It's said that it was Coco Chanel who made this little number a wardrobe requirement
Most every woman has heard that to have a complete closet, a fully equipped wardrobe, one must have a little black dress. This is the item one dresses up or dresses down, depending on need, but it is the rock solid center of a clothing collection, at least since Coco Chanel popularized it in 1926 and Vogue pronounced it the Ford of clothing and a uniform for all women of taste.
In the kitchen I have my little black dress. It’s my black baking pan, and though it has been through a lot, like the best black dress it doesn’t show its wear. It’s heavy and solid, so much more than a baking sheet, which is its size. But it is French, which I’m sure would please Coco.
I bought my French baking sheet years ago when I worked in a cookware store in Boston. Now they are a bit hard to come by, but the best available is Matfer Bourgeat. Norpro and Lincoln Foodservice Products (also called Lincoln-Wearever) have commercial gauge baking pans though not black. Nonstick pans won’t give food the browned crust that is really the point of one of these pans, so avoid them.
Okay, not so sexy but one you'll use almost every day
My pan is blue-black steel, 19 x 13 inches, and weighs in at just over 4 pounds. It’s a workhorse, but it requires a little special care. It rusts easily if I don’t dry it immediately, and can’t be put in the dishwasher. The idea is to get a pan that is heavy enough to withstand some high heat, with a thickness that will hold enough heat to actually promote cooking and browning. I rarely use mine for cookies, since it browns the bottom so well it’s almost too well. It is perfect for breads and pizzas, when you do want a well-browned crust.
Also in action, this time for focaccia
It is also the pan I turn to when I want to roast vegetables. The pan gets hot enough to do the bottom side browning, and food almost never sticks. If I’m roasting chicken pieces or fish, I do use foil or parchment, but it isn’t necessary. It just makes clean-up a little easier.
One of my favorite uses for the black pan is broiled fish. The pan gets super-heated under the broiler, and I just slide the fish (on foil) onto the hot pan and never have to turn it (more about that in the next post).
The pan in action getting preheated for perfect broiled fish
This is certainly one of my most-used kitchen tools, and my batterie de cuisine just wouldn’t be complete without it.
(And I’m sure Coco would be pleased with my French — encore.)
(Image from Sierra Trading Company)
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I need this pan!! thanks for sharing the info!