I bought some cheap baking pans coated with something (don't remember the brand) and it is already flaking off after just a few months use. So I only use them with an aluminum foil liner underneath the food. Seems most pans are being sold now with some sort of coating. I recommend avoiding all of those. I like my All-Clad (expensive but will last forever) It has a slick finish that cleans up well, even without a non-stick coating. And I love my cast iron skillets for browning meats.

If I'm totally off-base and ignorant of silicone you are asking about, please tell me about it, might be OK.

breakage issues for me,.....

but I found them impossible to clean properly. I have limited water and it often is not hot. It's just not possible to get them clean under these circumstances.

Works really well, but I'm not sure if it would work with the baking dishes.

I just can't adequately get grease/oil off no matter what I do (washing only by hand here).

I also don't grease/flour the muffin cups. They don't really need it

We have to run the generator to heat the water, so we often go without it.

I do my wash with salt water, then a fresh water rinse. Works for most everything, but not these.

Glad you got them to work for you.

Dawn would still probably cut grease even with less than hot water, but it may not be worth the hassle.

They work well, clean up easily, and I don't see any damage to the product (like the old flaking of teflon pans which would lead you to asking questions about safety...)

I am a little weird about them for the same reasons you are, but so far, so good.
And I do hand wash them. I don't want to steam any dishwasher residue onto them, if that makes sense.

No problems, easy to clean, thought it was the perfect pan.

One day, a sticky oily film appeared on it - inside and out. No amount of washing would remove it, not even a last desperate attempt at running it through the dishwasher.

I have a cheapo pan right now, trying to decide if it's worth it to invest in a NordicWare pan.

Did it happen when you were cooking? Or was it in storage that way?

When I went to put it away, it was sticky on the outside. So I washed it again. And it was sticky again. This happened a few times. Finally, it was sticky on the inside, too, so I tossed it.

I have the traditional Bundt shape, 15-cup, cast aluminum pan. Maybe you could get a pan on ebay?

As for the silicone molds, I'm not a fan. I've got one for a bunny cake and it's nigh unto impossible to remove that slightly sticky/oily whatever-it-is from it, even with Dawn and plenty of hot water.

It was just $2.95, marked down from $15, with free shipping.

http://www.dealgenius.com/p-102-lekue-silicone-bundt-cake-pan-blue.aspx?utm_source=10.25.2012+-+Deal+Nation&utm_campaign=Deal+Nation&utm_medium=email

(link in case anyone else is interested)