The Best Pieces of Bakeware, According to Professional Bakers

Fat Daddio’s cake pans are far and away the favorite of professional bakers, recommended byClaire Saffitz,Samantha Seneviratne,Clio Goodman,Kaitlyn Wong, andOdette Williams, among others I’ve chatted with over the years. The standard round shape comes in every size imaginable, but a nine-inch is the most standard to keep around. Fat Daddio’s pans are made from anodized aluminum (as opposed to untreated aluminum). While both types heat quickly and evenly, “sometimes standard aluminum pans change color over time and you can get funky flavors,” Saffitz says. They’re also light silver, which helps ensure an even bake all the way through. Finally, they have straight sides. This makes it easier to run an offset spatula around their edges to release, makes layer cakes stack neatly,andcreates a nicer-looking final product.

It should come as no surprise that we’re recommending Fat Daddio’s loaf pan, too. The attributes are the same: anodized aluminum for even baking and a build that will last a long time. These pans come in quite a few sizes, but if you’re looking for one that will hold a standard recipe’s worth of batter or dough, the 7.75-inch will do it.

Strategist senior editorWinnie Yanglikes her Lodge cast-iron loaf pan for quick breads since it makes them “really well browned with crunchy sides and edges,” she says.

If you’re interested in a loaf pan that will give you cakes more akin to what you see in professional bakeries, Pastry chefKaitlyn Wongswears by King Arthur’s Baking Pullman Loaf Pan. The shape was created to make perfectly rectangular loaves (and then perfectly square slices) of pullman bread (which is also why there is a removable top piece). “They’re so tall, they give a good amount of flexibility with the rise, and they never overflow,” Wong says.

Nordic Ware makesa myriad of decorative bundt pans, each one more beautiful than the last. Some are more subtle updates to a classic ridged bundt, while others have indentations so intricate you wonder how you’ll possibly be able to free a cake from the interior. But that’s just it: According to the experts I spoke to, you always can. Bakers and cookbook authorsVallery LomasandPaola Velezpraise Nordic Ware for how it has somehow managed to create a vessel that cooks evenly and releases perfectly. “Flan, angel food cakes, pound cakes — they all come out beautifully,” Velez says. And thanks to their inherent design, “you don’t have to fuss around with frosting anything or layering anything or decorating anything,” Lomas says. Like the Fat Daddio’s pans, they’re made from aluminum — but they also have a nonstick coating (in this case especially welcome because of all the nooks and crannies).

People are likely to have a glass or ceramic 9-by-13-inch pan in their collection — and while that material works well for savory dishes like baked pasta, as well as baked goods like crumbles and crisps, it’s not ideal for cakes or bars, which have a more precise point of doneness. Glass and ceramic take a long time to heat up and cool down, which isn’t ideal for even cooking and often has dramatic carryover cooking. Instead, opt for an aluminum 9-by-13, like this one recommended by Seneviratne. It has straight sides and square corners, just like her preferred loaf pan, as well as a significant edge around the perimeter, helpful for lifting especially if you’re wearing oven mitts.

“The standard for recipe development is this nine-inch pie plate,” Seneviratne says, “but nobody has it at home. It’s like a weird secret.” Not only that, but ceramic pie plates aren’t uniform, so they tend to range in terms of what they hold, even if they say they have a nine-inch diameter, she says.

Not only is this Pyrex an ideal size, but it’s made from glass, which is the ideal material. “Most pies need to bake for longer than home bakers typically think,” says Saffitz. “With glass, you can monitor the browning on the bottom and sides.” Recipe developer and cookbook authorErin Jeanne McDowell, and Emily and Melissa Elsen, co-owners of Brooklyn’s pie shopFour & Twenty Blackbirds, endorse this extra bit of assurance, too, especially for beginners. Glass also promotes a fair amount of carryover cooking. While that can be the death of a cake, it’s actually helpful for a pie crust, which is hard to overbake.

Seneviratne says this is the only gimmicky piece of bakeware she’s into: an all-edges brownie pan. Yes, it’s nonstick — but for people who like the edges best, it doesn’t get better.

There are designated cookie sheets, which are basically sheet pans without the raised edge on one side (supposedly because this would allow you to slide them out onto a cooling rack easily). But no professionals I’ve ever spoken to think that works, and they prefer a standardsheet pan. These Nordic Ware ones are sturdy and durable and don’t warp in the oven (key if you’re baking on them). Like all bakeware made from aluminum, they distribute heat evenly. And although they’re not anodized and might get some discoloration over time (especially if you’re using them for regular cooking, too), your cookies won’t be affected if you lay down parchment.

Though this isn’t strictly a piece of bakeware, an enameled cast-iron skillet is ideal for baked goods that go from oven to stovetop like upside-down cakes, tarte tatins, and cornbread. The key here is the enamel coating, since the acid in fruit would strip the seasoning off a rawcast-iron skillet.