Modern Bakeware

Choosing Which Kind Of Bakeware Style Suits Your Kitchen

While modern bakeware is entirely practical, it can also play a role in the aesthetic of your kitchen, bringing an updated touch to your countertop and dining areas when serving. Traditional bakeware can bring a more rustic aesthetic to your kitchen and dining areas whereas modern bakeware can be more colorful, sleek, and stylish to fit with modern, contemporary, and even mid-century kitchens alike. Though the focus should be on the quality and functionality of the bakeware, select pieces that are also visually appealing and accentuate your additional serving pieces for when you spend time turning out casseroles, baked goods, and home-cooked meals. You want your bakeware to look just as good on the dining room table as it does in the oven. 

What Type of Bakeware Should You Buy?

To ensure you are always prepared in the kitchen for any type of recipe you should need to make, you should have several different pieces and sizes of bakeware to create a collection for a well-stocked kitchen. The standard size baking pan is 9 x 13 and is perfect for baking brownies, casseroles, lasagna, and more. An 8x8 or 9x9 square or round pan is ideal for cakes, pies, and other treats. A muffin pan, pie pan, and loaf pan are all excellent additions as well for holiday baking and brunch with friends. Lastly, every kitchen should have several cookie sheets in various sizes for making cookies, roasting vegetables and meats, and warming up leftovers from chicken nuggets to scallops. 

How To Clean Bakeware

For everyday cleaning, dish soap and hot water should keep your bakeware looking like new. However, for those extra caked-on messes and burned areas that you just can’t seem to get clean, a mixture of baking soda, vinegar, and a little elbow grease should do the trick. Sprinkle your dirty bakeware with a thin layer of the baking soda and then follow up with some white vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. Let this sit for a couple of hours and it should wipe away quite easily with a coarse sponge or sturdy dish rag. This should work for most aluminum and metal pans and bakeware, however for cast iron bakeware, you should never use soap to clean as it can ruin the pan. Simply wipe down with a sponge and hot water to keep the flavor in the pan and ensure a lifetime of use. 

Modern Bakeware FAQs 

• What Material Is Best For Baking Dishes? 

Aluminum is the best material to look for when selecting your new bakeware pieces thanks to it being a great heat conductor meaning the metal will give off the heat it absorbs and transfer to whatever you are baking for an even cooking experience. However, make sure your metal pan is a solid metal pan before you bake. If it is too dark, it will absorb more heat, which can cause the exterior of items to bake too quickly.

• Is It Better To Bake In Glass Or Metal? 

Aluminum is great for cookie sheets, pie tins, and bread pans because it will heat up faster than glass and contribute to a better rise and crisper, browner edges. Glass baking dishes are still suitable for things like brownies, casseroles, and lasagnas, since they are easy to clean, naturally non-stick, and won't discolor when roasting colorful foods. 

• Which Is Better Ceramic or Stoneware? 

While ceramic is stronger than stoneware and can be crafted into thinner pieces, stoneware tends to be a more durable choice and is heavier than ceramic bakeware. Stoneware is typically not glazed or decorated and can keep food warmer longer.