When to Bake With Glass, Ceramic, and Metal Pie Plates—and How to Choose the Best Pan for Your Pie

When we talk about baking Martha-worthy pies, we often focus on the perfect crust, fillings, and baking techniques. While each of these elements certainly can make or break a pie, one less-discussed factor is what you'll bake your pastry in: the pie plate. How do glass vs. metal pie pans measure up? What about ceramic pie plates?

When baking any kind of treat, the material the baking dish is made of impacts the final result—​​and the pie pan is no different. So if your sweet or savory pies aren't coming out picture perfect, consider what vessel you're baking them in. Metal, glass, and ceramic all conduct heat differently and will have varying effects on the outcome of the crust. What's more, they're available in different sizes, shapes, and depths, which can also affect your recipe. It may sound scary and complicated, but we promise, it's not.

Metal Pie Plates

The champion of flaky, crisp, golden crusts, a metal pie pan is a no-frills, low-cost option every baker should have on hand. Usually constructed from aluminum and sometimes referred to as pie tins, metal both heats and cools quickly. (Other metal options include cast iron and enamel-coated steel pie pans.)

The Upside

• When it comes to baking pie dough, the speedy heat conduction helps bakers achieve both the quintessential flaky crust and a golden one fast, making it well suited for recipes that call for blind baking (or pre-baking) the pie shell.
• Because metal retains heat, it is also perfect for crisp cookie crusts.
• In addition to being light and easy to carry, metal tins can safely go from the freezer to the oven and be placed under the broiler—some glass and ceramic pie plates can potentially shatter when exposed to quick temperature changes, so if you love to prep recipes ahead, metal could be the best choice for you.

Other Considerations

• Pies that require a longer bake time, such as double-crust pies, might be better suited for glass or ceramic pie plates that don't heat as fast. Still, in a pinch, metal can do the job.
• Some pie tins have a nonstick coating which can come in handy, although a properly baked pie should have a crispy, flaky, golden crust that slides right out of the pie dish whole, which would render nonstick unnecessary.
• If you're going this route, opt for lighter-colored metal pie pans as darker ones promote browning due to greater heat absorption, which is too much for pies.

Glass Pie Pans

Glass pie pans are akin to an insurance policy. Bakers love them because they provide a window right into the doneness of the pie crust; just look and see if the crust and sides are turning golden brown. And there are other advantages.

The Upside

• Glass heats up gently and evenly, priming the pie for a consistent, but slightly slower bake than metal delivers—factor in additional baking time.
• It is also relatively inexpensive and light, which makes it the perfect in-between pie pan for anyone just building their cookware collection.
• Glass pie plates are usually made of either tempered or borosilicate glass, with the latter sturdier and less likely to break.

Other Considerations

Bakers often don't realize that glass can shatter, even if you don't drop it. But it can be easily avoided. What causes this calamity: Sudden changes in temperature—such as transferring the crust from the freezer to a hot oven or broiling the pie—can cause breakage. Note that borosilicate glass (Pyrex, for example, is a type of borosilicate glass) is much more likely to hold up in these circumstances.

Ceramic Pie Plates

By far the prettiest of the bunch, ceramic pie plates come in beautiful colors and fun shapes. Some are so lovely that they double as serving pieces. That said, there are more variables to consider when weighing ceramic pie pans vs. glass or metal.

The Upside

• Typically made of porcelain or stoneware, ceramic heats up more slowly than glass or metal, but it retains that heat quite well.
• To best capture its heating capability, bake the pie in the lower third of the oven, closer to the heat source.
• Some bakers choose ceramic for longer baking pies, so the bottom crust isn't golden before the filling and top crust bake.

Other Considerations

• One pitfall of ceramic is that the dish size can be inconsistent. Ceramic pie plates are often larger and deeper than the standard metal and glass pie plates, so recipes might have to be adjusted to fit their volume, and ceramic plates need to bake a bit longer than glass or metal.
• When it comes to pie dough, some bakers feel ceramic conducts heat too slowly, which inhibits the flakiness of the crust.
• Ceramic should be safe to go from the freezer to the oven, and also under the broiler, however, this is not universal, so check the manufacturer's instructions.
• It's also important to consider use: Ceramic pie plates weigh more than glass and metal, making them a challenge to get in and out of the oven.
• More food for thought: Ceramic pie pans are usually more expensive than glass or metal iterations, so they are more of an investment in your future baking.