Learn Finnish: Taikina saattaa mennä pieleen, jos vuoka on liian pieni. - The dough might go awry if the baking dish is too small.

Pieleen is the illative (into) form of the word pieli (edge or doorpost). Mennä pieleen is a fixed idiom meaning to go awry or fail. Just like mennä rikki (to break) or mennä pilalle (to get ruined), the verb mennä is paired with an illative adverb to describe a transition into a negative state.

Could I use mennä pilalle instead of mennä pieleen in this sentence?

You could, but there is a slight difference in nuance. Mennä pieleen means the process or outcome goes wrong (the baking fails). Mennä pilalle means the physical item gets ruined or goes bad. If the dish is too small, the baking process fails (pieleen), rather than the dough itself rotting or spoiling (pilalle).

Why does the sentence use saattaa to express probability instead of the conditional form of voida (like voisi)?

While voisi (could) works here, saattaa specifically expresses probability or a realistic risk that something will happen. In a warning like this, saattaa feels very natural to a native speaker because it focuses on the likelihood of the failure, whereas voisi sounds slightly more hypothetical.

Does the word vuoka refer to any kind of bowl or dish used in baking?