Baking paper, wax paper or beeswax wraps: what is the difference?

Baking paper, wax paper and beeswax wraps can sit in the same kitchen drawer and look almost alike. They do three completely different jobs, and only one of them belongs in a hot oven. Here is the difference, short and concrete.

Baking paper: made for the heat

Baking paper is thin paper treated with silicone on both sides. The silicone gives a surface food does not stick to, and it stands up to high heat. Most brands state 220 to 250 °C, and the number is printed on the box.

In practice baking paper is single use. Plenty of people run the same sheet through two or three trays of biscuits, but the sheet is not made to be washed and used again. The silicone layer stops it breaking down, so most councils want used baking paper in the general waste. The rules vary a little, so check what your own council says.

What is wax paper?

Wax paper is thin paper coated with a layer of wax. In the shops that wax is nearly always paraffin, refined from crude oil. Some brands use soy wax. The result is a paper that keeps moisture and grease at bay without being sealed like plastic.

The important part: wax paper must not go in the oven. The wax melts at a low temperature, it can start to smoke, and at worst the paper can catch fire. Wax paper is a cold helper: a layer between cake slices and burger patties, a surface to roll pastry on, or a wrapping around a sandwich.

Wax paper is single use. It does not cope with washing, and paraffin is not a natural material, so the sheet belongs in the general waste.

Beeswax wraps: cotton, beeswax and tree resin

Beeswax wraps are strictly speaking not paper at all. They are thin cotton fabric saturated with beeswax and tree resin. The resin makes the sheet slightly tacky when you warm it between your hands, and that is the whole point: you shape the sheet around a piece of cheese or over a bowl, and it stays where you put it.

Beeswax softens as early as 35 to 40 °C and melts at around 62 to 65 °C. So the oven answer is simple: you must never bake on a beeswax wrap. The wax runs out of the fabric, the sheet is ruined and the baking tray is a mess. The sheets are for storage, not for cooking.

In return, the sheet is used again and again. You wash it in cold water with a mild soap and let it air dry, and with regular use it lasts around 12 months. The routine is in the guide on caring for beeswax wraps, and the uses in the guide on how to use beeswax wraps. When the sheet is worn out, you cut it up and compost it.

A quick comparison

How to choose the right sheet

1. 1
   Is the food going in the oven?

   Baking paper, always. It is the only one of the three that is made for oven heat.

2. 2
   Do cold items need keeping apart?

   Wax paper does the job between cake slices and burger patties. Baking paper works just as well.

3. 3
   Is the food going into storage?

   Beeswax wraps. The sheet shapes itself around the cheese, the cucumber or the bowl, and you can leave the cling film alone. More examples in the guide on covering bowls without cling film.

4. 4
   Does a tired beeswax wrap need freshening up?

   Then you use both. Lay the sheet between two sheets of baking paper and put it in the oven at 80 to 90 °C for about 2 minutes, and the tackiness comes back. Step by step in the guide on refreshing beeswax wraps in the oven.

Three common mistakes

Baking on a beeswax wrap. The most common mistake, and the most expensive one. The name makes the sheet sound like a close relative of baking paper, but the wax cannot take oven heat. The only time the sheet goes in the oven is at 80 to 90 °C, when you are melting the wax on purpose.

Thinking wax paper and baking paper are the same thing. The two names sit close together, and “parchment paper” and “wax paper” get mixed up constantly in recipes that travel from one kitchen to the next. Wax paper in the oven gives you smoke and melted wax on the food.

Using beeswax wraps for raw meat and raw fish. The sheet is only ever washed cold, and raw meat needs a hot wash. Use a sealed box for that, and let the sheet take cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables. More swaps in the overview of plastic-free swaps in the kitchen.

Frequently asked questions