Silicone vs Quilon vs Unbleached Parchment: Which Coating for Your Kitchen?

What a release coating does on the pan

Plain paper sticks to dough, scorches at the edges and soaks up butter. A release coating seals the fiber so fat stays on the surface and the baked item lifts away clean.

The coating also slows browning on the underside. A cookie on coated parchment colors evenly instead of taking a dark ring where the pan is hottest.

Three finishes cover almost every US kitchen: silicone, Quilon and the lighter release used on unbleached stock. They look similar on the shelf and behave differently once the oven door closes.

The coating is not a non-stick spray in paper form. It is bonded into the sheet during manufacture, so it does not transfer to the food or rub off on a wet pan.

How does silicone-coated parchment behave at 450°F?

Silicone is the heaviest release of the three and the one rated highest, typically to 450°F. Under a convection fan the sheet stays flat, holds its color and does not go brittle at the corners.

At the top of the range the sheet still yellows a little. That is normal and not a sign of failure, as long as the edges stay soft and nothing flakes.

Sugar, cheese and caramel slide off a silicone surface without tearing the paper. That matters for lace cookies, tuiles and anything glazed before it bakes.

Because the coating is thicker, the same sheet can be wiped and reused for two or three bakes of dry items. Our silicone parchment rolls for ovens are cut to width for lines that run hot all day.

How does Quilon-coated parchment differ from silicone?

Quilon is a chromium-based release applied in a much thinner layer. It gives a clean lift for breads, pastries and sheet-pan dinners and is rated to a typical 420°F.

The thinner layer is also why Quilon is single use. Once a bake has pulled fat and sugar into the surface, the second bake sticks and the sheet may brown or spot.

For a bakery that lines a pan once and discards the sheet, that is no loss. Quilon is usually the lower-priced option per sheet, so it suits high-volume lining where nothing is reused.

Look at a Quilon sheet after a bake of croissants and you will see the butter has tracked into the paper. That is the coating doing its job once and no more.

What is unbleached parchment, and does it carry a coating?

Unbleached parchment is the natural kraft-tone stock. The pulp goes through no chlorine bleaching, so the sheet keeps a warm brown color instead of white.

It still carries a release finish, and we rate it to a typical 420°F in the same bracket as Quilon. The brown tone hides light grease marks, which is why delis and sandwich counters like it on the pass.

Many buyers choose unbleached parchment paper in sheets for the look alone. One dark ink on kraft reads as a finished wrap without a second color.

Release on one side or both: which do you need?

Silicone comes as a one-sided or two-sided coat. Quilon and unbleached stock are usually finished on one side, so the sheet has a face and a back.

The choice follows what touches the paper. A sheet under a tray of rolls needs release on the top only. A sheet folded around a hot sandwich touches food on both faces, so two-sided release stops the bread from sticking.

Pick the side count by use:

• Pan lining for cookies, bread and roasted vegetables: one-sided is enough and costs less.
• Layering between burger patties, dough rounds or chocolate bark: two-sided silicone separates cleanly from both stacks.
• Wrapping a hot item for the counter: two-sided, since both faces meet food.
• Printed sheets: the ink goes on the back, so the release sits on the food face only.

How many bakes does each coating last?

Reuse is where the three finishes separate most. The figures below are typical trade numbers, not a promise for every oven and every recipe.

Wet or sugary bakes shorten the life of any sheet. A silicone sheet that lined a tray of jam thumbprints is done after one round, whatever the table says.

Past the heat limit the paper darkens, goes brittle and can flake. None of the three belongs under a broiler, near an open flame or against a heating element.

What does each coating cost per sheet?

Quilon is normally the lowest price per sheet and unbleached sits close to it. Silicone costs more because the coating is heavier and the base paper is often a touch thicker.

Price per bake is a different sum. A silicone sheet reused three times under cookies can work out cheaper than three Quilon sheets, while a single-use line sees no benefit from the heavier coat.

The exact figure for your size and quantity is on the written quote, which we send within one business day. Minimum order is 1,000 sheets or one roll.

Which coating do printed parchment jobs run on?

Printing needs a dry, ink-friendly back. Quilon and unbleached stock both take ink well on the uncoated side, which is why most printed deli wraps and basket liners run on one of those two.

One-sided silicone also prints on its uncoated face. Two-sided silicone does not, because ink will not key onto a silicone surface, so a two-sided job cannot carry a logo.

The ink sits on the back of the sheet and never meets the food. On a sandwich wrap the printed face shows on the outside of the fold, and the release side holds the bread.

All our inks are food-safe soy and water-based, in one to four colors with Pantone solid-coated matches. Look at the printed parchment range for restaurants to see stock and coating paired for each format.

How to pick a coating by what you bake

Work through the items that go on the sheet, from the hottest to the stickiest:

1. Anything above 425°F, including pizza, flatbread and high-heat roasting: silicone.
2. Sugary or cheesy items that glue to paper, such as tuiles, brittle and gratins: silicone, ideally two-sided if you stack.
3. Bread, laminated pastry, cookies and sheet-pan meals below 420°F: Quilon or unbleached, whichever price and look you prefer.
4. Sandwich wraps, basket liners and counter service: unbleached for the kraft look, or Quilon-coated white if you print in several colors.
5. A line that reuses sheets to save money: silicone, one-sided unless both faces touch food.
6. A line that discards every sheet after one bake: Quilon, the lowest cost per sheet.

If one order has to cover all of this, silicone one-sided is the safe single pick. It handles every item on the list, and the only cost is paying for release you will not always need.

Ordering the right coating on your quote

Tell us the pan size, the hottest setting the sheet will see and whether anything touches both faces. That is enough to name the coating.

Mention reuse too. If you plan to wipe and reuse, we will steer you to silicone and a heavier basis weight that holds up to handling.

Pre-cut sheets ship flat in cases, rolls ship as rolls, and production takes 4 to 6 business days after you approve the proof. Ask for a sample of two coatings on the quote if you want to run a test bake before committing to 1,000 sheets.

Quantities of mixed coatings quote as separate lines. A bakery often runs Quilon for pan lining and a smaller count of silicone for its high-heat items on the same order.