I started this review of baking pans several years ago and never posted it. I just sent my sister some of my older review posts and want to send her this one as well, so here it is!
Now that I reviewed my favorite Mixing Bowls, Measuring Cups & Spoons and Spatulas to bake with, it's time to talk baking pans. I have a lot of the Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch baking pans and love them. I will admit, I absolutely hate anything that is gold colored...except these! I also usually do not like nonstick kitchen items, but I find them easier to use when baking. I just don't cut baked goods while they are still in the pans to avoid scratching them.
Over the past several years, I started collecting my own bakeware so by the time I got married we didn't need any baking pans. These pans are expensive, so I used my Discover card reward points to get Williams-Sonoma gift cards and used those when I saw this bakeware on sale. They oftentimes go on sale for 20% off, and you can also find some of these items in the outlet stores. Williams-Sonoma also gives a generous 15% military discounts (in stores only).
Sheet Pans
The Half Sheet Pans are my biggest ones and the ones that gets used the most because I use them for cookies. I bought four of these so I can bake a lot of cookies at once. There are Cookie Sheets, but I did not buy those because I prefer to have sides on my pans when baking cookies. There is also now a Three-Quarter Sheet Pan that is larger than the ones I have, but I do not have these and am not sure if I would need them. I find the Half Sheet Pans to be big enough for my cookie baking. When I want to use a smaller pan, I have two Jelly Roll Pans. Sometimes I will use these for pizza, or when making french fries or anything else that does not require the larger pans. I recently purchased the Quarter-Sheet Pan Set of 2, which fits perfectly into the Breville Smart Oven Pro that we received as a wedding gift.
Muffin Pans
I don't bake muffins too often these days, but when I do I have two of each of the 12-Well Muffin Pans and 24-Well Mini Muffin Pans. I also recently purchased two of the 6-Well Muffin Pans to use in the Breville Smart Oven.
Cake Pans
Cake pans come in all shapes and sizes. I have two 9" Round Cake Pans, two 8" Square Cake Pans (perfect for baking brownies), and a 9"x13" Rectangular Cake Pan.
Loaf Pans
I also have two 1-Pound Loaf Pans, and a Set of 4 Mini Loaf Pans.
Shortcake Pans
Although this is no longer available, I also have two Shortcake Pans.
These were the first Goldtouch pans that I bought and using them
prompted me to buy a bunch more! The little indent in the top makes them
great for shortcake and other similar recipes (like the extra batter
for Mary Ann Cake with Mascarpone and Berries).
Cooling Rack
This is the only Goldtouch item that I don't particularly like, the Cooling Racks. I bought three of them to go with my half sheet pans to use when baking cookies. While they store well in those pans (and were intended to be used in them), they have scratched them up. They also tear up my kitchen towels when drying them. Recently I bought some of the Steel Cooling Racks, and I like those a lot more.
There are several other Goldtouch pans available, but that is the collection I have. I love baking with these pans. Below are a few other pans that I enjoy baking with from various other brands and stores.
Springform Pan
I have always loved baking cheesecakes, and the Kaiser La Forme Springform Pans are great. I have both the 9" and the 10" since some of my cheesecake recipes use different amounts of batter, and I found out the hard way that the 9" was too small for one of the recipes I make a lot! I also sometimes make more than one cheesecake for a party, so it has been helpful for me to have two pans. I also have a Set of 4 Kaiser La Forme Mini Springform Pans, and honestly have no idea why I bought them, since I have yet to use them! It seemed like a good idea at the time since cheesecake is so rich to make smaller ones and possibly freeze some, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.
Bundt Pans
I went through a phase of baking bundt cakes so I have a few different Bundt Pans - a heart shape one that is really pretty and (obviously) great for Valentine's Day and an Anniversary one that is great for any type of bundt cake. My sister Lisa also has the Heritage pan which I also always liked but do not have myself.
Angel Food Cake Pan
A few years ago I purchased two Angel Food Cake Pans that are really great for my Aunt Paulette's pound cake recipe and a coffee cake recipe that my family makes. I've also used them to make Chiffon Cake.
Madeleine Pan
I have two Madeleine Pans that I used once to make a delicious Honey Madeleine recipe and just never got around to making them again. These pans are small (take up little room to store) and very easy to clean.
Mary Ann Cake Pan / Charlotte Cake Pan
I don't know how I came across this pan, and I've only used it for one recipe that I've made a few times, but it was so delicious. This Mary Ann Cake Pan could definitely be used for other recipes. I also have a Charlotte Cake Pan that is very similar. These pans are great for making a cake that you can put a custard or other type of topping on, or fruit. They are very pretty and would also look nice with no topping on the cake.
Pizza Pans
After I got married, I purchased a bunch of pizza pans in various sizes that I thought were the same as the ones my mom has. It turns out they are not (even though they were from the same website she ordered hers from and had the same product number). They are a lot more thin and flimsy than hers are and I don't like them at all. So I recently tested out three 14-inch pizza pans - OXO Nonstick, USA Pan Nonstick, and Nordic Ware Traditional. I made three pizzas at the same time and baked each separately for the same amount of time so I could really compare the pans. The pizza completely stuck to the Nordic Ware pan, even after oiling the pan like I always do. The USA Pan worked fine, but I didn't like the nonstick coating on it. It just had a weird feel to me that I could not get used to. I liked the OXO pan the most and ended up returning the other two. The OXO pan is nice and heavy and seems like really good quality. It is pretty similar to all the Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch pans that I am used to using. I also purchased three more of the OXO pizza pans so now when I want to make pizza for my family I have a few nice pans to use!
Well, after re-reading this review that I wrote several years ago and updating it a bit, I realize how much I miss baking and wish I had more time to spend in the kitchen. Luckily, when I can get around to it, I have lots of great pans that are just waiting to be used!
