Best 9x13 pan - not pyrex/ceramic, pref not non-stick

[stripe]

Hello ladies

 

Can anyone please recommend a 9x13 baking pan to me? I have pyrex and ceramic for myself, but I need one that isn't breakable for occasional use, so I don't want to spend a fortune. A lid would be nice but is not a must. I would prefer not non-stick as the cake will be cut with a knife, and I don't want the coating to be damaged. I read reviews on Amazon and am now more confused than ever! If you have a nice one, I'd love to know it, otherwise I guess I'll be stuck with a foil pan from the dollar store. 

[zoobie]

I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008UA40/

 

But I found it at HomeGoods for less. :)

 

The metal will scratch with a sharp knife, but the pan is still useable. I use a plastic knife. The cake and frosting seem to stick less to plastic.

[pink&bluemommy]

Best pan ever (assuming quality is what it used to be, my pan must be over 10 years old).

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/Air-Bake-reg-Ultra-trade-Insulated-9-Inch-x-13-Inch-Covered-Cake-Pan/1016794155?Keyword=AirBake

[stripe]

Ooh, thanks, I will try to fit in going to Home Goods to take a look one of these days. (My local Bed Bath and Beyond does not, apparently, stock these pans. I have yet to search for a SINGLE item in store and find it in stock, and my local store is giant!) Anyway these ideas are great! Thanks so much.

[Lynnae]

Best pan ever (assuming quality is what it used to be, my pan must be over 10 years old).

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/Air-Bake-reg-Ultra-trade-Insulated-9-Inch-x-13-Inch-Covered-Cake-Pan/1016794155?Keyword=AirBake

I have one of those and love it!

[pink&bluemommy]

It looks like amazon also sells the air bake with prime shipping.

[kitten18]

I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00008UA40/

 

But I found it at HomeGoods for less. :)

 

The metal will scratch with a sharp knife, but the pan is still useable. I use a plastic knife. The cake and frosting seem to stick less to plastic.

That's what I would get. My best pan is an old, old, old hand me down from my mom and it looks very similar to that.

[stripe]

Thank you! How nice to wake up to even more lovely tips! :)

 

I managed to find the review online, too!

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1482-13-by-9-inch-baking-pans-slash-dishes

(don't you love the URL: baking pans slash dishes)

I was delighted that their review begins in the usual "your life depends on the decision you make about your baking pan" tone: 

 

At first glance it might seem as though any one of the generic-looking metal boxes on store shelves would do just fine. But you’d be surprised: Choose the wrong one and your brownies will be overbaked and dry at the edges, and the sticky part of your sticky buns will stick to the pan, not the buns.

 

And lest you think any old shape will do -- MAIS NON!

 

[D]ecades of experience have taught us that pans with straight sides not only produce bars with well-defined, professional-looking edges but also, and more important, ensure that batter sits level and thus bakes evenly. Consider a batch of brownies baked in a pan with rounded corners (we’ve all had them): Their thin, overbaked edges and domed, underbaked middle happen because the batter can’t pool as deep at the shallower curved edges of the pan.

 

What a great way to begin the day!

 

Okay, so do you think I *should* get another pan, which will end up getting scratched, or just buy some sort of metal plate or otherwise send cakes not in a pan. I almost never frost cakes, so I usually send 9x13 cakes or bundt type things.

[Guest]

 

Okay, so do you think I *should* get another pan, which will end up getting scratched, or just buy some sort of metal plate or otherwise send cakes not in a pan. I almost never frost cakes, so I usually send 9x13 cakes or bundt type things.

 

I have a glass 9x13 and a stoneware 9x13 for cooking and I use the AirBake pan mentioned above for just cakes and brownies. I have scratched it up over the last 13 years, so I think it's time to get a new one, but I love mine and for that price would totally recommend it!

[stripe]

I went to Home Goods, hoping to snag one of the ones you ladies recommended, but only found the Nordic Ware with lids in quarter sheet pan or giant roaster type size. I bought a Fat Daddio one, but I am not entirely sure it's what I want. I kind of was won over by the idea of a lid! I popped into a TJ Maxx, and they had absolutely nothing of value and a big long line so I steered right out. I did see an Air Bake with lid at another store but I couldn't remember if the one on Amazon was not non-stick; the one I saw in person was non stick. They had another cheapy one. Too many choices! So I bought one but not sure if I should keep looking and return it.