Best Silicone Bakeware

You have probably seen or at least heard of some of the silicone bakeware products that are the latest craze for fans of kitchen gadgets and utensils. There is an immense range of silicone bakeware products available from cake pans, loaf pans, muffin pans, brownie square molds as well as round, square and even triangular baking cups.

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You can also find silicone mats that you can use as non stick pan liners or dough mats for your countertop, spatulas that don't melt when you use them with hot foods, as well as sets that offer value for money on the numerous items they contain.

You can even find speciality molds in shapes such as stars, daisies, shells and butterflies. These silicone bakeware products come in a variety of colors, from red, blue, green, purple, pink and many more.

If you don't know why they are the best thing since sliced bread, please scroll down to find out why you need some, whether they are safe and how to use them. 

If you just want to know which ones to buy, here are our top 4 picks:

Silpat silicone baking mats offer the answer to many of your daily cooking tasks. Their many purposes include being used as a work surface for food preparation as well to cook on or as liners for baking sheets and tins as they can withstand temperatures up to 480 degrees F. You will no longer run out of parchment paper to use with your baking trays and you won't need to clear up the mess from under or over flouring while kneeding or rolling doughs as they will just peels off of the mat without cracking. Being made of food grade silicone, they are of course non stick and do not require any messy greasing before use. Your cookies or other baking will just slide off easily, with no sticking or mangling to be seen. They are easy to clean by simply wiping in hot soapy water and can be used up to 3,000 times in the oven, microwave and freezer. They can be stored flat or rolled up so are super flexible; once you've had one for a few days you will wonder how you ever survived without one. Alternatively it would make a great gift for anyone who is into fun kitchen utensils.

Spatula's are great tools for anyone who spends a lot of time in their kitchen. Their uses were always limited though when made of plastic or rubber as you could not get them hot without them bending out of shape and needing trimming with scissors. This has all changed with the introduction of the silicone spatula and why stop at one when you can get three, all in different shapes and sizes for any job you can come up with. The silicone is flexible and stain and odor resistant and is safe to use doing everything. The handles are  made of plastic and fit your hand very nicely. You can scrape cake mix from bowls as well as hot food from frying pans and can then wash up these great little tools in your dishwasher.  They have holes for hanging with your other utensils or can just be stored in your kitchen drawers. They are well made and durable, so will be money well spent for all the work they will do.

Who doesn't love chewy and scrumptious brownies fresh from the oven? But who loves cooking them and trying to get them easily out of the baking tin? No one - until now. This silicone mold means that your sticky and delicious brownies will not actually stick to the mold. It is flexible so releasing your goodies from their molds is effortless and you won't find half the edges stuck to the pan. The 24 cavities mean that you have the perfectly cooked and sized individual portions instead of a crusty edge and a soggy middle. You can also make different flavor brownies by adding different things like nuts and marshmallows to individual cavities as you like. These bite sized morsels can be whisked up quickly and easily and all thanks to this great mold, which can also be used for other cakes, jellies or even making your own individual portions of baby food. As with all silicone bakeware, these molds can be used in the freezer, microwave and oven and this one can also go in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

Save yourself the hassle of buying and the planet having to dispose of hundreds of paper muffin cups and treat yourself to this set of 12 reuseable silicone muffin versions. They are 3" in size and fit into standard muffin pans or can be placed individually onto a cookie sheet where they hold their shape nicely. They perform their function very well and can be used for cupcakes, muffins, brownies or really anything you can think of. Once baked, your cakes or jellies are easily removed from their flexible containers and look attractive with their crinkled edges. As usual they are freezer, microwave, dishwasher and oven safe. This set comes with six red and six blue cups that stack inside one another for easy storage.

• This type of bakeware does not need greasing, flouring or oiling as it is inherently non stick and unlike other non stick products, this type does not wear off over time. Doing away with the extra greasing means your end result should be lower in fat.
• Removing your baking from a silicone baking sheet is easy. You just gently pull the sides or give the mold a slight twist and your baking will come away easily. There will be no more coaxing out with a knife. This applies to whatever you are cooking whether it is bread, cakes, sticky flapjack and even pizza. You will no longer be able to wreck that great look you have achieved in the tin, by removing it from the tin!
• Due to its non stick nature, it is super easy to clean as nothing sticks to it so there are no burnt on clumps. No soaking, no scrubbing, what could be better?
• It ensures whatever you are baking cooks evenly and quickly and avoids burnt edges or bottoms.
  
• It can be used in the freezer, microwave, dishwasher and oven, so you can cook something, store it in the freezer and then reheat it all in the same pan.
• It will not rust, stain, dent, scratch or retain odors and is very strong and flexible so will not break if dropped.
• It offers good value for money given its longevity compared to other bakeware and ease of use.
  
• It is lightweight and bendy so is easy to pack up and stuff in any available space to take away with you.
  
• It stores easily as it cannot get damaged. It can be folded into the smallest, awkward spaces and will still spring back into shape when you next want to use it.
  
• It comes in a wide range of designs for any number of purposes, so you will be able to find the right pan/mold for the job.
  
• It comes in a wide range of colors so will match your decor if you decide to store it on show.
  
• It does not clatter like metal trays so you will not be heard when you decide to russle up some cookies in the middle of the night.
  

Nothing is too good to be true, but silicone cake pans come closer than most. Here are a few downsides to consider:

• If you use knives to cut your cake whilst in the pan, you may ruin it, so slide it out first and cut second.
• It cannot be used on direct heat, such as a gas hob.
• Silicone molds and pans need to sit on a metal baking sheet when they are put in the oven as due to their very flexible nature they will otherwise bend and spill your raw mixture all over the floor.
• Although most are dishwasher safe, due to their lightweight they do tend to get tossed around a bit and so you may just find them sat upright full of water at the end of the cycle.

All silicone cookware should be made of food grade silicone which is FDA approved. This should be detailed on the packaging so double check before purchase. It will also indicate the maximum oven temperature that can be used with the product so make sure you adhere to this.

Greasing
You may find it hard to stop your life long tradition of greasing baking trays, but when you take the plunge you will be pleasantly surprised when the silicone's releasing magic comes true in front of your very eyes. Some bakeware does recommend a spray of oil to be used, but most don't so check your packaging before use.

Flexibility
The inherent flexibility of a silicon pan, which is great for removing your cooked produce, also makes it very flimsy. This may have put a good number of cooks off of using it despite the attractive colors and designs on offer and the hype it is attracting. The answer to this flimsiness is to sturdy up your pan or mold by placing it on a standard baking tray before filling and using this as support when placing in the oven. This may seem like you are doubling up but the ease with which you use, decant from and clean these silicone beauties more than makes up for having to place them in the oven on a rack or tray.

Oven temperature
Whilst most silicone bakeware will withstand temperatures up to 500 degrees F., not all will, so double check your packaging first for the manufacturer's recommendation.

Removing your creation
Once out of the oven, place your bakeware on a cooling rack to cool completely which will take less time than a traditional pan. To remove your creation, you can then either invert the pan and gently press on the bottom while peeling back the mold or give a slight twist and pull the sides away. Just do not use a knife - you will not need to anyway.

So get over your initial thoughts of "That can't go in the oven"' and buy a silicone bakeware set to achieve perfect results every time.