De bakplaat is heet, maar met ovenwanten is die veilig vast te houden.

Because bakplaat is a de-word in Dutch. Nouns in Dutch take either de or het, and this is something you usually have to learn with the noun.

So:

• de bakplaat
• not het bakplaat

This matters later in the sentence too, because the pronoun that refers back to it is influenced by the noun’s gender/category.

Bakplaat usually means a baking tray, oven tray, or metal tray/plate used for baking.

Literally, it is made up of:

• bakken = to bake
• plaat = plate / flat metal sheet

Depending on context, English translations can vary a bit, but in this sentence it refers to the hot metal tray you would take from an oven.

In maar met ovenwanten is die veilig vast te houden, die refers back to de bakplaat.

Because bakplaat is a de-word, Dutch often uses die as a pronoun meaning that one / it in this kind of sentence.

So:

• de bakplaat → die

This is very common in spoken and informal written Dutch.

Yes, in many contexts hem is also possible, because bakplaat is a de-word and can be referred to with a masculine/common-gender pronoun.

For example:

• De bakplaat is heet, maar met ovenwanten is hij veilig vast te houden.
• De bakplaat is heet, maar met ovenwanten is die veilig vast te houden.

However, die is very common in everyday Dutch when referring back to a previously mentioned de-word thing. It can sound a bit more natural and conversational than hij/hem for objects.

Because Dutch often leaves out the article when talking about something in a general, instrumental way.

Here met ovenwanten means something like:

• using oven mitts
• with oven mitts on

It does not mean a specific pair already identified as the oven mitts. If you said met de ovenwanten, it would sound like you mean a particular pair that both speaker and listener already know about.

So:

• met ovenwanten = with oven mitts, using oven mitts in general
• met de ovenwanten = with the specific oven mitts

Dutch often places other information first for emphasis or flow. Here, met ovenwanten is moved to the front to highlight the condition under which it is safe.

The basic idea is:

• Die is met ovenwanten veilig vast te houden.

But Dutch allows:

• Met ovenwanten is die veilig vast te houden.

This fronting is very normal. Once met ovenwanten comes first, the finite verb is must come next because Dutch main clauses follow the V2 rule: the conjugated verb is in second position.

So the structure is:

1. Met ovenwanten
2. is
3. die
4. veilig vast te houden

The verb is vasthouden, a separable verb.

• vasthouden = to hold / grip / keep hold of

Dutch separable verbs often split apart in sentences:

• Ik houd de bakplaat vast.
• Hij houdt hem vast.

In an infinitive with te, the prefix and verb also split:

• vast te houden

So:

• vasthouden = full dictionary form
• vast te houden = to hold

That is why vast is not attached to houden here.

Because Dutch uses te + infinitive in constructions like this one.

The pattern is:

• iets is makkelijk te doen = something is easy to do
• iets is moeilijk te begrijpen = something is difficult to understand
• iets is veilig vast te houden = something is safe to hold

So te houden is part of a fixed kind of structure after adjectives such as veilig, makkelijk, moeilijk, lekker, and so on.

In English, we often just use to:

• safe to hold

Dutch does something very similar here.

Veilig is an adjective meaning safe, and it describes the action of holding the tray.

The phrase veilig vast te houden means:

• safe to hold
• more literally, safe to keep hold of

So the sentence says that although the tray is hot, using oven mitts makes it safe to hold.

You can think of the structure as:

• X is veilig te + infinitive

Examples:

• Dit mes is veilig te gebruiken. = This knife is safe to use.
• De pan is met een doek veilig vast te pakken. = The pan can safely be grabbed with a cloth.

Yes. Dutch often leaves that implicit in this kind of construction.

Die is veilig vast te houden does not explicitly say who is holding it. The meaning is general:

• it is safe to hold
• one can hold it safely
• you can safely hold it

This is very natural in both Dutch and English.

If Dutch wanted to make the person explicit, it could say:

• ...maar met ovenwanten kun je die veilig vasthouden.
  • ...but with oven mitts you can hold it safely.

That version is a little more direct and explicit.

Yes, it is natural, though many speakers might also choose a more direct version in everyday speech.

Your sentence:

• De bakplaat is heet, maar met ovenwanten is die veilig vast te houden.

A very common alternative would be:

• De bakplaat is heet, maar met ovenwanten kun je die veilig vasthouden.

This version may feel simpler to learners because it uses the clearer pattern kun je ... vasthouden.

Both are good Dutch. The original sentence is slightly more compact and a bit more descriptive in style.

Because heet means hot, while warm means warm.

A baking tray from the oven is normally heet, not just warm. So:

• heet = hot
• warm = warm

In the sentence, heet is a predicate adjective after is:

• De bakplaat is heet.

That is the normal way to say The baking tray is hot in Dutch.