| |
Tips for Buying Bakeware
For some, baking is a profession. But for the vast majority, it’s a joyous escape from a hectic schedule and busy life. Whether your specialty is cakes, pies, muffins, cookies or whatever else, having the right bakeware at home is crucial to churning out delicious treats. Some long-time bakers have their preferences when it comes to materials and the like but if you’re just getting started, you should educate yourself on the differences between them.
Your first choice, Ceramic Bakeware, takes time to warm up but once it does it is able to retain heat inside for long periods of time. The heat is distributed in the dish evenly which helps to avoid partial burnings. Ceramic pieces offer quite a bit of color and style variety, more so than with other materials, which allows people to serve the baked products directly in the dish they made them in. One thing that is very important to remember is that you can never use ceramic products on an open flame. It can only be used inside an oven. Also if you decide to serve food in it, be careful with metal utensils, since the surface of the dish can be easily scratched and damaged.
Metallic Bakeware can be used for many different types of pastries and baked goods, particularly muffins and pound cakes. When determining the quality of metal dishes you should always look at the finish. The darker the finish the better it will absorb heat, thus leading to better browning of the food. Perhaps the biggest plus with metallic bakeware is that it’s always non-stick. Brownies, muffins and the like stay true to form as a result, without any crumbling or disintegrating when removed from the pan. Non-stick surfaces are also very easy to clean.
Thought not always as common as ceramics or metallics, glass bakeware is a popular choice, particularly when baking pies. Glass items allow you to see the progress of your food without taking it out of the oven. Therefore these dishes are ideal for baked items that can burn easily. Similarly to ceramics, the heat is retained well by glass dishes and is distributed evenly. However, glass bakeware warms up faster and holds heat longer so you should lower the temperature at which you bake by 20° or 30° F. Glass bakeware is also very easy to clean and does not stain.
Silicone BakeWare is still a fairly new addition to the market. These products are very flexible and allow muffins, brownies and cakes to be easily and conveniently removed. Silicone products are different from any other form of bakeware in the sense that they do not absorb and spread heat but rather allow the heat to transfer directly to the food. Therefore as soon as you take the baked goods out of the oven the cooking process fully stops. Silicone pieces can withstand temperatures ranging from negative 50° F to almost 600 ° F. It is not only suitable for ovens but also for freezers and even microwaves.
Once you decide which material is suitable for the baked goods you are planning to make, you should focus on getting the right size and shape. You have a lot of freedom when it comes to these things and what you pick should depend on your personal preference and the level of your creativity. A regular baker’s kitchen should include at least half a dozen different pieces so look around and do your homework to figure out which materials and shapes are going to offer you the most flexibility.
|
|
