Most home bakers have a variety of bakeware tucked in their kitchen cabinets, including both glass and metal baking pans. Whether you’re making brownes and bars, sheet cakes, or casseroles, these kitchen staples play a big role in how evenly your food bakes and how it looks when it comes out of the oven. Some recipes specify which type of pan to use, while others only mention the size, which might leave you wondering whether glass and metal baking pans really bake differently. Read on to find out which type of baking pan is best for your recipe.

Benefits of Baking in a Glass Baking Pan

Glass baking pans are a practical choice for all kinds of recipes. Because they’re clear, you can easily see how golden brown the bottom and sides of your crust or cake are, which can be a helpful indicator of doneness. Glass is also nonreactive, making it a great choice for acidic bakes like citrus desserts or savory dishes with lots of tomatoes—looking at you, lasagna! Use a glass baking pan the next time you make Ree’s lemon bars or any of these bright and zesty orange desserts.

Benefits of Baking in a Metal Baking Pan

If you want to serve a bakery-worthy dessert to your family and friends, a metal baking pan is a great choice. That’s because metal baking pans have sharp, clean corners that make it easy to cut even, neat squares. But it’s not just about good looks; metal baking pans also heat up quickly and evenly, which helps baked goods cook more consistently. And because metal promotes browning so well, it’s especially handy when you want crisp edges and no soggy bottoms.

Is It Better to Bake in a Glass Pan or a Metal Pan?

Although there are upsides to baking in both glass and metal pans, most professional bakers recommend metal baking pans for a more consistent bake. Metal heats up more quickly than glass, which means that your baked goods are more likely to bake evenly. Glass can take longer to heat up, but once it does, it retains heat for much longer. That can sometimes leave you with a crust or cake that looks perfectly baked on the outside but is still underdone in the center.

Plus, metal is more durable and less fragile than glass, so you don’t need to be as precious about it when storing.