What’s the Difference Between Glass and Metal Baking Dishes? (2024)

Though most folks are discerning when it comes to picking a recipe, sometimes it’s hard to know what the best tool for the job is. This is especially common when it comes to baking, and while the age of the yeast or the quality of cocoa powder matters, so too does the baking dish. And one common area of confusion is whether to use metal or glass.

The science of baking involves complex chemical reactions that occur when you place batter or dough in the hot environment of an oven. This is why the material of the bakeware is important and can change the outcome considerably. Here, we break down the pros and cons of using metal and glass.

First, Let’s Talk About Conductivity

Metal and glass have different heat conductivity, which means they carry and transfer heat differently. According to A.J. Bates, professor of chemistry at Skyline College in California, metal heats up quickly, conducting heat to whatever you’re baking (metal also cools down faster). He explained that glass, on the other hand, has a higher specific heat capacity, which means it takes more energy and time to heat up and retains the heat after it’s been removed from the oven.

Baking in metal means you can bake a dessert until the center is done, remove it from the oven, and not have to worry about the pan continuing to bake the edges. Glass, however, will retain the heat, and continue to bake what’s inside, resulting in either an underbaked center or an overbaked edge—or often both.

Glass and Metal React to Ingredients Differently

Metal and glass also react to ingredients differently. Acidic ingredients like tomatoes and citrus can react with aluminum (the most common metal used in bakeware), creating a metallic taste in your food. This is why lasagna and other casseroles with acidic ingredients are often baked in glass. The smooth slick surface of the glass is also naturally somewhat nonstick, making it easier to clean baked-on cheese and other crusty ingredients.

Consider Practical Use and Storage

Metal is quite durable and can take a beating in a busy kitchen, while glass is fragile and heavy, requiring a little more care in cleaning and storage. Some glass can also suffer thermal shock, which means it can’t handle extreme temperature changes. For example, if you move a glass dish from the freezer to the oven, or from a hot oven to a cold stove, the glass can shatter. The exception to this is borosilicate glass, which is more thermal-shock resistant than other types of glass (which is why it’s often used to make microwave cookware, like this set from Anyday). However, keep in mind that most common glass bakeware is not borosilicate. Metal doesn’t have this issue, allowing you to chill a pie crust in the freezer before moving it directly to the oven to bake.

The Best Glass and Metal Baking Pans

Glass can also be difficult to store since pans are often inconsistently sized, as well as heavy and thick. If you have pets or inquisitive young kids, or just don’t have a lot of storage space, opt for metal bakeware.

Attractiveness Matters

Baked goods served directly from the dish can benefit from a handsome glass or ceramic dish. Alanna Taylor-Tobin, author of Alternative Baker and blogger at The Bojon Gourmet recommends baking cobblers, crisps, and crumbles in glass or ceramic. “I love using attractive ceramic and glass baking dishes for fruit desserts. The dish retains heat, keeping the dessert warm, and it looks nice too! So desserts like my almond flour apple crisp can go from the oven directly to the table for an easy yet dinner-party-worthy dessert,” she says.

However, if your dessert is removed from the dish before serving, like with brownies, cookies, or bars, a metal option is going to give you a more attractive final product because the edges and corners of a metal dish are often an ideal 90-degree angle, creating a perfect square or rectangle.

So, Which Bakes Best? Glass or Metal? The Answer: It Depends on What You’re Baking

Most desserts like brownies, cookies, bars, and cakes bake best in a metal dish. The metal conducts heat evenly and efficiently, allowing the baked goods to heat and rise equally from edge to center, cooking at the same rate.

Desserts like fruit cobblers, crisps, and crumbles, as well as savory casseroles, are best made in a glass dish. The glass retains the heat better, keeping the dish warm, and the dish can go directly from the oven to the table.

One thing to note about pies and tarts: a lot of recipes and articles will tell you to bake pies in glass, and glass indeed has the added advantage of being transparent—you can easily see if the pie crust is done. But, if you’re an experienced baker or want your pie to have an extra flaky crust, metal is a superior option. Pie crust is flaky because there are shards of butter in between the layers of dough. When heated, the butter melts, and the water in the butter creates steam, which gives the crust its layers and flakiness. Glass does heat up faster than fancy stoneware pie pans, but metal heats up even quicker, creating an evenly browned crust with loads of flakiness. And, with metal, you can place the pie crust in the freezer to chill the dough thoroughly before moving it to the hot oven, which is riskier with a glass pie dish, since it can shatter.

Do keep in mind that pie bakers are divided about what sort of pie dish they prefer, with a lot of recipes developed with glass pie pans. If you pick metal as your pie pan, your bake time might be less and need to be adjusted.

Tips for Baking in Glass Instead of Metal

If all you have in your household is glassware and you don’t wish to buy any metal pans, you want to adjust the time and temperature of the baking. 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. Keep in mind that glassware continues to retain the heat longer than metal pans, so you might want to also take the pan out of the oven slightly underdone and let the carryover heat continue to bake the dessert while it sits.

In the End, Use What Works for You