Loaf Pans

Loaf pans are plain, deep rectangular pans used for baking bread and pates. These pans are generally used for making breads and so they are also called bread pans. Long narrow baguette pans for French bread are usually made of tinned or blued steel.

Baking loaf pans come in assorted sizes and are usually made of tinned steel, cast iron, aluminum or non-stick material. The large standard size for a 900g loaf measures 23x13x7cm and the medium size for a 450g loaf measures 20½ x10x6½cm. Among a range of various sizes special mini loaf pans are available to make delicious mini loaves for family or friends. Mini loaf pans are great for baking gift items such as sweet bread.

Besides making breads loaf pans are also used for making tea cakes and meat loaves. Special meat loaf pans are available for making delicious meat loaves. Meat loaf pans have gone through a long period because of its disposable nature. For making breads, the pans should be greased with corn oil, butter or margarine. For tea cakes and meat loaves, the base should also be lined.

Lining of Loaf Pans
Loaf pans can be lined with baking parchment, waxed paper or brown paper.

• Cut an oblong strip of paper wide and long enough to allow for the depth of the pan.
• Place the pan on the center of the paper
• Trace a line around the bottom of the pan.
• Remove the pan.
• Fold the rectangle paper into quarters, aligning the pencil marks.
• Trim paper cutting along outside rectangle.
• Make cuts from the outside corners of the paper to the corners of the smaller rectangle.
• Lightly grease the pan with melted butter.
• Open the paper and place it well in the interior of the pan.
• Brush the paper with melted butter.

Types of Materials used for Loaf Pans

• Cast Iron Pans - Cookware made from cast iron retains heat well and provides valuable iron to your diet. Cast iron loaf pans heats evenly, is inexpensive and is an ideal heat conductor.
• Aluminum Pans - These are made of flimsy thin aluminum. The interior surface of each pan is finished with a coating system that allows foods to release easily and allows cleaning of the pans to clean very easily also.
• Anodized Aluminum Loaf Pans - These have superior heat conductivity. These produce a good brown crust while baking.
• Pyrex Pans - These are widely used for making loaf of fresh homemade breads and for making loaf cakes. These are easy to clean and every time they come out clean with a sparkling surface.
• Paper Pans - Paper loaf pans are most attractive and greaseproof. There is no need to grease these pan, one can directly pour the batter and bake. These pans can bake only upto 450 degrees.