Can You Put Glass in the Oven?

Inexperienced bakers frequently ask whether you can put glass in the oven. Will glass in the oven withstand the cooking heat to break due to high temperature, or even worse, will it explode? Most people know that they can put glass casserole in the oven safely, but how about other types of glass dishes? Can glass containers for food storage and different types of glass cookware go in the oven without the risk of breaking?

Today we’re explaining all about oven-safe types of glass and their usage.

What is oven safe?

Oven-safe is a label denoting that the item can withstand high temperatures (up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celsius)) for an extended period, without damaging – melting, breaking, or exploding, so it can safely go in the oven.

Some of the safe items for the oven can be used for preparing food on the stove, too. They are usually made of ceramics, stone, stainless steel, or silicone. 

Oven-safe glass dishes are trendy cause they are non-reactive, which means you can put glass in the oven, and it won’t leak harmful chemicals into your food while exposed to high temperatures.

Can you bake all types of glass?

No, not all kinds of glass can go in the oven. Tempered glass is always safe to use, while non-tempered glass you shouldn’t expose to high temperatures. If the glass cookware you use is not tempered, make sure to look for an oven-safe label before you put it into the oven.

How do I know if my glass is oven safe?

Some dishes and glass containers are made out of heat-resistant glass, while others are not. Before putting a glass dish with food into the oven, look for a label that claims that the glass is oven safe.

This symbol is usually on the bottom of the dish, along with the temperature guidelines.

What glass is heat resistant?

There are a couple of kinds of heatproof glass that can go in the oven:

• Borosilicate glass is made out of silica and boron trioxide as main ingredients and it is the most heat-resistant glass.
• Tempered glass is made out of annealed glass. During the process of making tempered glass, glass is strengthened thru heat exposition. The process is called “tempering”.

Glass-ceramics are made out of solid material that has been glassed and crystalized, creating new material with outstanding properties.

Can glass explode in the oven?

Yes, unfortunately, glass can explode when used in the oven. This is the typical case, and it happens mainly for two reasons – people use glass cookware that is not heatproof or due to “thermal shock.”

Why did my glass bowl exploded?

If you used a heat-resistant dish and it still shattered in your oven, that happened due to “thermal shock,” which occurs when you expose cold glass to heat in a short period.

Thermal shock also happens when you put hot glass into a cold environment, such as the fridge.

How to prevent the glass to break in the oven?

There are certain precautions you can do:

• Don’t put oven-safe glass cookware on the stove, because it will immediately be exposed to high heat. 
• Preheat the oven before you put glass dishes into it.
• Don’t put cold glass into the hot oven – let it stand for a bit at room temperature.
• Don’t pour cold liquid into the meal you’re preparing in a hot glass dishes in the oven.
• If you’re baking some food, potato and chicken, for example, make sure there are no empty surfaces of glass dishes – pour some water or broth to cover it.

At what temperature does glass break in the oven?

The glass that is not heatproof will break at temperatures higher than 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius). Oven-safe glass, such as Pyrex, can be exposed up to 932 degrees F (500 degrees Celsius), but be careful – thermal shock could easily cause breaking.

Most glass manufacturers suggest a temperature limit. It’s usually between 350 and 500 degrees F (always look for a label on the bottom of the dish before you put it in the oven) – which means you can expose oven-safe glass to 400 degrees, 425 degrees, 450 degrees, and mostly 500 degrees when used in the oven.

What is tempered glass?

“Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tension” – according to Wikipedia.

Tempered glass is not used only in cooking and baking; its application is versatile – it’s used in passenger vehicle windows, aquariums, shower doors, diving masks, as a cell phone protective glass, etc.

Is tempered glass heat resistant?

Yes, tempered glass is heatproof and can withstand five times higher temperatures than regular glass. Tempered glass can withstand constant temperatures up to 475 degrees F.

Can heat break tempered glass?

When exposed to high temperature (>500 degrees F), tempered glass can weaken and shatter, but even when it shatters, tempered glass shatters safely – it will burst into thousands of tiny pieces that won’t explode all over your oven.

How can you tell the difference between tempered glass and regular glass?

Tempered glass goes thru a lot of processing, so when you touch it, it is smooth all over, and it is specially polished on the edges, while “normal” glass has unperfect edges.

Also, standard glass breaks into large sharp pieces, while tempered glass breaks into thousands of tiny particles that are relatively harmless.

Tempered glass is also much more potent and durable than regular glass.

Type of glass	Temperature
Tempered glass	470 degrees F
Non-tempered glass	Please do not put it in the oven!
Borosilicate glass	400 degrees F

What type of glass does IKEA use?

Ikea glass products are made out of borosilicate glass. The manufacturer says that their glass products “can handle conditions that are a bit too tough for ordinary household glass. It’s very impact and scratch-resistant and withstands rapid temperature change, allowing you to take it directly from the freezer to the oven – or vice versa.”

Can you put Ikea glass in the oven?

Ikea 365+ glass food containers and baking dishes are safe to use at high temperatures in the oven. Oven-safe products are labeled and equally suitable for baking in the oven and serving.

Is Ikea glass heat resistant?

Yes, Ikea glass is heatproof. Their glass can safely go to the oven, but you can also expose it to low temperatures in the freezer or fridge.

What is Pyrex glass?

Pyrex is a glass manufacturer whose glass products are made out of borosilicate, with low thermal expansion. They first used it only in laboratories, but later it expanded to kitchen supplies.

The type of glass this manufacturer uses is durable and heat-resistant. It can tolerate temperature change and doesn’t break so quickly due to thermal shock. Also, it’s an electrical insulator.

Is the Pyrex oven safe?

Pyrex has multifunctional purposes – You can use it for cooking and baking (in the oven and microwave, too), but also for serving and freezing food. 

Therefore these dishes are entirely oven-safe and can be put in preheated oven.

Keep in mind that sometimes these dishes come with plastic lids. You cannot put plastic lids into the oven – they will melt at high temperatures. Use plastic covers for storage only.

Can Pyrex go straight from fridge to the oven?

It’s considered safe to put Pyrex bakeware from the fridge in an adequately preheated oven, but we don’t recommend doing that. Extreme temperature changes might not shatter your glass dishes, but they could cause micro-cracklings that damage your dishes.

Instead of putting it directly from the oven to the freezer (or vice versa), wait until the dish comes to room temperature and then put it in the oven or the fridge/freezer.

Also, it would be best never to put dishes on the stovetop – extreme heat from the stovetop could easily cause the glass to shatter.

Can I bake in Pyrex at 450?

No, don’t put Pyrex at 450 degrees. Pyrex can go in the oven, but the higher temperature it can stand is 425 degrees F. Do not exceed this temperature, or your bakeware could go thru thermal shock and shatter.

Will cold Pyrex break in the oven?

Pyrex glassware is suitable for food storage in the freezer. The manufacturer claims that their glassware can easily take oven temperatures – it can go directly from the freezer to the oven preheated to 300 degrees F.

This temperature will allow the glass to adjust to the high temperature that will follow.

Why does Pyrex break in the oven?

There have been cases of Pyrex baking glass dishes breaking in the oven due to sudden temperature changes. Pyrex’s safety and usage instructions say the following “While the glass is designed for temperatures typically used in baking, it can break when exposed to the direct heat element while the oven is preheating.”

Also, hot Pyrex dishes shouldn’t be covered with damp towels or put on wet surfaces, as they could easily shatter.

How do you stop Pyrex from exploding?

There are a few things you can do to prevent your Pyrex from exploding:

• Avoid sudden temperature changes.
• Do not cover Pyrex bakeware with a damp cloth or towel.
• When you take the dish out of the oven, put it on a dry cloth or metal rack to cool down.
• Pyrex glass bakeware is not suitable to be used on the stovetop, under the broiler, in the toast oven, or on a grill.

Is soda glass harder than Pyrex glass?

Pyrex glasses are made out of borosilicate glass. Borosilicate glass is more robust, complex, and durable than soda glass. Therefore, soda glass is not stronger than Pyrex – it is weaker.

Can you use a Pyrex dish to bake a cake?

Yes, you can use Pyrex dishes for baking a cake. Pyrex can tolerate temperatures up to 425 degrees F, perfectly suitable for baking cakes or brownies.

Keep in mind that your cake will bake faster in a glass dish than it would in the metal baking tray. Also, don’t forget to oil the dish and preheat the oven before putting the glass dish in it.

Can you put a cold glass in the oven?

It depends on the type of glass and the temperature difference. You can mostly put oven-safe glass dishes from the fridge to the oven, but you cannot put them from the freezer to the oven, as the temperature difference is too big. This goes vice versa – You shouldn’t place hot glass dishes in a freezing environment, such as a freezer.

Citations:

• https://wigglywisdom.com/can-you-put-glass-in-the-oven/
• https://www.quora.com/Can-you-put-glass-in-oven
• https://kitchenseer.com/are-glass-containers-oven-safe/
• https://prudentreviews.com/can-pyrex-go-in-the-oven/#:~:text=in%20the%20Oven%3F-,The%20Short%20Answer,put%20them%20in%20the%20oven.