The Aluminum Foil Hack To Try When Your Baking Pan Is Too Big For Your Dish

Whether you are making a casserole or scrumptious cornbread, a good baking pan is a must-have for any kitchen. The downside is that baking pans don't adhere to the concept of one-size-fits-all. If your recipe calls for more food than your baking pan can handle, your only option is usually to size up. However, that's not necessarily the case when it's the other way around. If you have too little of a recipe to fill up your baking pan, you could invest in a smaller model, or you could save some time and money with just a bit of aluminum foil.

To customize the size of your baking pan, you will be doing some construction with aluminum foil. As demonstrated on Reddit, the goal is to create a wall within the baking sheet with a few supports. Start by repeatedly folding a strip of aluminum foil so that it is thick and sturdy. Then, place it wherever you want the new wall of your baking pan to be. Then, fold the ends of the foil away from where you will place the food so that the wall fits snugly in the pan.

Once the foil wall is in place, you can begin making the supports. Make a few long strips of aluminum foil that are the same width as the space between the foil wall and the now-defunct wall of the baking pan. Tightly roll up the strips so that they form cylinders strong enough to brace the foil wall against whatever is cooking. You should aim to make at least two of these supports, but making more will make your wall stronger.

After everything is in place, inspect your foil apparatus for gaps and patch with scraps of aluminum where needed. When the wall is secure, it will benefit from the same preparation you would give to any baking pan. Apply a layer of parchment paper, or cover everything with butter and then a dusting of flour to ensure nothing sticks.

The great thing about this hack is that it is endlessly customizable — as long as you have a supply of aluminum foil, you can make your baking pan as small as you need. Not having the right equipment can be extremely frustrating when you're cooking, but with some ingenuity, there's nothing that can stand between you and getting dinner on the table.