Food researcher and intense cooking enthusiast, Jill Waldbieser, did some in-depth study on the best pie pan for turning out the best pies. And here’s what she found after talking to dozens and dozens of professional bakers out there.

First and foremost, the kind of pan you use MATTERS. Your pan choice is one of the simplest ways to level up your home pie-making experience. The material from which a pan is made has a huge impact on how a pie turns out.

Jill says, “While it’s true that with enough skill and know-how, you can use any type of pie plate and bake a great pie, for beginners and less frequent pie bakers, the wrong pie pan can definitely make your job harder! Some materials hold, distribute, and retain heat better than others. These factors subtly affect how a pie bakes, the mouthfeel of the pie, and how pleasant it is to eat.

“For instance, some pans can trap moisture under the filling, leading to the dreaded soggy bottom, every pie baker’s nightmare. You want a pan that conducts as much heat to the bottom of the pie pan as possible, as quickly as possible. Moisture needs to evaporate before it has a chance to soak into the bottom layer of dough so that the outcome is a perfectly crisp and flaky shell all the way through.”

Considering this criteria, which kind of pan best achieves these optimal results? Size-wise, a 9-inch diameter is the standard and best for a pie pan.

Material-wise, ceramic and stoneware pans are the worst. Why?

• They hold heat longer than any of the other choices (so they will keep a warm pie warm on the table through dinner). But what makes them great heat insulators also makes them terrible conductors of heat. They take the longest time to transfer heat from the oven to the bottom of your pie, and as a result, are the absolute worst offenders when it comes to producing soggy-bottom pies. Boo and hiss!
• They stick, making it tricky to remove a “clean” slice from the pan.
• They’re less durable and don’t do well with extreme temperature changes.

Glass pans also don’t cut it. Why?

• They don’t encourage browning as well as metal.
• Crusts are more susceptible to sticking.
• Like ceramic, less durable and don’t do well with extreme temperature changes.

Cast iron pans are pretty good. Why?

• They don’t stick.
• They turn out a crisp, evenly-browned bottom crust.
• They’re durable.
• But only “pretty good” because they’re heavy.

Disposable aluminum pans are pretty good. Why?

• They do a great job of evenly baking the crust.
• Perfect for gifting a pie—no return is necessary.
• Clean-up is easy—just toss it. (Which is also a downside when you consider the environmental load these create.)
• But only “pretty good” because they’re thin and flimsy, so over-baking is a worry.

Metal pans are the very best and highly recommended by professional bakers. Why?

• They are the perfect conductors of heat—they’re champs at crust browning.
• They cool down quickly when they come out of the oven, so the crust doesn’t continue to bake and get overdone.
• They’re durable; they handle temperature shocks like a champ. You can freeze them, you can throw them on a fire pit or BBQ grill, they won’t explode if you set them from the fridge to a hot pizza stone in the oven. They won’t crack or chip if they get knocked in transit.
• Metal pie pans also tend to be the most nonstick.
• They typically have a lower price point.

Finally, when choosing a metal pan, the darker the better, Darker pans conduct heat more efficiently than new shiny metal. So, grandma’s old dark pan is just what you want! If you have one, lucky you!