By Pauline Clements – UK Sales and Marketing at Nordic Ware.
Baking is both an art and a science. Whether you’re crafting a batch of gooey chocolate chip cookies or a delicate fluffy soufflé, the tools you use can significantly impact the outcome. Among these tools, bakeware plays a vital role in achieving consistent, professional-quality results. If you want to bake like a pro, it’s time to take a closer look at your bakeware.
Why Bakeware Matters
While recipes are an important part of the process, it’s the bakeware that transforms raw ingredients into delicious, golden creations. Poor-quality pans can lead to uneven baking, sticking, warping, or even burnt or soggy bottoms. In contrast, high-quality bakeware distributes heat evenly, maintains structure under high temperatures, and helps ensure your baked goods release easily from the pan time after time.
Professional bakers understand that good bakeware isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about performance. They rely on materials that conduct heat effectively to get perfect texture and even colour every time.
Types of Bakeware for Every Baker
To bake like a pro, it’s helpful to know what pieces are needed in your kitchen. Some essential pieces of bakeware include:
Baking Sheets and Cookie Sheet: Ideal for cookies, roasted vegetables, baking bread and much more. Rimmed sheet pans offer versatility and help prevent spills.
Cake Pans: Available in round, square, and rectangular shapes. Non-stick is not compulsory as you can bake on uncoated aluminium and achieve an even rise and easy release. Edd Kimber, the first winner of The Great British Bake Off, has spoken about his preferences in bakeware and says he always chooses light-coloured or reflective surface bakeware as the darker the pan the more uneven the heat distribution and the greater chance of over baking.
Loaf Pans: A must-have for bread and loaf cakes. These come in a range of sizes but usually 1lb/1.5Lb/2Lb with many recipes specifying one or other.
Muffin Tins and Cupcake Pans: These are perfect for portioned treats. Mostly used with Cupcake Cases or Muffin liners to make cleanup easy and elevate presentation. Some come with lids which make them even more multi-functional as you can prove dough, bake, store and transport with the trusty lid.
Bundt Pans and Specialty: For Bundts of all designs you need a heavy weight cast pan like Nordic Ware (who have the trademark on the Bundt name) to make sure the batter sinks into all the detail and turns out with the crisp design required.
Caring for Your Bakeware
To extend the life of your bakeware, always follow the manufacturer’s care instructions. Avoid using metal utensils on non-stick surfaces, and hand wash when possible. Storing pans properly and avoiding drastic temperature changes also helps prevent warping and surface damage.
The Right Recipe
There are lots of brilliant baking books out there and also many online sites with recipes – but it can be overwhelming. Whichever recipe you decide to tackle, make sure and check you have all the ingredients ready to go. For some ingredients like butter or eggs, these may be required to be at room temperature to get the best from the bake. If you’re looking to bake speciality cakes like Bundts then baker Melanie Johnson has a fabulous book called quite simply Bundt! This has 120 recipes covering every eventuality.
Final Thought: Tools Make the Baker
Anyone can follow a recipe, but to bake like a pro, you need the right tools. Investing in quality bakeware is one of the simplest ways to elevate your baking game. With the right pans, even home bakers can achieve professional-level results—crisp crusts, moist centres, and beautiful finishes that will impress every time.
About the expert
Pauline Clements has been immersed in the world of housewares for over 25 years, working with the renowned US bakeware brand Nordic Ware, creators of the iconic Bundt® pan. She has worked closely with leading names in celebrity baking across a wide range of styles and specialties.
