Thermal conductivity–how quickly a pan heats up and cools down–is the reason metal works better than glass for baking, according to the Nordicware Test Kitchen. Metals, specifically aluminum (which is what many baking pans are made of), heat up quickly, allowing batter to rise, bake, and crisp up at a uniform pace.
For a variety of reasons, metal pans are generally the better pick for baking. Most importantly, metal is a better conductor, meaning things such as brownies will bake quicker and more evenly.
For the best results, bake brownies using a light colored metal baking pan or stoneware. These types of pans allow for the most even cooking because they are efficient heat conductors.
For the best results, bake brownies using a light colored metal baking pan or stoneware. These types of pans allow for the most even cooking because they are efficient heat conductors.
Aluminum or metal pans are a conductor which means they heat up faster than glass pans and will give you a more even bake and crispier edges.
Pies that require a longer bake time, such as double-crust pies, might be better suited for glass or ceramic pie plates that don't heat as fast. Still, in a pinch, metal can do the job.
Aluminium has several advantages over glass. It is lightweight and durable, reducing energy consumption and transportation waste. Aluminium can also be recycled indefinitely without losing quality, making it more sustainable.
Middle. The default position. It's ideal for most foods since it situates the item in the middle of the oven, allowing the hot air to circulate evenly around the food, resulting in even cooking. Use this for a single tray of cookies, sheet-pan dinners, fish, brownies, banana bread, and so on.
Lining the pan with two layers of foil prevents any brownie casualties, protects the pan from knife scratches, and makes cleanup a cinch. Once cooled, the brownies or bar cookies can be lifted easily from the pan and transferred to a cutting board.
If you want to ensure that your brownie stays moist (or add more moisture to a dry or stale brownie), cover it in a damp paper towel while it cooks.
This means it takes longer than metal to heat up, but it also holds heat longer than a metal pan. Because of this, brownies baked in a glass pan will need more time to bake. That slow heat-up and additional time can result in brownies with hard, overly-baked edges and a questionably “done” center.
Tips for Baking in Glass Instead of Metal
Kristina Razon, a former Serious Eats editor and avid baker suggests dropping the temperature of the recipe by 25°F and increasing the baking time by five to 10 minutes.
Glass bakeware is heavier and slower to heat than metal, but once it's hot, it retains that heat for much longer.
If it's a regular recipe or a boxed mix, it will likely be a 9x9 pan, which I usually cut into about 9 bars, or a 9x13 pan, which I usually cut into 12 servings.
Aluminium Pans as a conductor heat up much faster resulting in an even bake. If you're making a brownie pie, ceramic and glass works amazing as you get a perfect balance of gooey insides and crispy edges, great with icecream. For a traditional baked brownie for me, aluminium is the best way to go.
Overmixing the ingredients can cause brownies to turn out tough or for a thin crust to form on top. Mix wet and dry ingredients just long enough to blend them, taking special care not to overbeat after the eggs are added.
Oh, because it makes removing your brownies from the pan a cinch, and makes clean-up quicker too. "Line all your pans with parchment paper!" notes Molly Hanson, executive pastry chef, Grill 23 & Bar in Boston, Massachusetts. The trick not only works for brownies and bars, but cakes and cookies, too.
Problem 2: My brownies are too GOOEY
If you think about it, the ingredients that create that fudgy texture - the chocolate and butter - are completely liquid when hot, but solid at room temperature. We would never attempt to slice a brownie less than 2-3 hours after baking - it'll be a gooey mess.
Removing the fan setting cooks the brownies a little more gently and slowly, which yields a lovely gooey brownie. The cooking time and heat of the oven will determine if your brownie is perfectly cooked or cakey and dry.
Metal pans work best for cakes, cookies, muffins, tarts, breads, and brownies. Light-colored or shiny metal bakeware is the best for even browning, while darker-colored metals can cause over-browning (though darker is great for getting deep golden-brown crusts on bread!).
Light-weight material
Aluminium is much lighter than glass, reducing overall transportation costs. This means more products can be shipped by vehicles from one place to another without spending extra money. Plus, this makes aluminium a more reliable material than glass.
Our experiments have shown that the fluid in the aluminum bottle cools much faster than the glass bottle, and once removed from a cold source and exposed to room temperature, the glass bottle remained cooler longer than the aluminum bottle.
Aluminium is a corrosion resistant metal that naturally generates a protective coating. The coating formed is extremely thin and is generated when aluminium comes into contact with an oxidising environment. This protective aluminium oxide layer helps protect the surface of the metal from corrosion.