Oven baking dishes

Hot dishes from the oven can become a real masterpiece on the table of any culinary master. For the result to be as tasty as possible, you need baking utensils suitable for each specific recipe. All the nuances of her choice, the subtleties of use and care will be discussed further.

Features of ovenware

First of all, you need to have an idea of ​​the type of oven in which the cooking will take place. The most common are 2 types:

• gas;
• electric.

Both in the first and in the second case, cooking takes place with the help of exposure to heat, only the methods of obtaining it differ. In an electric oven, heating elements are responsible for this moment, which, when electricity is passed through them, heat the surrounding air to the baking temperature.

In gas ovens, heating is carried out by an open flame, which transfers heat in a closed chamber.

Hence, one of the main nuances when choosing the right dishes. In the case of a gas stove, the selected forms must have not only heat resistance, but also fire resistance.

Also, the purchased dishes must have sufficiently strong walls so that the surrounding high temperature does not have any negative effect on it, and the container itself evenly gives off heat to the baked products, keeping it after turning off the heating for some time.

The best is considered to be a thickness in the range of 0.6-0.8 centimeters. You can, of course, try to use less thick-walled dishes, but in this case it is necessary to constantly monitor that it does not deform from prolonged exposure to high temperatures and does not overcook the dishes.

Varieties of dishes

Knowing all the advantages and differences of this or that type of cookware, you can choose the best option for preparing even the most complex culinary delight. We will analyze all existing types of baking dishes further.

Cocotte

In its shape, a cocotte maker is a small ladle with a long handle. It is most often used in the preparation of portioned dishes, the most striking example is julienne. This dish is served hot, so a compact cocotte maker is the best option when preparing it. Also, in this dish, it is customary to bake roasts, vegetable stews, fish, all kinds of omelets and puddings, as well as recipes with cottage cheese.

Most often, cocotte makers are made of heat-resistant metals - steel or cast iron, but it is possible to find ceramic dishes as well.

Goose maker

The goose maker is a special case of a pan with high sides and the obligatory presence of a lid. Currently, it can be made of any heat-resistant material - from steel familiar to everyone, ending with glass or ceramics.

It is customary to bake not only poultry, but also vegetables or meat in a gosyatnitsa.

Note! Before purchasing, it is necessary to carefully study the heat resistance of the offered dishes and make sure that it is suitable for the oven used, since most often meat or poultry is cooked for a long time and material that is unsuitable in its parameters can deteriorate itself and lead to equipment failure.

Tazhin

Tazhin is a dish that came to European cuisines from Asia. Such utensils are in the form of a shallow container of a decent width with a high cone-shaped lid. The main highlight of tagine is the incomparable taste of dishes that need to be stewed or simmered for a long time.

The special shape of the lid collects the moisture evaporated during cooking and directs it back into the dish. Thus, tagine is an ideal tool for preparing food in its own juice. In this regard, it is customary to use such utensils when cooking vegetables, meat, poultry or fish.

Brazier

Dishes well known to all housewives. It can have a wide variety of shapes - round, oval, or rectangular. Most often, meat, poultry or vegetables are cooked in braziers. Best of all, they get French-style potatoes.

All modern materials are used as a basis for dishes - glass, ceramics, metal.

Baking tray

Probably the most common baking dish. It is a small oval, round or rectangular shape with small walls. As a rule, their width is slightly smaller than that of any other baking dish, so that when preparing dishes, you can shorten the time they are fully cooked.

However, here the main drawback follows directly - due to the absence of any covers on the baking sheets, you can slightly overexpose the dish in the oven, losing its juiciness. For this reason, it is most often customary to cook baked goods in baking trays, while when baking meat, vegetables or fish, the surface is most often covered with foil or heat-resistant bags.

Recently, silicone baking trays have also begun to appear on the market, which are excellent for making confectionery.

Clay pots

The history of using clay pots goes back more than one hundred years. Thanks to the use of natural clay in their material, excellent heat exchange is ensured, and the small capacity of the pots makes them an excellent tool for preparing portioned dishes. In most cases, these dishes have lids.

Forms

In addition to the many types of baking utensils, there are countless types of baking utensils in terms of shape. And not only round, oval or rectangular, but also wavy, or even curly.

Round tins are best for baking pies, cakes or pizza. Moreover, for bakery products, it is necessary to choose dishes with a height of about 7 cm, for other types, 3 cm will be enough.

Oval shapes are most often used for roasting fish or meat. Due to its elongation, such dishes are perfect for cooking whole dishes in them - duck, little pig, fish. The material is selected based on personal preference, but must necessarily correspond to the required heat resistance.

Rectangular dishes for baking in the oven are completely identical to the oval ones, but due to their geometry they can use the space of the oven more efficiently.

Wavy shapes are most often used when it is necessary to bake or prepare confectionery products with a non-standard appearance. Before placing the dough in the container, it must be thoroughly greased from the inside with sunflower oil to avoid burning or sticking of the edges of the baked recipe.

A particular type of wavy shapes - numerous curly ones. They can be composite and are most often made of silicone. It is very easy to handle such material, it is quite heat-resistant and versatile. Most often, sweet pastries are baked in the form of all kinds of stars, hearts or animal figures.

The answer to the question of which forms for baking in the oven is better is quite individual and depends in most cases on the final type of dish and the way it is served.

Other types

Most often, other types include split-type forms, which, due to their practicality and ease of use, are very widespread. Disassembled dishes are most often made for the preparation of confectionery; when baking fish, meat or vegetables, such dishes are not recommended due to the difficulty of maintaining juiciness during their preparation.

Types of materials

The great variety of materials used for baking also needs to be quite well versed. After all, not every chef will be able to answer the question of what kind of dishes can be put in an electric oven, let alone a common man in the street.

Next, we will analyze all the proposed tableware materials in order to use the best option for each dish.

Ceramics

Ceramic dishes are quite attractive in themselves and can be used as a way of serving the finished dish on the table. Modern manufacturers have learned to endow the material with sufficient heat resistance properties, but it is still not recommended to use extremely high temperatures for cooking.

Ceramics show itself best when stewing slowly, and after turning off the oven, the material retains heat for a long time, keeping the dish in the state of just cooked.

Of the main disadvantages of ceramics, the porosity of the material is most often called, due to which such dishes can absorb odors. Therefore, it is not recommended to leave ceramic molds with food for long storage. Such forms are very fragile, therefore, they must be handled rather carefully, and not to allow significant overheating, which can subsequently affect a decrease in the service life.

Silicone

Silicone has recently been gaining high popularity among lovers of bakery products. The material is strong enough and resistant to heat, but at the same time it is very plastic, therefore it is not suitable for loose dishes or recipes from fish and meat with a large weight of ingredients due to the lack of stability of its shape.

Silicone does not absorb odors and can retain food in the oven or in the refrigerator.

Note! This material is very easy to damage with a knife, so you need to be extremely careful when cutting cooked dishes.

Teflon

Teflon is not a separate cooking material, but a special coating on the metal base. Due to its properties, it allows you to cook many dishes without the use of extraneous fats, for example, vegetable or butter, lard.Thus, such dishes are perfect for lovers of dietary meals.

Note! Teflon cannot be used if the oven temperature needs to be over 260 degrees Celsius. In this case, the material begins to release compounds hazardous to health.

Steel

Steel is one of the most commonly used tableware metals. It perfectly retains heat, food does not burn in it. It has no restrictions on the baking temperature and has high wear rates.

When using lids, they are most often made of glass, this combination allows you to get the optimal utensils suitable for preparing almost any dish.

Cast iron

Cast iron is the oldest material used in cooking. It has good thermal conductivity and good non-stick properties.

However, such dishes do not have sufficient attractiveness, therefore, they are most often not used for table setting.

Another very significant drawback is the ability of the metal to absorb and accumulate fats on its surface, which eventually acquire carcinogenic properties. Also, such dishes can undergo rusting with prolonged exposure to moisture.

Glass

Glassware looks great and has a fairly high cooking versatility. The main nuance is that when creating it, heat-resistant glass should be used, so when buying such dishes, you need to check whether it is possible to use it for baking.

The material is resistant to even the most aggressive cleaning agents, including metal brushes. Such dishes can be placed in an electric oven without any doubts.

Note! When using glass, it is important to remember that even the most heat-resistant glass does not tolerate a sharp temperature drop.

Paper

Paper dishes are most often disposable. This makes it a great choice for those who are not used to cooking quite often. The surface of the paper does not need to be additionally processed, the food baked in it does not burn, and after removing them from the oven, the paper can simply be torn off from the dish, especially this technique is suitable for confectionery.

Foil

Foil is another convenient material for disposable baking dishes. It is not recommended to use the foil for a long time for baking at temperatures above 250 degrees, such material after cooking cannot be reused in most cases, however, if you urgently need to bake some dish, and there is no suitable utensils at hand, foil is an ideal option.

When deciding which forms for baking in the oven are best, it is recommended, first of all, to build on the frequency of preparation of a particular dish and the peculiarities of baking it.

How to choose the right ovenware

Choosing the most suitable dishes for themselves, they start from the following factors:

1. The required volume of the container. To feed a large family, it is better to immediately choose roomy dishes.
2. Furnace dimensions. This is also a rather important factor, because there is little sense in baking from dishes that will not fit into the oven.
3. The type of dishes to be prepared. Ceramics or glass are perfect for diet food. If you want to get a crispy crust on baked poultry, you cannot do without metal dishes.
4. The thickness of the walls of the dishes.The longer it is planned to use for cooking the dish, the greater this indicator should be. As mentioned earlier, the optimal thickness is 0.8 cm.
5. The height of the walls of the dishes. For confectionery and bakery products, it is necessary to use high dishes (7 cm or more), for fish or meat, a lower height of the walls is also suitable.
6. Suitability for a specific type of oven. If the oven operates on microwave waves, the use of metal utensils is prohibited, and the use of metal should be limited when cooking over an open fire. It is not recommended to overheat glass and ceramics too much (260 degrees and above) for a long time.

What can be cooked in the dishes

As mentioned earlier, dishes from poultry, meat, fish, vegetables are best suited for baking or simmering in the oven. If the recommended temperature is observed, it will not be difficult to bake pastry or bakery products.

How to care for such utensils

As a rule, no particular type of dishes requires special care. Except that caution must be exercised when working with Teflon, especially when using cleaning powder or metal brushes. Cast iron requires increased attention - its surface should be cleaned of burnt food debris.

In all other respects, the main recommendation is quite simple - thorough cleaning of the dishes with kitchen detergents after each use.

By following the care tips and choosing the right dish for baking according to the recommendations of this material, you can quite easily become the author of even the most intricate hot dish or baking.

Video: which form to choose for baking?