Swap a thick glass dish for a thin metal tray and your roast potatoes brown sooner. The material decides how quickly food browns; batching decides how long the oven stays on. Below, we compare aluminium, carbon steel, stainless steel, silicone, ceramic and enamel, look at whether a dark tray cooks faster than a light one, and pick out the dishes that keep food hot once the oven is off.
What to look for
01Which bakeware material heats up fastest?
Thin metal trays heat fastest: aluminium first, then carbon steel, and both brown food sooner than glass, ceramic or silicone. Aluminium conducts heat several times better than steel, so a thin aluminium tray comes up to temperature quickly and spreads heat evenly. The Scoville Xtra trays are aluminium with a black non-stick coating and are oven safe to 260°C. Carbon steel trays, such as the ZENO 3-set and BEWOS trays, come next. Stainless steel, like the TEAMFAR cake tins, heats more slowly but gives steady results for sponges. Glass and ceramic hold heat well but are slow to warm through, and silicone, as in the Acidea set, browns slowest of all.
02Does a dark or light tray change cooking time?
Yes. Dark finishes absorb more of the oven's radiant heat, so food on a dark tray browns faster underneath than on a light one. That helps roast potatoes and pizza bases crisp sooner, but it can over-brown biscuits and delicate cakes, so check those a few minutes early. The NutriChef 8-piece set comes in Black Marble and Marble Cream, so you can choose the finish for the bakes you do most. The black Kitcheneur 4-pack (28cm to 38cm) and the black Scoville trays are dark options for roasting and crisping.
03Which bakeware keeps food hot after the oven is off?
Thick ceramic and porcelain dishes hold heat longest, so food keeps cooking gently for a few minutes after you switch the oven off and stays hot at the table. That lets you turn the oven off a little before the end of a lasagne or crumble. The WishDeco set is four white porcelain casserole dishes with handles, from 24.5cm to 38cm, listed as oven and microwave safe, so leftovers reheat in the same dish. Enamel dishes are thinner and give up their heat sooner, but the VG enamelware pie dishes (24cm, 26cm and 30cm) are sold as oven to table, which saves washing a serving dish.
04Which sets let you bake more in one go?
Sets with matching tins or several trays let you bake everything in one oven session, which cuts the number of times you heat the oven. Four TEAMFAR 6-inch tins mean all the layers of a sponge go in together instead of in two rounds. The ZENO 3-set lets you roast vegetables and bake biscuits on different shelves at the same time. Batching like this means the oven heats up once instead of twice. If you rarely bake more than one tray at a time, a large set adds little, so buy for the jobs you do most often.
Our top picks
Best for the fastest heat-upScoville Xtra 31cm & 35cm Baking
Aluminium heats up faster than steel, and this Scoville Xtra set gives you two aluminium trays, 31cm and 35cm, with a black finish that helps food brown and a NEVERSTICK coating for easy release. They're oven safe to 260°C and listed as dishwasher safe and PFOA free. Use the larger tray for a roast and the smaller one for biscuits or a compact oven.
Best carbon steel trays for everyday roastingZENO Baking Trays for Oven Non
ZENO's set of three non-stick trays is carbon steel, the next fastest to heat after aluminium, and is sold for cooking and roasting. Carbon steel warms quickly, so the trays suit everyday roasting and traybakes that need a crisp edge. They're listed as dishwasher safe; hand washing keeps the coating in better shape.
Best dark-finish set for crisp basesNutriChef Baking Tray Set
The NutriChef set has 8 stackable non-stick pieces in a Black Marble finish, covering cookie, loaf, pizza, muffin, cake, round and square pans. A dark finish absorbs more of the oven's heat, so pizza bases and cookies brown sooner than on a light tray. For delicate cakes, check a few minutes early.
Best for keeping food hot from oven to tableWishDeco Ceramic Casserole Dishes Set of
Porcelain holds heat for a while after the oven goes off, and WishDeco's four white casserole dishes (24.5cm to 38cm) have handles for carrying straight to the table. The deep rectangular shape suits lasagne and other bakes that keep cooking in their own heat. They go in the microwave too, so leftovers reheat in the same dish.
Best for filling every shelf in one bake4-Pack
Four black non-stick trays in 28cm, 32cm, 35cm and 38cm let you use every shelf at once and cover both small and large jobs. The dark finish helps roast potatoes and tray bakes crisp. Measure your oven before counting on the 38cm tray; the listing marks the set dishwasher safe.
Frequently asked
Does bakeware material really affect energy use?
Somewhat. Thin metal trays brown food sooner than glass, ceramic or silicone, so some bakes finish earlier. Batch baking saves more: fill every shelf, bake cake layers together and don't preheat longer than needed.
Do I need to preheat the tray as well as the oven?
Preheat a metal tray when you want a crisp base, such as roast potatoes or pizza, because a hot tray starts browning the food as soon as it lands. Silicone gains little from preheating, since it passes heat through slowly. For ceramic or glass dishes, follow the maker's instructions, as some shouldn't go into a hot oven empty.
Should I lower the oven temperature for dark bakeware?
For cakes and biscuits, check a few minutes early, and if the bases brown too fast, lower the oven a little next time. For roast potatoes and pizza, keep the usual temperature and let the dark tray crisp them. A light finish, such as the NutriChef Marble Cream set, suits bakes you don't want to over-brown.
Is silicone bakeware safe in the oven?
Food-grade silicone is made for oven use, and the Acidea set is listed as BPA-free and heat resistant. Check the maximum temperature on the listing before using it at high heat. Silicone needs little greasing, but it's floppy, so sit it on a metal tray to move it in and out of the oven, and expect slower browning than with metal.
Is aluminium or carbon steel better for fast baking?
Aluminium heats up and spreads heat faster, so it's the quicker choice for biscuits, roast vegetables and tray bakes. Carbon steel is a little slower but still much quicker than glass or ceramic. The Scoville trays are aluminium and the ZENO and BEWOS trays are carbon steel, and all of them are non-stick.