Why Pastry Pros Love Baking With Silicone Bakeware—Plus Expert Tips on How to Use It

Home bakers love to pull a tall Bundt cake out of the oven or serve a perfectly baked quiche to brunch guests. They rely on their baking pans and equipment to help them ace their favorite recipes and try out new ones. And some bakers say baking with silicone bakeware is a game changer. To find out if these flexible pans really make a difference, we spoke to baking instructors and chefs to get the inside scoop and learn when to use silicone baking pans and how to get the most out of them. 

What Are Silicone Baking Pans?

As their name implies, silicone baking pans (as well as mats and molds) are baking accessories constructed from flexible silicone material similar to plastic or rubber. “However, unlike plastic and rubber, they can withstand the high temperatures of an oven without damage,” says Trung Vu, chef-instructor of pastry and baking arts at the Institute of Culinary Education’s New York City campus.

When to Use Silicone Bakeware

• Individual or small-size cakes and pastries are when Trung uses silicone pans. 
• Delicate cakes like flourless cakes are a great candidate, says Stephanie Bishop, online chef instructor baking and pastry arts, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. 
• Intricate shapes are where silicone pans really come into their own, says Michelle Doll-Olson, senior culinary development manager at HelloFresh and author of Essential Tools, Tips & Techniques for the Home Cook.
• Savory baking and egg dishes like quiches benefit from the natural nonstick surface of silicone bakeware according to Bishop
• Beyond baking: mousses and gelatin desserts are perfect for silicone bakeware, says Bishop. 
• When molding chocolate, silicone molds are perfect.
• Cookies and macarons bake well when a silicone mat (often known as as a Silpat) is used to line the baking sheet. It acts as an insulator and promotes even baking.
  

The Benefits of Using Silicone Bakeware

It's nonstick: Perhaps the biggest perk of baking with silicone is that because it is nonstick, it typically eliminates the need for greasing or oiling pans. Because silicone bakeware is flexible and nonstick, unmolding a cake is hassle-free, says Bishop. But the pros of using silicone bakeware go beyond that key factor. Following are a few of the other benefits of using silicone bakeware, according to Bishop.

It comes in intricate shapes and patterns: Go beyond the square or round; silicone bakeware comes in a wide variety of shapes. Silicone baking pans are fabricated in intricate shapes and patterns not available in metal, giving the baker endless options, and because it is so flexible, cakes can take on ornate patterns and release from the pan cleanly.

It's easy to clean: Silicone pans are easy to clean in the dishwasher and store, and unlike metal bakeware, they won't chip, dent, stretch, or rust. 

It goes from oven to freezer: The material is safe to freeze and heat (check with the manufacturer to what degree and be sure it indicates that it is food grade), and it can go straight from the oven to the freezer. 

Cons of Using Silicone Baking Pans

Doll-Olson and Vu share some potential drawbacks of baking with silicone pans:

Doesn't brown the exterior: Silicone is an insulator and so cakes and baked goods do not color as well as in metal pans, which are a better conductor of heat. This is why many chefs prefer to use silicone bakeware only for small, individual-sized cakes. Larger pans exacerbate the heat and color problem. (Curious if silicone bakeware makes recipes take longer? See the section on adjusting baking times and temperatures below.)

Difficult to move: It’s wiggly. While silicone tends to bake very evenly, you need to use a sheet tray to stabilize it, which may cause it to heat unevenly. Plus, anyone who’s ever filled a mold and tried to move it to the oven on a tray knows how messy things can get.

Delicate: While silicone works in a hot oven up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, it shouldn’t be kept near an open flame as it will start to melt. And it can tear, so knives should not be used to release cakes from silicone pans (they generally aren't necessary).

Not nonstick for every recipe: Even though silicone bakeware is generally nonstick, certain recipes, especially those lower in fat, may stick a little. 

Pro Tips for Success With Silicone Bakeware

Compared to other baking vessels or surfaces, silicone bakeware is pretty low-maintenance. You don’t need to season it, and you can also pop it in the dishwasher for cleaning.

Before using for the first time: Simply rinse and wipe dry your silicone bakeware, and you’re good to go, says Vu. 

Cleaning: After using a silicone baking pan, rinse it and wipe it down again. Use a diluted or mild detergent only if needed, says Vu. Run it through the dishwasher if needed.

Drying: While you can leave it out on the counter for air drying, if you’re in a rush to put it away, Vu says you can pop your silicone bakeware into a warm oven for two to three minutes to dry it.

Storing: To store silicone bakeware, simply lie it flat; you can roll silicone mats if you’d like. Be sure not to bend or fold your silicone bakeware, as that can lead to damage.

Using: Always place silicone baking pans on a sheet pan before transferring them to the oven. Remember, because silicone bakeware is flexible, it becomes very difficult to move once filled.

Filling silicone bakeware: Doll-Olson and Vu both recommend piping batter into an intricate mold, saying it is the best way to prevent overfilling silicone bakeware and also to control the batter so it is poured evenly and that all interior cavities are properly filled. 

The exception to this method is when the cavity is large, then Vu says he just pours the batter. When filling a particularly intricate mold, Doll-Olson recommends a pastry brush to dab the batter in and tapping the mold after filling to release any bubbles.

Adjusting Baking Times and Temperatures

Home bakers often are concerned about baking times when they use silicone pans. Does silicone bakeware take longer to bake? Yes, silicone is an insulator and so doesn't conduct heat as efficiently as metal pans. This means it takes longer to get hot, which can increase the bake time of your product by a few minutes, says Bishop. 

She suggests checking your baked good at the normal suggested time for doneness; this ensures that you don't overbake it. Also, remember that you will most likely need to increase the bake time by five to 10 minutes. Do this in small increments to get the perfect bake, she says.

Our experts note that tweaking baking times is more of an art than a precise science. If you are not getting the color you want when you use silicone bakeware, experiment with raising the temperature and shortening the cooking time, says Vu. 

When You Should Grease Silicone Baking Pans and Molds

Silicone baking utensils are mostly nonstick. Bishop says their slippery nature and flexibility—which lead to easy unmolding—are two reasons she likes them so much. She generally does not grease silicone pans unless she is making a lower-fat recipe or using an intricate mold. 

If a silicone pan does require greasing, Bishop recommends lightly buttering the bottom and sides of the mold and dusting it with flour or cocoa powder, whichever suits your recipe:

1. Use a clean, dry pastry brush to cover the mold in a light coating of butter. 
2. Excess butter can cause your baked goods to be greasy. 
3. Then, add a few tablespoons of flour or cocoa powder, depending on the recipe. Use flour for a light cake and cocoa powder for a chocolate cake. 
4. Swirl the mold carefully, covering all the butter with the flour or cocoa powder.
5. Tap out the excess. 

As an alternative, Vu suggests misting the interior of a silicone baking pan with nonstick cooking spray for even easier removal of baked goods.