Baking sourdough in a loaf pan
Hi there!
I have been baking sourdough for a while but have always tended to bake boules in a dutch oven. Recently, I have started baking sourdough in a loaf pan and am really enjoying it. I place my loaf pan inside my dutch oven with lid on, bake for 25 minutes or so, and remove the dutch oven lid and let the loaf bake for the rest of the time.
Still having some oven spring challenges and think I may be under-proofing, but my main question for others who bake sourdough in loaf pans is, what do you do to avoid the bread sticking to the pan? I have been greasing the pan, which works well in a not sticking sense, but it makes the crust too crunchy, almost focaccia-like. I tried lining the loaf pan with parchment paper, but it was super hard to get the shape right and there were lots of wrinkles and gaps in the corners which made me worried it would affect the shape of the loaf.
Thank you in advance for any tips. And, photo of green olive, black olive, feta and thyme sourdough below :)
Hannah
Hi there. Just last night, I was watching a video of a chef making sourdough bread, and he used pans, too. I use that method, too, because I like the shape for sandwiches. Anyway, I am attaching a video link that shows how the chef uses parchment paper slings in loaf pans. The video starts at the beginning when he makes the dough, but the part about putting the dough in pans is at around the 18:00 mark. I've never had trouble with the crust coming out too crunchy when I grease the pans. I hope this will help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w55t9_CDwOA
Thank you so much, that is super helpful. Hopefully one day I can make loaf pan sourdough that beautiful :)
You are very welcome, and I hope that the video tips will help you. You will notice how he removes the bread from the pans at about the 30 minute mark, and then puts the loaves back on the oven rack to continue baking. I do the same thing, and it really makes for a nice crust. I was also interested in that he uses a KitchenAid mixer for the initial phase. I sometimes do that, but usually I just use a Danish dough whisk. Good luck with it all!
Having done the same thing you do. The USA Pan pullman pan seems to release OK but I've taken to spraying a little Pam oil spray in it. I remove the pan when done, let it sit for ~10 mins and then invert on to a rack.
First off, if it works for you, do what is comfortable. As for sticking. Why don't you apply some oil to the inner loaf pan. I would drop a capful of oil into the pan and wipe all sides and the rim.
I've been baking sourdough for the last 15 years. I started out with the dutch oven and parchment paper routine and the bread was fantastic but difficult to slice and the bottom crust was always rock hard. I switched to cast iron loaf pans and haven't looked back.
I prepare my dough and let it rest covered overnight in my refrigerator. The next morning I use capful of canola oil to grease the cast iron loaf pans, form the dough into loaves, cover them with plastic wrap which I've wiped with more oil.
Depending on environmental conditions, it takes as little as 4 hours or as much as 9 hours and everything in between for the bread to rise at least one or two inches above the rim of the loaf pan. I bake them in a Breville toaster oven 37 minutes at 375 degreesF. I typically get 1 or 2 more inches of oven rise during the bakd.
The crust is not as hard as in the dutch oven but the taste and texture of the bread is excellent. It is very easy to slice....and it's a lot easier to handle than the rigamarole of parchment paper cradles transferring the loaves from a bread board to the dutch oven. Because the loaf pans are greased, loaves never stick.
I think SD tin loaves are a good way to gain confidence in your basic SD recipes and dough-handling skills. Especially for novice bakers and others who may be struggling or in a slight funk. It can be easier to judge percentage of final proof (rise) before retarding and the tin confines the dough during oven spring usually resulting in an acceptable crumb. Hannah's method of baking in Dutch oven is one I use also. I spray my "non-stick" tins with cooking spray and dust with rice flour. No sticking whatsoever. I also un-tin (word I made up) in the middle of the bake and finish the loaf on the rack. Best wishes. Dave
4lb SD loaf
Dave, that’s such a good looking loaf of bread! The crumb looks so nice!
I also have baked a few pan loaves in the DO with good success.
Sounds interesting and will likely be my next pan loaf.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik7EWQJ53_4
Thanks for sharing your recipe and video. We like sandwich shapes loaves. I’ll need to find a pan that size, however. All I have are the usual 9x5 and 8x4.