Pastry mats are usually made from flexible materials, such as food-grade silicone. However, they can also be made from wood or toughened glass. 100% silicone and silicone-mix mats are flexible, so that the pastry can be gently eased off, whereas glass and wood offer a more stable base for rolling. Your first choice will be between a silicone pastry mat and a traditional pastry board. Since silicone mats are heat-resistant, you can actually prep and bake on them, which cuts down on cleanup time and the use of baking sprays. They're also dishwasher-safe, odor-resistant, and roll up for compact storage. However, since most of them contain fiberglass, they're no longer food safe if the core becomes exposed while cutting with a knife.The most elegant and chic, marble pastry mats are made of natural stone and have a highly polished finish that gives them a non-slip grip on any surface. Their porous nature makes them prone to staining and discoloration over time, but they have a higher resistance to heat than plastic mats. What Is the Best Way To Clean a Pastry Mat? Wonderful mat to prevent spills from going onto furniture. Also great for kids using playdough or slime. I absolutely LOVE this mat. Pastry boards are a more classic choice (think: Parisian patisserie), and materials like granite and marble have temperature-regulating properties that keep pastry cool while you're working with it. Some pastry boards — like granite — are oven-safe, but other materials, like wood, are not. And keep in mind: Pastry boards tend be more expensive, heavier, and require a bit more care and upkeep. Pros And Cons