1,459 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

Circles vs. moulds tins

If you like to bake or make quiches, pies etc. you must surely have one or more pie pans at home, in different diameters and perhaps materials.

They are indispensable, without them there is no way to make beautiful pies, and they work very well, but you have another option, instead of moulds, that is pie rings.

12 K 5/5 (15 reviews)

Keywords for this post:Pies Tarts Circle Moulds Tips

Last modified on: October 2^nd 2020

For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend

Circles vs. moulds tins

cercles

As their name indicates, the circles are simple circles, made of stainless steel, which exist in different diameters, but unlike a mould, a circle has no bottom (yes, this is not an extraordinary statement) so it must be placed on a baking sheet, protected by a sheet of baking paper, or silicone (silpat), before baking.

Before continuing, just 2 words of baker's vocabulary :
-"rolled-out pastry": Piece of dough that is rolled out and used to line a mould/circle
-"line (with pastry)": Action of lining a mould/circle with an abaisse

So on one side we have the classic pie tin, which you put in the oven directly or on a baking sheet, and on the other side the circle, which must be placed on a baking sheet.

Which is better?

The circle has many advantages:

- The baking is better, more regular and faster because of the absence of a bottom, more direct contact of the pastry with the heat
- Unmoulding is very easy, you just have to remove the circle from the top and then slide the tart into its serving dish (breaking a tart when taking it out of its mould is a very very frustrating moment!)
- It is very easy to clean, dishwasher safe
- If you go for it carefully, you'll get very elegant and professional right-angled pie edges
- It costs less than a mould

As you can see, it's almost all advantages, that's why pro pastry chefs all use circles, and you can do the same at home.

fond de pâte bords droits

There is only one case, where the mould is preferable, and that is if you are making a quiche, or a tart with a lot of cooking juice, like a tomato tart, or a fresh plum or blackberry tart for example, in these cases having a mould (rather than a circle) that will retain the cooking juice even if you have a leak in your pastry case is very appreciable.

tarte aux tomates

I didn't go into detail, but as for the moulds, there are circles for tarts, of all sizes in fact, and square or rectangular shapes, the pastry cooks speak then rather of "frames".

cadres

Another quite recent option, the circles are said to be micro-perforated, i.e. pierced with hundreds of small holes that improve the baking process by distributing the heat better.

cercle microperforé

As always for the material, do not hesitate to put the price, it is an investment on the duration, and to go to provide you in the stores for professionals rather than in the ray kitchen of the great surfaces.

To sum up: Try the circles instead of the pie tins, once you get the hang of it, you will appreciate the difference.

Lasts posts

Your oven in "proofer" mode

In the bakery, proofing is a crucial stage in the process of making light, plump breads and pastries. During proofing, the yeast ferments the sugars present in the dough, releasing carbon dioxide which forms bubbles. This process allows the dough to swell and aerate, guaranteeing a soft, light...
September 27^th 20243,1405

The right size of zucchini

When you buy zucchini at the market, you're often offered a wide variety of sizes, from very small to very large. But which ones to choose? Here are a few tips.
September 9^th 20243,4815

The (small) miracle of béchamel sauce

Making a béchamel sauce is going to confront you with a little miracle that happens every time: You pour milk over a roux, it's very liquid, you stir over a low heat, and then all of a sudden, miracle, the sauce sets, it thickens, you've got your béchamel. Let's see what happened.
August 27^th 20243,9394

Pastry doughs

To make a classic tart, you'll need a pastry of course, and if you don't use puff pastry (normally reserved for "fine", in french, tarts), you'll have a choice of shortcrust, shortbread, sweetcrust or "à foncer". Let's take a look at the differences between these four.
August 16^th 20244,0154.4

A few tips on homemade ice cream

If you make ice cream at home, which is a very, very good idea, you'll find a few tips and tricks in this article that should make your life easier. Combined with the site's ice cream recipes, they'll help you improve your production, to the delight of everyone around you, children first.
August 11^th 20244,0585

See all posts Random post RSS feeds

Other pages you may also like

Fruits which can ruin your jelly

There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...
March 6^th 201371 K4.0

What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?

This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
February 7^th 2017123 K 14.1

Candied fruits: don't get ripped off

Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.
June 21^th 201757 K 24.2

The golden-brown finish on puff pastry

Let's take a look at the tricky matter of producing puff pastry with an attractive, golden-brown finish. French pastry chefs call this "dorure" (literally, "gilding"). Behind this quirky term there lurks a real problem (and the solution): when using puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) for a pie, or...
February 8^th 201842 K 24.6

Is it really necessary to cream egg yolks?

Let’s try and answer a question that crops up in cookery and patisserie, even if it verges on the existential: do the egg yolks in a custard recipe really need to be beaten until pale, or not?
February 28^th 201839 K4.3