A tutorial on how to make paper appear old:
Necessary: whole milk, an oven, a baking sheet
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Fill a 9×13 baking pan with whole milk. (2% milk might work, especially if you would like the paper to brown but not get too splotchy. Skim and 1% don’t work well.)
3. Immerse your paper* in the pan with the milk. You don’t need to be very gentle. The paper is stronger than you think and a tear here or there will only enhance the final effect. You may have to weight the paper with a spoon to keep it from floating up.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment. If you don’t, you will be very sorry.
2. Fill a 9×13 baking pan with whole milk. (2% milk might work, especially if you would like the paper to brown but not get too splotchy. Skim and 1% don’t work well.)
3. Immerse your paper* in the pan with the milk. You don’t need to be very gentle. The paper is stronger than you think and a tear here or there will only enhance the final effect. You may have to weight the paper with a spoon to keep it from floating up.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment. If you don’t, you will be very sorry.
What sorry you forgot the parchment paper looks like
5. After about ten minutes (no need to be precise) lift the paper out of the milk. Hold it above the pan for several seconds to let the excess milk drip away.
6. Arrange the milky paper on the parchment paper on the baking sheet. If there is a wrinkle here or there, that will probably just enhance the look you’re going for (to do two pages at once on one baking sheet you will have to wrinkle them a little to make them both fit).
7. Cook the paper on the lowest rack for about 4 minutes. Remove it from the oven and carefully turn it the other side. (This helps to distribute the darker spots more evenly and makes the final result more legible.) It is fragile at this point. This step is only necessary if you’re fussy.
8. Cook for about 6 more minutes.
9. If flatness is important, immediately put a heavy book on the aged paper while it is still hot from the oven.
6. Arrange the milky paper on the parchment paper on the baking sheet. If there is a wrinkle here or there, that will probably just enhance the look you’re going for (to do two pages at once on one baking sheet you will have to wrinkle them a little to make them both fit).
7. Cook the paper on the lowest rack for about 4 minutes. Remove it from the oven and carefully turn it the other side. (This helps to distribute the darker spots more evenly and makes the final result more legible.) It is fragile at this point. This step is only necessary if you’re fussy.
8. Cook for about 6 more minutes.
9. If flatness is important, immediately put a heavy book on the aged paper while it is still hot from the oven.
*Paper: If you want something written on the paper, write it before aging it. Black ink handwriting will look best. Test a small sample to make sure your ink isn’t water-soluble. Computer printing is also an option. I was surprised and relieved to discover that my inkjet printer ink didn’t run–it turned the milk pinkish, but it didn’t smear.
Lastly: If you are hoping for a specific look, repetition may be key. The paper never turns out exactly the same twice. Allowing more milk to pool on the paper in the cookie sheet will lead to more splotches as will higher fat (cream makes dark globs). As you would guess, longer cooking time will lead to darker and harder to read results, shorter will lead to lighter results.
Have fun!
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