When To Bake With Glass Vs Metal Pans
Deciding which pan to reach for can make or break your baked goods — and it's about more than which pan happens to be sitting on top of the stack in your cabinet. Should you go with glass? Or is metal the move?
One is not necessarily better than the other, but these tools are certainly better-suited to different purposes. On the note of presentation, desserts baked in glass pans can be served directly out of the dish while still-warm (sayonara, extra dirty dishes!), while desserts baked in metal pans typically need to be removed from the baking dish and transferred to another serving platter to display. Although, metal pans yield straighter, cleaner edges than glass, which can lend aesthetic appeal to bar desserts like brownies or blondies.
The biggest difference between these tools is that glass pans are slower to heat up than metal pans, yielding a longer cook time overall. But after that initial warm-up, glass has a higher capacity for heat retention than metal, making glass baking dishes an ideal option for keeping baked goods toasty after taking them out of the oven. Conversely, faster-cooking desserts at higher temperatures favor metal pans.
If a recipe specifically calls for a metal pan and all you have is glass, the oven temperature will need to be reduced by about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, with the baking time lengthened by 5-15 minutes to accommodate the difference. But when should you use which type?
Glass pans are better for low and slow baking
Glass is a natural insulator that performs well with any desserts baked at relatively low temperatures for long periods of time. This can be especially desirable for various cobbler recipes, bread puddings, or any layered desserts served warm. This is also the reason why tart or quiche pans are typically made from glass or ceramic. The see-through quality of glass means that bakers can observe the doneness of their crusts as they brown, and it can show off impressive layered desserts to dinner party guests.
When high temperatures are called for in your recipe, that's where metal bakeware enters the scene. Glass can crack or even explode under your broiler, so keep it away from extreme heat. One of our many glassware cooking pro tips: To get more mileage out of your glass bakeware and lessen any temperature change shocks, never put a chilled glass dish from the fridge straight into the oven. We recommend this durable two-piece baking dish set by Pyrex, which has both a rectangular and a square pan for customizable presentation.
If your dessert includes any acidic ingredients (we're looking at you, fruit cobblers, tomato tarts, and lemon bars), be sure to opt for glass bakeware. Under heat, acids react unfavorably with metal for an unpleasant metallic taste. Glass is non-reactive to heat, so there's no need to worry about imparting any lingering flavor onto your baked goods.
Metal pans heat up fast and cool down just as quickly
Where glass pans are insulators, metal pans are conductors — the perfect tool for distributing heat evenly and quickly. This attribute is best suited to muffins, cupcakes, filled cakes like coffee cake, brownies, fruit and custard pies, and quick breads like banana bread or pumpkin bread. Also, metal pans can create a crispier pie crust.
Metal baking pans are best suited to desserts that bake at a relatively high temperature for a short period of time. You wouldn't want to bake a casserole in a metal pan, as aluminum is famously enlisted for its quick heat-conduction ability. Stainless-steel pans are non-reactive and often nonstick (like this Farberware baking pan), but don't conduct heat as quickly or evenly as aluminum.
Metal bakeware also performs differently based on its color, with dark metals absorbing heat more quickly (faster cooking) and lighter-hued metal pans retaining less heat (a less intense bake). And shiny high-gloss finishes slow baking times compared to pans with a dull matte finish. Light gray, shiny baking sheets, for instance, are the best choice for gently browning cookies. Metal pans also reduce the risk of carryover baking, which is when the edges or bottom of your dessert continues browning from the heat trapped inside the pan. If you're looking to nail a specific temperature (i.e. bake your dessert until it's just done in the center, then remove it from the oven to cool down quickly), metal can be the move.