Substitute for a Wire Cooling Rack
Datetime:2015-04-23 Hits:
Keen to do some baking but you've found the wire cooling rack is broken, missing, or you've never managed to get around to buying one? Replacing it with the following suggested alternatives should meet your needs.
1. Use a clean, unwarmed cookie sheet. Transfer cookies from the warm cookie sheet to the cold one.
2. Use a plate. A room temperature plate that is large enough to take the cake, cookies, bread, or pastries will work to cool them down. Put a paper towel across the plate first.
•Avoid stacking the baked product or you will prevent air from circulating and the baked goods will turn soggy.
3. Pull a rack out of the oven, grill, or broiler pan. Make sure it's clean and simply leave it out on a flat surface to place the baked items on it.
•Covering the rack with parchment paper or similar can be helpful to prevent cookies or other baked items from falling or sagging through.
4. Use a pizza baking stone. If you have a pizza stone, make sure it's room temperature (not warm or hot from baking) and simply slide the baked items onto it to cool.
5. Use a cool chopping board. Marble or granite chopping boards can be a good cool surface to cool a baked product on.
6. Chopsticks. If you're cooling a loaf of bread you can use a makeshift cooling rack out of chopsticks set side by side with enough space between them for airflow.
Tips
Wire cooling (or baking) racks are inexpensive items that are very handy to have in the kitchen. If you don't have one, consider picking one up next time you're visiting a kitchen goods retailer.
