Which is better for baking: glass or metal? For baked desserts like cakes, cookies, and brownies, metal is better. Most recipes are designed and developed for metal pans, and you'll be able to replicate the recipe in your home if you use a similar pan.
Brownies should be baked in a metal pan. Compared to glass, metal transfers heat more readily and creates a more dynamic relationship between a crisp outer edge and dense inner center.
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.
Metal are the best - they transfer heat most effectively. Glass pans are useful for seeing doneness. Ceramic ones are beautiful but not as good for getting the crust right, especially when you're learning.
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.
Brownies have an ooey-gooey reputation, so choosing a brownie pan that can release them easily is a must. In general, we recommend shopping for a pan with nonstick coating, or one made from glass or ceramic. Even so, each material should still be greased using butter or nonstick spray for the best results possible.
👩🔬 Start using a metal pan and ditch the glass pans 💁♀️ If you've ever ended up with under-baked, gummy, or sunken brownies or banana bread, it may have been because you baked in a glass pan. Glass pans take much longer to conduct heat than metal pans. Not to mention glass is heavier and more fragile.
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.
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.
Because metal heats up faster than glass, it contributes to a better rise and crisper, browner edges.
The All-Clad Pro-Release Nonstick Bakeware Square Baking Pan is our top pick because it answers most brownie-baking problems before they happen and is great for all levels of bakers. If it's the brownie pan of a lifetime you're looking for, consider the Emile Henry Modern Classics 9-Inch Square Baking Dish.
The major disadvantage of glass cookware is that it can break if dropped or exposed to rapid changes in temperature. That's why it is most often used in the oven, where the temperature change occurs evenly and slowly. Some pots are safe on the stovetop, but it's best to check the seller's use recommendations first.
Be sure to select a light-colored, shiny pan, which will conduct heat evenly. Glass or dark-colored pans can cause the edges to overbake or even burn. Always grease the pan thoroughly with shortening, softened butter, or cooking spray. (Do this even if the recipe doesn't specify.)
Bittersweet chocolate is a great option for most baked goods (one of our favorite recipes is our Chocolate Chunk Brownies). It has just the right balance of sweetness and a rich cocoa flavor, which is why this chocolate is the most popular among our culinary customers.
1. Underbaking. One of the most common reasons brownies sink in the middle is that they're simply underbaked.
Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.
A swipe of butter or spritz of cooking spray prevents sticking, but parchment paper or foil with some overhang goes the extra mile for brownies and bars. Once they're cooled, you can quickly lift your batch onto a cutting board to slice perfectly even squares.
Typically, brownies bake at around 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, but Brown's version goes like this: Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven to cool for another 15 minutes.
The Bottom Line
Glass pie pans are the way to go for the best pies, but it doesn't mean you can't bake pies in ceramic, steel, or aluminum pans, too. It just might take a little longer to get the flakiest crust in these other types of pans.
Pyrex: Glass heats slowly and allows heat to build gradually and spread evenly, so my Pyrex tends to be my go-to plate. Bottom-crusts on fruit pies come out crisp and custards cook evenly.
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet (to catch any drips), and put the pie and baking sheet onto the lowest rack of your oven.