Can you use Parchment Paper in cast iron cookware?

Parchment paper is an endlessly useful companion in the kitchen. You can use it to line cake pans and baking trays, cook food in parchment-paper parcels and even turn it into a piping bag in a pinch.
Parchment paper can also bring its non-stick convenience to cooking with cast iron. Whether you’re baking bread in a Dutch oven or whipping up a pizza in a skillet, there are plenty of ways you can use parchment paper to make the most of your cast-iron cookware.
It’s important to note, however, that not all parchment paper is made equal. For cooking with cast iron, make sure you’re using high-quality parchment paper that can take the heat. Kana parchment paper, for example, is oven safe up to 428 F (220 C) — hot enough to help you bake this mouthwatering three-cheese bread.
Using Parchment Paper in a cast-iron Dutch Oven
Whether you’re cooking with a large Dutch oven or a smaller one, you can make life easier with parchment paper.

A classic use of parchment paper while cooking with a Dutch oven is when baking bread. You can shape your dough on a rectangular sheet of parchment paper, then use it to safely lower the dough into your Dutch oven. Once your gorgeous loaf of bread is finished cooking, the parchment paper makes removing the loaf super easy.

You can also use pre-cut parchment paper rounds, or these Kana ones with easy-lift tabs, in your Dutch oven when baking cakes, focaccia, roasting meat or vegetables and so much more.

With pre-cut sizes, there’s no need to measure or cut from a roll, which means no waste. And when you’re done cooking, you can toss these biodegradable parchment paper sheets in the compost.
Using Parchment Paper in a cast-iron skillet
Just like with a cast-iron Dutch oven, your skillet can also benefit from teaming up with some parchment paper. This recipe for strawberry cream cheese buttermilk buns, for example, makes use of pre-cut parchment rounds to make serving and cleanup a breeze.

You can easily turn this recipe for butternut chocolate chip cookies into a giant skillet cookie with the help of a pre-cut parchment paper round and a 10-inch skillet. And you can serve up this sizzling skillet pizza in seconds thanks to those easy-lift tabs.
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Choosing the right-sized Parchment Paper for the job
If you’re keen to level up your cast-iron cooking with the help of parchment paper, getting a good fit is important, and it’s not always intuitive.

For example, if you’re cooking with a 10-inch skillet, a 9-inch pre-cut parchment paper round is going to be best — with or without easy-lift tabs. This is because the base of the skillet is actually slightly smaller than the 10-inch wide top. You’ll notice this if you ever need to measure your cake pans too.

For Dutch ovens, it depends on which size you’re cooking with. For a 5.5-quart Dutch oven, a 9-inch pre-cut round, easy-lift round or a half-sheet parchment paper rectangle is perfect. The smaller 3.5-quart Dutch oven works best with the 8-inch parchment paper round or a quarter-sheet rectangle.

Cast-iron cookware is so well designed that it’s remained largely unchanged for decades. Perhaps the only thing that can compete with it is your other kitchen staple: Trusty parchment paper. When you bring these two together, it’s no surprise that delicious things happen.