The best baking pan depends on what you’re planning to make. Light-coloured aluminium or aluminized steel is ideal for baking cakes, cookies and quick breads. Glass or ceramic baking pans are better suited for foods like pies, custards and casseroles. Aluminium pans have high thermal conductivity and heat and cool quickly to prevent edges from burning. Glass and ceramic pans heat more gradually and are best used foods that need to be slow-baked.

To choose the right baking pan or baking sheet, match the material and shape of the pan to what your recipe requires. For example, if you’re baking cookies, look for a cookie sheet that’s flat on 3 sides with one small lip to grab. This helps circulate the heat evenly and you can slide the cookies off easily. Rectangular or square pans are better suited for baking brownies because they help the brownies hold their batter when baking and shape when cut. Glass pans cook and bake food more gently, while aluminium pans conduct heat more quickly. For bakers, shop for baking tools so you can create the desserts you want with ease.

A baking sheet is a flat, shallow metal tray that has very low rims or no rims at all. It’s used for roasting foods and baking treats like cookies. They’re designed to maximize heat and airflow, so everything bakes evenly. A baking pan has deeper sides between 1 and 3 inches (2.54 cm and 7.62 cm). They’re designed to hold batters, liquids and casseroles while they bake and cook.

To grease a baking pan, apply a solid fat like butter or shortening along the inside of the pan. Then, you can dust it with flour or use parchment paper to prevent your food from sticking. Then, when you’re ready, fill the pan with your batter and place it in the oven. When your food or baked goods are finished cooking, you can use plastic wrap and wax paper to keep your food fresh.