Parchment Paper

A Buyer’s Guide to Parchment Paper

Parchment paper looks simple, but the wrong one curls at the edges, browns through, or lets a cake stick and tear — and at bakery volume that is wasted product and time. The two things that decide quality are the coating and the base paper, and the two things that decide fit are format and grade. This guide covers all four so a buyer specs the right baking paper.

Silicone vs Quilon Coating

Parchment is non-stick because of a coating, and there are two. Silicone is the modern, food-grade, PFAS-free coating that releases cleanly and is what most buyers now ask for. Quilon is an older chromium-based coating that also releases well and costs less, but many operations and retailers are moving away from it to avoid chromium in food contact and disposal. For a brand positioning on clean or green credentials, silicone is the answer; for pure cost on back-of-house liners, quilon still has a place. We supply both and will say which fits the use.

Bleached vs Unbleached — Look and Sustainability

The color choice is mostly about positioning. Bleached parchment is bright white and reads as clean and premium on a retail shelf. Unbleached parchment is natural brown, chlorine-free, and reads as eco and sustainable — the same look that sells on a craft-bakery or natural-foods brand. Performance is identical: both release the same and carry the same oven rating. The decision is which story the brand wants the paper to tell, white-premium or brown-natural.

Rolls, Sheets and Pan Rounds

Format follows the task. Rolls are the all-purpose choice for lining trays and sizing on the spot. Pre-cut pop-up sheets feed a high-volume bakery line — one sheet per pan, no cutting — the same logic as foil sheets at a wrapping station. Pan rounds are pre-cut circles that drop into cake tins and air fryer baskets without trimming, in the common 6 to 10 inch sizes. A production bakery usually runs all three: rolls in back, sheets on the line, rounds for cakes.

Temperature and What Parchment Is For

Parchment is a baking and roasting paper, oven-safe to around 425°F. Past that it scorches and turns brittle, so it is not for broiling, the grill or direct flame. That line is what separates parchment from foil: parchment for non-stick baking up to its rating, aluminum foil rolls for high heat, direct heat and sealing. A kitchen needs both, which is why they sit on the same foodservice paper program.

Air Fryer Liners and Pan Rounds

Air fryers turned parchment into a fast-growing line. Perforated parchment rounds let air circulate while catching grease and stopping food sticking to the basket, and they drop in without cutting. The same pan rounds fit cake tins and springform pans, so one pre-cut format serves both the air fryer and the bakery. Perforation, size and shape are cut to the basket or tin, which is a straightforward custom run.

Recyclability and the Green Case

Parchment is where the sustainability story gets real. Unbleached, chlorine-free parchment is compostable in many facilities and is a lower-impact choice than single-use foil or plastic film for baking. The silicone coating affects whether it recycles as paper, so the honest line is compostable-where-accepted rather than a blanket claim. For a brand building a green range, unbleached silicone parchment is one of the easier foodservice papers to stand behind.

Custom and Private-Label Supply

Parchment is a strong private-label product: the roll, sheet or round is built to the brand’s size, coating and grade, and the box carries the brand. Printed sheets and boxes turn a commodity into a branded SKU for retail and subscription baking kits. Runs go as plain stock or custom-printed, sampled and approved before bulk, and ship alongside foil sheets, wrap and containers on one program and one shipment.