When it comes to sheet pans the wheel has been reinvented time and time again. There are special sheet pans for cookies, pizzas and just about anything else that to go in the oven. I confess, I had one of those fancy pants air pocket sheet pan for cookies and I HATED it. It was an odd shape so it didn't really nest with anything, the sides were flush so everything just slid right off of it and it was a pain to clean.
The bakeries I've stepped in I've noticed 1 kind of pan, run of the mill sheet pan. They come in 3 sizes, quarter, half and full. No questions about what's best for what, you grab a sheet pan and a piece of parchment and you're ready to bake. Since they're all the same, they nest perfectly. Since they're all the same you know how things are going to bake on them. I've carried this over into my home and now into The Bumbling Bee. Sheet pans are great and I'm not going back to specialized fancy pans again.
You know what the best part of standard sized sheet pans? Pan collars. I never knew such a thing existed until I worked in a commercial bakery. They are a little expensive but to me, they're worth their weight in gold. You simply place the pan collar on the sheet pan and your sides have increased significantly. I use a pan collar to make the brownies and bars. If you plug the corners with some strategically folded parchment paper you can bake half sheet cakes. And, if you have to stir something midway of roasting (like chex mix or nuts) you can get a little carried away and not worry about making a mess.
Now, where to buy these simple but fantastic kitchen tools. Historically I've bought all of it at Gygi but next time I'm going to price check Standard too because they're just around the corner. And you might notice that bun pans are cheaper than sheet pans and the only difference between the two that I can tell is that the sheet pans are a heavier gage. I recently bought a bun pan and plan on putting it into rotation so hopefully it works just as well.
*Small disclaimer, I'm not sure if pan collar is the correct term for the actual item. I've tried and tried to find a picture online but with no success. I took some quick pictures of my own so you know what to look for.
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