Tear Your Parchment Paper Effortlessly With This Brilliant Hack

Parchment paper, also known as baking paper, is a kitchen staple. Due to its silicone coating — which prevents it from melting in the high heat of ovens — parchment paper has been the unsung hero for both professional and amateur cooks for centuries, keeping baked and roasted goods from sticking to baking pans. And while convenient pre-cut rolls of parchment paper — with sheets the approximate size of the standard baking sheet — are typically available in major grocery stores, if you're going old school with a non-perforated roll, you might find yourself looking for a way to simplify tearing your paper evenly for baking. Enter a brilliant hack for perfectly even sheets that will change the game using the lid of the box in an easier, more efficient way. 

Parchment paper boxes, like those of foil and plastic wrap, often have sharp, serrated edges for tearing off pieces. Inverting the edge and using the inside of the box to tear your parchment paper instead of leaving it hanging outside the box is a genius step that can help you achieve those clean tears that make your baking easier.

This hack is refreshingly simple. When you're ready to tear off a sheet of your parchment paper, you'll want to tuck the lid back inside the box. Doing so will allow you to pull the paper firmly. Then, holding the box with one hand and your paper with the other, you'll want to tear the paper against the edge towards you, not only resulting in a clean, non-jagged edge but also preventing possible finger injury.

Additionally, your parchment paper should be stored with the lid tucked in and a small amount of the paper visible. Doing so will prevent you from losing the end of your paper (hello, toilet paper problems). When you're ready to tear off your next sheet, your box will already be prepped for that easy tearing hack. Wondering how to flatten your parchment paper's curl? Simply crumple the paper in your hands, then un-crumple it, and you should be able to smooth it out and lay it flat on your baking sheet. But be sure to place your paper with its glossier side up, making clean-up easier. And if you need a surefire way to keep your parchment paper from slipping if you're using a loaf pan, for example, consider using binder clips to keep it secured to the pan. And there you have it — now go on and get tearing.