Different Types of Baking Pans

Everyone who is cooking or baking in an oven should know the difference between different types of baking pans. This article focuses on choosing the right pan for your favorite recipes plus how to take care of them so they last for a good long time, whether or not they have a lifetime guarantee.

How to choose the right baking pan

The kind of baking pan you use affects how your recipes will turn out. You want to use the right one for your recipe to avoid run-overs, leaks or ingredients falling in the center. Here are some things you need to consider when choosing your baking pans.

Material

When it comes to the matierals that baking or cake pans use, typically there are three choices: metal, glass and silicone.

• If you’re looking for an efficient heat conductor that will give a beautiful browning effect to your cakes, muffins and brownies, go for metal pans.
• Glass pans, on the other hand, retain heat that can be perfect for your casseroles and lasagnas, though I had great luck making my strawberry cream cheese dump cake in my Pyrex baking dish. That baby is a work horse.
• Silicone pans are flexible with their entirely nonstick surface, great for cakes and muffins, but not best for crispy edges.

Size

The more surface area you use for baking your cakes, the faster they will bake. On the other hand, choosing a loaf pan versus a tube pan for an angel food cake means the center will not cook as evenly as the edges.

Dark or light pans

Using dark or light pans is a relative discussion in the baking pan world. Dark metal baking pans absorb more heat and can give a beautiful browning effect, which you might want on the crust of your pie. On the other hand, light colored baking sheets reflect heat and bake evenly so probably a better choice for a baking sheet when making cookies or muffins.

Different kinds of cake pans and baking pan names

Once size fits all does not apply to cake pans or any type of baking pan. You need to choose one that will get the job done, efficiently and well. Knowing which kind to use in your recipes is key. Here is an outline of the different kind of cake and other baking pans, plus their names so you’ll know one from the other.

Muffin pans

Muffin pans come with six or 12 indentations. You can use them to make homemade muffins or cupcakes to enjoy with your afternoon coffee. However, you can use them for non-baked goods, too, such as this recipe for tuna melt cups.

Loaf pans

Sometimes called a bread pan, a loaf pan is a specialized pan that turns dough into sandwich-ready slices. Its what we use when making our homemade everyday bread as well as zucchini bread or our copycat Starbucks lemon loaf. With its long, rectangular shape, this unique baking pan is perfect for making apple fritter bread, meatloaf or pound cakes. We’ve used loaf pans made of both dark metal as well as glass.

Cake pans

A rectangular cake pan is perfect for whipping up fudgy brownies or other baked goods. You can also get cake pans in a square shape, which we used when making our zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting as well as our two ingredient lemon bars. cakes. However, if you’re looking for something to help you with layering, go for a round cake pan, which is what we used for this three-layer Easter cake. You can get round cake pans in the following diameters:

• 8 inches
• 9 inches
• 10 inches

Bundt pan

With its ring shape and sloped sides that retain moisture, a bundt cake is ideal for dense, moist cakes like coffee and pound cakes. Bundt pans often mean quicker cooking, with its hollow tube in the middle that allows the hot air to circulate. Speaking of the tube, the other name for this cake pan is a tube cake pan. Some people refer to it as an angel food cake pan because it is most often used to make that kind of cake.

Pie plate

Also known as a pie dish or pie pan, a pie plate offers the perfect edge-to-center ratio. Look for a glass or ceramic pie plate to hold in the heat while baking. This versatile bakeware ensures even heat distribution and ease of serving.

Sheet pan

Sheet pans are the workhorse of your kitchen. This culinary chameleon showcases a multi-tasking feature that knows no bounds. From roasting veggies and a protein for a sheet pan recipe at 400 F to cooling down chocolate overload cookies, the sheet pan adapts to your savory or sweet whims easily.

Pro tip: Look for sheet pans with raised sides. The name for a sheet pan without a side is a cookie sheet. They’re best for, you guessed it, baking cookies.

Proper baking pan maintenance

Taking care of your different types of baking pans isn’t just about how you clean them. It’s what you do with them after they’ve served their purpose in the oven. For instance, do you still plunge your baking pans into an icy bath after they emerge from the oven? It’s time to stop that habit now. Allow your pans to cool down gently after every use. Subjecting it to extreme temperature changes will leave it cracked, warped or shattered.

Wash them with a mild dish soap. Use a soft sponge or cloth to scrub your pan gently. Wire or steel scrubs and harsh cleaners like bleach can permanently damage your baking pan’s surface. This goes without saying if you’re using nonstick bakeware as wire or steel will destroy the nonstick surface.

Always remove leftover crumbs when dealing with non-stick pans as they can burn your pan’s surface with each use. Try using a rubber spatula, gently working around the sides to loosen them, and carefully flip them out.

Another important step is drying your pan right after washing ensures. This helps avoid any unwanted rust on your baking pans to the celebration. You can also pop the pans into a still-warm oven to ensure they’re dry. Even a speck of water can lead to rust.

Portions of this article originally appeared on Bake What You Love.