Your biggest and boldest baking dreams need to start with a blank slate: a rectangular baking dish!
This sleek beauty will be your loyal assistant as you ride off to your next culinary quest together, making big batches of casseroles and sweets galore.
As a dynamic duo, you’ll travel together through the flat, dark landscapes of decadent chocolate brownies, and scale over rugged mountains of carbs and proteins and rivers of melted mozzarella in a hearty casserole.
If you’re currently shopping for this basic bakeware, take a look at our review of Made In’s Rectangular Baking Dish!
With its chic and modern design, carefully chosen and crafted materials, and overall durability, it’s a serious option to consider for your next BIG adventure.
We’ll review its specs, the materials, available styles, caring and cleaning instructions, and more. Read on for all the delish details!
A Review of Made In’s Rectangular Baking Dish
The Basics
Made In’s Rectangular Baking Dish is part of the company’s line of French-made bakeware. Here is the current full collection, if you’re interested in updating other key pieces in your kitchen:
Each item in this bakeware collection has a clear place in the kitchen. For the Rectangular Baking Dish, this will be your best option for your bigger baking feats that require larger servings for meal prepping, parties, and larger family gatherings.
Made In’s Red Rim Baking Dish, available on Made In
It can be your ideal companion for preparing hearty casseroles, gooey mac and cheese, juicy crumbles, fluffy cakes, indulgent brownies, and anything else you want to super-size.
The baking surface measures 9 by 13 inches, and the total measurement is 11 by 17 inches.
The pan is 2.6 inches deep. With the handles, which are slightly upturned, the pan’s total height is 3.1 inches.
The maximum capacity is 5.3 quarts, and it weighs 6 pounds, 6 ounces.
The Materials
Depending on the style you choose, Made In’s Rectangular Baking Dish is crafted from either porcelain or a high-fired ceramic clay.
Porcelain
The company’s porcelain bakeware is available in the following styles: undecorated, red rim, and blue rim.
And the porcelain pieces are created from a clay mixture of three raw materials: feldspar, kaolin, and quartz.
The material is fired three separate times at varying temperature levels to produce pure white porcelain: once after shaping, a second time after applying the protective enamel coating, and a third time after the decorations are applied.
Made In’s Navy Rim Baking Dish, available on Made In
The interior, handles, and sides are enameled in a glaze that is free of cadmium and lead. This glaze helps to prevent food from sticking, and gives the finished product a nice shine. The bottom is not coated.
Porcelain is a highly durable, nonporous, and naturally nonstick material. It offers impressive high-heat performance – the dish is oven-safe up to 650°F.
It also is resistant to thermal shock, meaning it can withstand extreme and sudden changes in temperature.
Has your Pyrex ever completely shattered? Maybe because you didn’t let the pan cool down enough before washing it? That won’t happen here.
The thermal shock resistance is a convenient feature, especially when you are ready to cook a casserole that you prepped earlier. You can transfer your casserole directly from the refrigerator or freezer to the hot oven without needing to let the casserole sit at room temperature first.
High-Fired Ceramic Clay
The ceramic clay items are available in the following styles: slate blue and olive green.
Made In’s Olive Green Baking Dish, available from Made In
The full-color line uses the same three materials as the porcelain choices, but these are produced with less kaolin clay.
The clay is molded, sprayed with a protective enamel color, then baked. The bottoms of the ceramic pieces are not coated, and are left uncolored.
Compared to porcelain, ceramic is more porous, which means it will absorb more water. The company recommends thoroughly drying each piece after washing to maintain its overall quality after each use.
The ceramic pieces can withstand temperatures up to 482°F, lower than the porcelain options.
Made In’s Slate Blue Baking Dish, available from Made In
Though porcelain is harder and can withstand higher temperatures, ceramic is still a durable material. Like porcelain, the ceramic options are safe to use in the microwave or freezer, and it is dishwasher safe. It is also thermal-shock resistant, and its enameled surface is naturally nonstick.
And it’s pretty, too!
You can learn more about the making of Made In’s porcelain and ceramic items here.
The Styles
We mentioned the available styles in the previous section, and here they are in more detail. Made In’s Rectangular Baking Dish is currently available in the following colors:
- Undecorated (porcelain): pure white, with no additional artistic adornments
- Navy Rim (porcelain): features a thin, dark navy rim around the entire top of the pan
- Red Rim (porcelain): features a thin, bold red rim around the entire top of the pan
- Slate Blue (ceramic): deep blue color
- Olive Green (ceramic): deep green color
You can choose the best color to match your own design aesthetic, and match with other pieces if you already own other bakeware in the collection.
Handles
Imagine trying to remove a heavy macaroni and cheese casserole from the oven… without any handles on the pan!
It’s a nightmare none of us need to ever experience.
Made In’s Rectangular Roasting Pan has two sturdy handles, measuring 3 inches by 1 1/4 inches.
They are a practical feature, but I wish they were just slightly longer to have even more grip control.
Though I haven’t had any disastrous problems (yet), I’ve been obsessively cautious when I try to grasp them with bulkier oven mittens when cooking heavier casseroles.
No disasters, please. Knock on porcelain.
Save the Roast for Your Roasting Pan
Though you may be tempted to put a whole chicken in this vessel, I would recommend against this.
With its smaller handles and lack of a roasting insert, this item is aptly named a “baking” dish for a very good reason:
It isn’t intended for your dinner roasts.
A pan designed specifically for roasting should be used for larger applications of cooking big pieces of proteins. Most of them that are available on the market have more depth than the shallower pan. Find our review of recommended roasting pans here.
A rack insert is also an important accessory for roasting pans, as it creates separation between large pieces of proteins and the bottom of the pan. This allows for proper air circulation when roasting proteins, resulting in an evenly cooked main course.
Disappointed? Don’t be. The company sells a roasting pan with rack insert designed for these heavier savory assignments.
Cleaning and Care
All of the bakeware options described here are safe to clean in the dishwasher, but the company recommends handwashing in order to maintain as much shine as possible with no potential residue left behind from the dishwasher.
You can clean yours with warm water, soap, and a soft sponge or washcloth.
No matter if you have a porcelain or clay product, be sure to treat it gently when moving it! Bumping it around or storing it in a high-traffic part of your pantry only increases the chances that you will chip it.
And you want to also avoid using any sharp knives for cutting inside the dish, as this may scratch the glazed interior.
Warranty and Returns
All Made In products are covered for any manufacturer’s defects. Purchase includes a 45-day risk-free trial, with free returns within the contiguous United States.
Damage incurred from improper use or storage is not covered under the warranty.
Because the items are produced by hand, there may be some small markings or imperfections in the enamel – this is due to the glazing process, and is not considered a defect that will negatively affect the functionality of each piece.
A Big, Bold, and Beautiful Baking Basic
My house is literally overflowing with kitchen cookware, bakeware, appliances, and tools. Cabinet doors can no longer be shut fully. I’m starting to use bathroom drawers for extra storage.
You would think adding one more to the collection would be overwhelming, but with Made In’s Rectangular Baking Dish, it’s a different story!
Among the shrimp de-veiners, floral-patterned plastic plates, cheese boards, fro-yo popsicle molds, and waffle makers, I need something basic and as useful as this simply designed 9-by-13-inch dish created with thoughtfully crafted materials.
And it may be a bakeware item you need, as well! Read this review again, visit Made In’s website, and determine if this should be your next purchase.
Your next casserole awaits!
Looking for more than just bakeware? Interested in purchasing other Made In products? If you dig the company’s no-frills, simple and sleek designs, we have more reviews for you to read next:
Photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Product photos via Made In. Sample products provided by the manufacturer.
About Nikki Cervone
Nikki Cervone is an ACS Certified Cheese Professional and cheesemonger living in Pittsburgh. Nikki holds an AAS in baking/pastry from Westmoreland County Community College, a BA in Communications from Duquesne University, and an MLA in Gastronomy from Boston University. When she's not nibbling on her favorite cheeses or testing a batch of cupcakes, Nikki enjoys a healthy dose of yoga, wine, hiking, singing in the shower, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.
