Which cooks faster glass or metal

Pound cake is a high-sugar, high-fat formula that takes more than an hour to cook all the way through. As this lineup of cakes shows, reaching for glass or metal or stoneware will change the way the cake bakes. The shapes of these pans are different, with glass having the widest span across the top. It's interesting to note that the dome of the glass-baked cake is the lowest; that's a function of slower heat transfer.

The taller tops of the metal and stoneware cakes are a result of the heat traveling faster from edge to the center, activating the leavener before the center set and sending the middle upward. The cross-section of these cakes are a surprise at first. I expected the glass slice to have the darkest, thickest crust, but the reverse is true. On further reflection, I realize the insulating properties of the glass protect the bottom edge to a degree.

The metal and stoneware pans have darker edges; as the heat moves through the batter, it helps the tops get higher, but the sugar and fat in the formula cook more efficiently and get darker where they're in contact with the pans. King Arthur Flour recipes are tested in metal pans, for their baking efficiency and accuracy for size. Glass pans' dimensions can be all over the place try taking a measuring tape to the store next time you shop; you might be surprised.

Stoneware composition varies too much to rely on for testing different levels of conductivity and sizes are often not exact. That said, any pan is the right pan if it helps you put baked goods in the oven. The hard edges we see here are more pronounced in high-sugar, high-fat recipes; your casserole or bread pudding are less likely to be adversely affected. Stoneware just takes some getting to know; once you learn how your pan bakes, you can make any adjustments that work for you.

And you can always reach out to the Baker's Hotline , if you're not sure where to start. Let us know what your favorite baking pan is made of, and what you're baking in it, in the comments below.

She does demos, appearances, and answers food and baking questions from all quarters. I will lower the temp by 25 degrees as suggested and cook 10 minutes longer.

Will check as needed. Wish me luck! What metal loaf pan do you use and where can I get it? My current metal pan is from Chicago Metallic which is folded rather than moulded so it's corners and ends are not tight enough to keep batter out of them. I have to use a toothpick to clean them.

Hi Jerry! We really love this loaf pan for bread baking and general cooking. It has a non-stick coating and keeps food from sticking to it. The pan you describe with the folded edges is for baking bread. I discovered this too when I tried to use it for a batter and it got in the folds.

Had to buy seamless pans on Amazon or at Walmart, etc. You need seamless pans for batter, folded pans are ok for dough. I notice that a particular stoneware pan pictured above produced a nicely browned cake. As you've mentioned, stoneware pans can be a bit tricky. So, I'm wondering where you got this stoneware pan from. Thanks for sharing in advance! Additionally, metal pans can withstand higher temperatures than glass. Thus, metal pans are great for achieving nice, even browning especially on foods that won't be in the oven long, like cookies or biscuits.

Metal pans are equally convenient upon exiting the oven, considering that we generally want to cool our baked goods off as quickly as possible in order to proceed with eating them. One thing that's important to remember with metal bakeware is that the color and coating of the pan will absolutely impact how its contents cook.

Dark colored metal pans absorb more heat and will ultimately cause your baked goods to cook faster, and can result in over-browning on the exterior.

Same goes for pans with a dull or matte finish. Alternatively, light colored metal pans with shiny finishes will retain less heat and are typically preferable for most baking projects. In fact, many professionals opt for high-quality aluminum baking pans to ensure the best results possible. The final quality you need to keep in mind with metal is that it is reactive with highly acidic foods, and you'll want to avoid having such food items come into direct contact with the pan.

For example, baking a berry cobbler or crisp with no bottom crust is better handled with a glass baking pan. Using a metal or cast iron pan could result in discoloration of the fruit along with an unpleasant, metallic flavor. Glass bakeware is heavier and slower to heat than metal, but once it's hot…it retains that heat for much longer.

So when using a glass pan to bake something like a cake or batch of brownies, you may find that the sides and bottom are brown at a much faster rate than the interior cooks. A similar issue to what you can face with dark colored metal bakeware. When you use a glass pan, the glass heats up gradually, but once it's hot, it tends to hold its temperature more steadily, according to the U. Department of Energy. This matters because when you're baking something, your oven goes through heating and cooling cycles.

As your oven goes through a cooling cycle, a glass pan is better able to maintain its temperature. In turn, the foods you're cooking absorb the heat faster, and cook more quickly, according to the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension.

The temperature of some metal pans fluctuate more as the food cooks, and that can extend the cooking time. Metal pans begin to cook a food more quickly, according to the U.

Department of Energy, but because metal also heats and cools more noticeably, it can extend the cooking time regardless. The color of a metal pan makes a big difference.