The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Pyrex Bake-A-Round

aytab's picture
aytab

Pyrex Bake-A-Round

Just found one of these in the very back of a cabinet, it belonged to my Mother-in-Law, anybody ever use one? Do they work as advertised? Just wondering, I thought it was interesting.

Aytab

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven
dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Got to get one to impress my friends what a great, if anal,  shaper I am :-)

Hope you don't have to break the glass to get the bread out :-)

aytab's picture
aytab

Thanks Mini, I should have run a site search first, but I was so excited about this weird little gadget that I just couldn't contain myself. I love any kind of odd-weird-strange kitchen gadgets, I should probably start a museum, and this thing was just really exciting!!!!

 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I know the feeling!  Round bread has it's appeal too!   or even round cake!

I wonder what a braided loaf would look like?  Or lots of thin ropes twisted baked in the tube?  What about weaved dough?  Nuts?  Seeds?  If you cover the ends with foil you don't need to steam the loaf -- it steams itself!   Round Chocolate Rye?   Pumpernickel?  

How about coating the greased glass tube with butter & seeds first (or coconut or herbs) and let the dough rise to meet the sides?  Ooooh tricky!

What about painting the inside with various flour paste colors and then letting bread rise inside.  (I suppose this could be done with bread pans as well.)  The bread crust comes out decorated!  

What about two colors of dough, one log inside with another blanketed around it and baked in the tube?  I would head for Floyd's sweet potato bread.  I can think of an Hawaiian version using purple yams as well.  Or swirled or rolled up together?  Swirled together to make an "earth" when sliced, the crumb shot round like our planet showing continents and oceans?   Or checkerboard with light & dark bread ropes.  How about a pie chart?   

What about muffin dough?  Can you see a long round muffin sitting in on your jelly roll plate?    

sharonk's picture
sharonk

Mini, you're unstoppable! so many exciting ideas! Not to be a downer but is it difficult to clean?

thanks,

sharon

glutenfreesourdoughbaker

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

bake them in my Cuisinart Mini Oven (if the tube isn't longer than 12") out on the patio sipping some limocello, munching on a baggie covered in warm brie!  You crack me up Mini!!!  'Little round rosettas will make your muffins taste bettah' - Frank Zappa (sort of).

You have to admit that is one cool bread baking pyrex thigamajig :-)

aytab's picture
aytab

Good Lord Mini there are only so many hours in the day!!!!  :) The other one I was thing was "Monogrammed" bread as birthday gifts cut into it and there is your initial.

 

My current favorite "gadget" is my "Perfect Omlete Maker" it does make a perfect omlete only thing is think I could hatch the egg faster than this thing cooks them!!!

I don't know if it's easy to clean or not I just found it and haven't tried it yet. I am torn because it has never been used,brand new in the box should I sell it at my antique space or keep it and use it?

sharonk's picture
sharonk

Hi Aytab,

I like the initialled bread idea! Haha on the slow omelette maker! I am intrigued by this bake-around because as a gluten-free sourdough baker who uses only grain flours and minimum starch flours, my breads do not stand up on their own like a wheat boule does. Until I find a whole gluten-free grain that gives enough structure, I depend on the walls of a loaf pan or cake pan to shape my breads. This round pan opens up some interesting possibilities.

Buy or keep? depends on how much you can get for it, I suppose. I looked it up on Amazon, selling for $9.00-$30.00. I'm so intrigued I'm thinking about going for the $9.00 one...

 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I suppose it is no harder to clean than a Pyrex casserole.   Grease that baby first and dust it with something tasty.   I think this tube idea never really caught on in the 70's and I even think my mother had one but afraid to break it so never used it.   Don't know what happened to it -- gadgets that get shoved to the back of the cupboard are seldom used.  Does look kind of breaky but I would take it on a MARS mission if someone would let me.  The glass tube could then be used later in the green house to protect small plants or as a hurricane lamp when the Mars wind blows.  When not being used for baking, naturally.  Hey!  I think I saw a couple of these mounted on either side of a garage with light bulbs and little copper roofs placed on top!  

If not decided about using or musing, look closely at the rim around the tube.  If the glass edge is cut and ground, no problem but if it's heated round and tends to thicken into the tube making the opening smaller, it might be tricky to get the loaf to fall out, the edge might catch on the loaf.  Then again...  bread does shrink away from the form as it cools and because of form it is easy to rotate any place that sticks to an upward position to steam loose --  could even stand it on end until the loaf falls out.  

I wonder how hard it would to be to make a trifle in one of these tubes?   (would need a plunger to push it out, or heck, let the garden party figure it out!)  :)     

Monogrammed french toast...

sharonk's picture
sharonk

Mini, you are very funny. If I get one I will try some parchment in it. That tube pan is just speaking to me...

LarryTheDouglas's picture
LarryTheDouglas

i love my bakearound! Cleaning is a bit of a pain, because you have to reach right in...and i worry about breaking it. 

I have noticed that hydration is the only issue. Really wet dough runs out a bit while drier doughs will fill the tube nicely.

 

i have wondered how a monkey bread would do. Could it be served as a tower?

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

sounds like fun!  Go for it!   Sounds like a suggestion for a Bachelorette party!   Oh My!

Have you tried using a tube of baking parchment inside?  Load the parchment and then curl the paper around and slide into the tube.  

MERmAdEspICE's picture
MERmAdEspICE

Im so confused why this is a huge topic. we all know home remedies and all the scrub daddies exist, right? 

hope it got easier and tastier with time!!! 

just got one!

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Mom, where did you put that thing?    

MERmAdEspICE's picture
MERmAdEspICE

Found one for $3, papers and all. I have decorated cakes but quit cause the baking the cake part! 

I love bread , like used to shop at walmart and time the trip for warm french bread and ate the entire thing shopping, every weekend.,

 

Anyways, reading your posts was amazing and i love your vibrancy , i just thought it looked extremely useful, old glass always better for mars than todays, rack not rusted, scoooore. 

Ill always find a use, but you can have it if you let me get some food porn. 

 

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

In case anyone stumbles across a Bake-a-Round and needs the manual:

http://neufie.com/bake-a-round/bake-a-round.htm
and
http://neufie.com/bake-a-round/recipes-1.htm

One of the key points is to use butter, margarine, or hydrogenated shortening (Crisco) to coat the inside, not oil.

Anoher is to load the dough on a folded strip of waxed paper, and pull it into the tube. Then roll the tube so the dough falls off the waxed paper, and remove the waxed paper.

Anyway, be sure to read the instructions. Read the suggested recipes to get an idea of how much dough fits in the tube.

If that web site ever goes away, go to www.archive.org and plug in those URLs.