The Type Of Baking Dish You Should Use For Fruit Crumble
Whether you define your baked fruit dishes as cobblers, crisps, or crumbles, the concept is essentially the same thing: Fruit coated in a layer of sweet buttery goodness. Whether you like your crumbles in the summer, filled with fresh peaches and topped with vanilla ice cream, or during the autumn full of hand-picked apples and cinnamon spices to warm your belly, the crumble is a classic dessert.
The Oxford Companion to Food states that the crumble was first created during World War II filled with fruit and covered in a crust inspired by an Austrian streusel using butter, sugar, flour, and warm spices (via Bon Appetit). And since its invention, it has taken the baking world by storm. The problem is that with so many variations out there, using different kinds of fruit, sugar, topping blends, and baking temperatures that it is nearly impossible to give a one-size-fits-all crumble recommendation, except when it comes to baking dishes.
Make sure it all pans out
Yes, there is a right and a wrong pan to bake your fruit crumble in. Believe it or not, the kind of pan or baking dish you use regardless of what you're baking affects your food. Even the color of your baking pan will make a difference when it comes to how your desserts turn out (via Circulon).
According to "Diet & Nutrition, A Holistic Approach" by Rudolph Ballentine (via NDTV Food), the shape of your baking pan will dictate how your food cooks. The deeper the pan is, the more moisture it will retain. The shallower the pan, the more moisture is lost to evaporation. Since a fruit cobbler is naturally a super moist bake with all that juicy fresh fruit, you must not use a deep-set dish. Southern Living describes the perfect crumble as having a crisp, crumbly top with a set fruit filling below and warns that if you use a too-deep dish, you are more than likely going to create a fruit stew full of too much moisture. No one wants a runny crumble, so be sure to use a shallow dish while baking.