9 Baking Pans Every Baker Should Have

A great baking pan is invaluable. It can help you create marvelous baked creations. With proper care, your baking pans will last an incredibly long time as well.


I have baked hundreds of cakes and used numerous baking tins. From all the time I have spent in the kitchen, I have a list of baking pans that I use the most. These are great additions to the pantry of an apprentice baker and even the advanced baker. 

These pans will be fantastic if you are going to be trying new recipes within and outside your comfort zone.

Below is my list of baking pans every baker should have:


8 or 9 inch Round Pans (2-3 pans)

This is the standard baking pan for most cake recipes you can find online. This is why it is the first on this list. You can use an 8 inch round pan instead of a 9 inch and vice versa. The only difference will be a slightly higher or shorter cake and a longer or shorter baking time. 

Except you absolutely need it, I do not recommend getting both the 8 and 9-inch pans. Get either one.

9x13 pan


The standard baking tray, perfect for brownies or cakes. Most brownie and tray bake recipes require the use of a pan this size. A 9x13 baking pan is perfect for events or outings where you need a large dessert.

 There is a large variety of 9x13 pans: glass, ceramic and metal. I prefer the metal pan because it has straight edges suitable for frosting and layering. Glass and ceramic dishes have rounded edges that are not great if you want to stack cakes. This a pretty big pan that will produce 24 small servings.


8x8 inch pan


The 8x8 baking pan is perfect for baking half of a recipe meant for a 9x13 baking pan. If you need a small batch of brownies or cakes, use this pan. Perfect for the home baker, this is a baking pan every baker should have in their arsenal.


Loaf Pan


I have 4 loaf pans and I recommend every baker has at least 1 in their kitchen. A 9x5 loaf pan is quite common. This pan is great for bread and other yeast recipes. However numerous baked goods can be made in loaf pans as well. I bake quick bread, cakes, biscotti and smaller quantities of blondies and brownies in loaf pans. 

This baking pan comes in glass, metal, and ceramic so choose whichever works for your needs. I use metal because of the straight edges.

Loaf pans are deeper than most round or square pans. This will cause an increase in baking time if you bake a cake in a loaf tin.

Removable bottom pan

This is my pan of choice for sponge cakes and cheesecakes. The pans with bottoms that can be detached make easy work of bringing some desserts out after baking. This, however, is the one pan where a careful selection is necessary. So many of this kind are not sealed tight enough when closed and cause oven spills. Read the reviews before purchasing this particular style of baking pan.

Angel Food Cake Pan

If you are into light, fluffy, cloud-like cakes, you should have this baking pan. Created to ensure delicate cake batters rise very high and stay high. These pans have a hole for inverting the pan after baking. This ensures that the delicate cake does not collapse as it cools.

 If you do not wish to use the hole for cooling, some of this pan come with spokes at the sides of the pan. These spokes hold the pan upside down after baking as well. The removable bottom some angel food cake pans have also make it very easy to take the cake out of the pan when it's cooled.
You can bake any type of cake in this pan as well.

Bundt Cake Pan

A bundt cake pan has a tube in the middle. It comes in a variety of designs but does not have a removable bottom. If you love trying new recipes and baking single layer cakes, this pan will be a great addition to your collection. 

Some bundt pans hold as much as 15 cups of batter, this is great for parties or meets and greets. These also reduce the baking time of some recipes because of the ring in the middle which ensures great heat circulation. 

This cake pan can take an effortless recipe and makes it look elegant. Decorate a bundt cake with a light glaze or dusting of sugar.


Cupcake Pans

What is this list without cupcake pans? Trash!
Okay, cupcake pans are a must-have for every baker. Apart from helping you create miniature, moist, delicious, cakes, these are essential for testing smaller batches of a recipe. 

When I am trying out a new recipe, I bake a quarter of the recipe in cupcake pans. This means I can share out samples, I can try only a little amount of the recipe and with great cupcake liners, washing up is a dream.

Cookie sheet

This is  probably the first type of baking pan you should buy. This is because of the versatility of cookie sheets. Contrary to the name, you do not use them for baking cookies alone. A high rimmed cookie sheet can be used to make a jelly roll, thin cake or bars. 

Cheap cookie sheets will warp easily in a hot oven. Get a cookie sheet of good quality if you want it to last for a while without warping or rusting.

All these are baking pans every baker should have in their kitchen. Caring for these pans is an entirely different issue. Soon, i will list my tips for cleaning and caring for your baking pans.

Here is my list of tools every baker needs. If you have any additions to make to this list, please leave it in the comment section.

All images used were gotten from Amazon.

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