A bit of baking help for the bakingly challenged please

That stinks. I use Pam all the time!

That stinks. I use Pam all the time!

och not really!   Butter's niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! 
I suppose you dont miss what you've never had, and I've never used Pam so... butter just seems the natural choice to me.

I have Pam, I love it

But I'm sure I'd be one of the people to use butter anyway for a pie 

I brought a HUGE can of Pam back when I was in the US last time, and I love it too.  I use it loads.  But....I forgot to use it last night when I made the pumpkin pie (oops, well I was on conference call at the same time, what can I say  ).

We didn't even TOUCH the pie so I'm bringing it in to my new office mates today!  Hope they will like it!  Yesterday they said 'pumpkin pie, that sounds stodgy!' 

Not really... that's why we were all suggesting butter!

There is this stuff called Fry Light which is a spray, but it is so disgusting and foamy and chemical-smelling that i don't know anyone who would use it.   

I use it!  I've never tried it in baking (I don't use sunflower oil in baking) but it's fine for frying things like mushrooms, eggs etc if you don't want them swimming in fat.  Greasy stuff makes me feel sick so it's perfect for stuff like that.  The olive oil one is better though.

Hey, have you been sneaking into my house to take a picture of my oven?!!!

I seem to recall having sticking problems with glass pie pans before. This time I bought a super-duper nonstick one at T.K.Maxx. I don't think anything could stick to it no matter how hard it tried.

We don't have Pam here! 

Pebs, baking isn't always easy.   Even people who are really good cooks sometimes can't bake.  I can't bake for toffee!

We don't have Pam brand but there are plenty of other brands of a spray type oil!!!
Parchment Paper works a treat everytime! I spray my pan with something AND line it with parchment paper, makes the baked good come out easier and easy to clean up!!!

We don't have Pam brand but there are plenty of other brands of a spray type oil!!!

i'll take your word for it, but have only ever seen Fry Light or real olive oil in a spray bottle.

I use a product called Cake Release from Lakeland for all my pies and cakes.

  Even people who are really good cooks sometimes can't bake.  I can't bake for toffee!

This is true.  My mother is an excellent cook but everything she bakes is a disaster.

We still kid her about her fruitcake mishap years ago.  My dad called it fruitrock.

i'll take your word for it, but have only ever seen Fry Light or real olive oil in a spray bottle.

They all do the job! I have one (of course I can't remember the name) and its the same thing as Pam...its called something like 1 calorie a spray...

They all do the job! I have one (of course I can't remember the name) and its the same thing as Pam...its called something like 1 calorie a spray...

LOL! If you're going to be eating pie, does it really matter how many calories the butter/spray has?!? 

LOL! If you're going to be eating pie, does it really matter how many calories the butter/spray has?!? 

lol! Well, I make sure I use over 100000 sprays of it!!!

och not really!   Butter's niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! 
I suppose you dont miss what you've never had, and I've never used Pam so... butter just seems the natural choice to me.

It's the opposite for me. I've never used butter for that stuff, so Pam seems the natural choice for me! If I didn't use Pam, I'd actually reach for shortening before butter, but I think I heard that it's hard to find there?

I love parchment paper! I always line baking sheets or cake pans with it when I bake.

Baking can be hit or miss even if you've made something before. I made a from-scratch red velvet cake once and it turned out great, the next time I tried it turned out awful! I love to bake though. I'm thinking of starting my Christmas cookie batters this weekend and freezing the dough for later. I subscribe to the Food Network's 12 Days of Cookies and I can't wait to see what they send out this year!!

Don't feel bad, Pebbles.  I did the same thing!!

For some reason, I thought since it was glass, it wouldn't stick.  Luckily it's not too bad, but I hate when my baking stuff doesn't turn out perfect (which is most of the time...the pie could've also done with 5 min more in the oven, even though the knife came out clean *sigh*)

If I didn't use Pam, I'd actually reach for shortening before butter, but I think I heard that it's hard to find there?

It's not hard to find... every supermarket has it!
The problem that new expats have is that it's not called 'shortening' and it's kept in the refrigerated section next to the butter.    If you're new to the UK, you possibly wouldn't think to look there, so that's probably why you've heard that it's hard to find!

I might try the paper thing one of these days.