Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Hi all,

I have two of the CI-recommended "wearever/vollraith" (formerly Lincoln) 13 gauge heavy duty sheet pans. For the most part they have served me very well. Recently, I have noticed that both of them are starting to warp - just a bit. When taken out of the cabinet, they kind of rock a bit on the counter. I'd say the corner of one pan is about 1/8" off the counter. The other pan has a corner that is about 1/4" off the counter.

Now that by itself is no big deal. However, when these sheets are put in the oven, particularly on high heat (e.g. 450 degrees) and on the lowest rack setting, the warping is amplified. This happened most recently when I made this month's CI's chicken thigh recipe, in which a cold sheet pan is placed in the oven - which is then preheated to 450 degrees. The hot pan is then removed (I put it on a dry HotSpot when I took it out), the chicken is placed on it skin side down, and then popped back in the oven. I'm telling you, a few minutes later, the right hand corner of one of these pans was not making contact with the pull-out rack.

I'm aware of the discussions on TOBB about these sheet pans, particularly the fact that some were buying the wrong gauge.

So, given that I've got the right pans and assuming that I've taken good care of them (never washed until cooled down), is this warping just inevitable at high heat? Is it possible that I might have done something wrong when I pulled the preheated pan out of the oven (it inadvertently touched the cool granite or made contact with liquid?). Are they worth replacing and if so, what are your recommendations for similar sized sheet pans?

Thanks as always!

Gerard

I'm not convinced that there is a sheet pan made which won't warp (at least eventually) at 450. There is a lot of stress at those temperatures. I'm always just happy if they don't warp so abruptly that they throw food out of them.

At present there are four sheet pans in my cabinet. All came from Sam's or Costco. One is warped noticably, the others barely at all. They are probably 4-5 years old. I don't understand the problem with using warped sheet pans. Can't think of one use that would be affected by warping. Am Imissing something?

fitzie

If you use the sheet pan to cook something that oozes a liquid (including grease), the liquid will pool in a corner. This can definitely cause problems in some scenarios (I now use a roasting pan in those scenarios). When broiling, it can put food too close to the broiler if the warping is severe. Using a sheet pan under the broiler can be tricky in my oven for sure.

Working in the industry, I believe sheet pan warping is inevitable. We are constantly putting sheet pans into very hot ovens, and I'd say 95% of our pans have a significant amount of warp. Which is why you'll always find pastry chefs hoarding new pans. You need a dead flat pan to cook off many things in a pastry kitchen. (When I worked at the Biltmore it was the graveyard shift's unofficial "job" to go grab all the flat ones in the middle of the night.)

At the restaurant we store our hoarded pans in a closed cart. If the rest of the kitchen can't see them, they can't steal them.

Amy