Baking Dishes/Pans

From Season 5: Bake Sale Favorites

Here in cake-and-casserole-crazed America, the shallow, rectangular 13 by 9-inch baking dish is a kitchen workhorse. There is a huge variety of options from which to choose, many with new designs, materials, finish colors, and baking surface textures, all taking aim at the tried-and-true pans of old—Pyrex and stoneware. Though no longer common, rough stoneware and earthenware pans have been around since the days of communal bread ovens in the village square. Ovensafe glass came to market in 1915 and in the years since has become a standard kitchen item familiar to almost every home cook.

Pans made from both materials performed well in our tests, browning cornbread deeply and evenly. (We put a high value on the enhanced flavor and texture of deeply browned exterior surfaces. Pans that did not brown well were marked down.) Like a trusty cast-iron skillet, stoneware has a huge capacity to absorb and retain heat. The story is similar for glass. Although it heats up slowly, once glass is hot, it stays that way. In both cases, it’s good news for fans of deeply browned crusts. How would pans made from other materials compare to the glass pans?

We've learned over the years that pale and shiny finishes lack the superior heat absorption of darker finishes, resulting in spotty browning. Dark-colored surfaces absorb heat in the oven; bright surfaces do, too, but they also reflect it. So we dismissed the light-colored pans from our lineup early on. That left us with seven nonstick pans, all of which sported charcoal-colored surfaces. By and large, they all browned cornbread deeply. Previous bakeware tests have shown-and the cornbread baked in this test confirmed-that when it comes to browning, a dark surface color can be more important than the material of the pan.

The nonstick pans did, however, present a serious practical consideration. Many dishes baked in a 13 by 9-inch pan, including the lasagna we tested, are customarily cut and served right from the pan. With some nonstick pans that’s a problem because the use and care recommendations usually advise against cutting in the pan to protect the nonstick coating. In our view, not being able to cut in a pan is a strike against it. Today, however, many manufacturers offer scratch-resistant nonstick coatings that are safe for use with metal spatulas and other blunt-edged tools. Most do still advise against cutting in the pan with sharp knives or pizza cutters, but, with the exception of the hairline scratches suffered by one of our pans, we found that any damage made by a paring knife was negligible.

Also relatively new to the market is silicone bakeware, which now comes in as many shapes and sizes as its metal and glass counterparts. Manufacturers of these products consistently peddle the benefits of their flexibility, unparalleled nonstick surfaces, and fuss-free cleanup. But with these perks came at least as many flaws. Though browning for some of the baked goods was surprisingly comparable to those baked in other pans, the floppy SiliconeZone vessel had to be steadied on a metal sheet pan (the bottom of a cornbread baked without the sheet pan came out with striped grid marks from the oven rack), which lengthened the baking time. What's more, heavy gingerbread and cornbread batters caused the sides of the pan to swell unevenly, resulting in asymmetrical, soft-angled breads. Silicone, we decided, is better suited for non-baking tasks.

Coming Full Circle

It turns out that our story ends almost right where it began, with glass. Our glass pan isn't perfect, but it did have four distinct advantages over the newcomers. First, it browned on a par with the dark-colored nonstick pans. Second, it is compatible with metal utensils. Third, while it's no stunning beauty, most people we asked were perfectly willing to set it on a dining table at dinner, which allows it to pull double duty in sweet and savory baking. And last, it is inexpensive; only one other pan in the lineup costs less. Of course, if your baking is usually of the sweet variety and you are willing to forego cutting foods right in the pan, any of the recommended nonstick models will also serve you well.