loaf pans

loaf pans for many years, although I'm not much of a bread baker.  I have used it when I baked store bought yeast dough.

Just remember to turn your oven down 25 degrees, and it will be easy to see when your crust is perfect.  I love pyrex and its white colored cousin Corningware.

Most large grocery stoes sell the pyrex pans for very reasonable prices. Often for around $6 or so.

It depends on the shape and size I want. My favorite is a rectangular 1 1/2 qt corning casserole.It makes a wide loaf that is great for sandwiches but not too big for 2 people. I also use the round,square  and loaf shapes.

I brush with oil/lecithin and sprinkle with oatmeal as a release.The oatmeal provides a softer chew than cornmeal but does brown easier.

Whatever pan I use, I brush it with an oil/lecithin mix-3 tbsp veg oil and about 1 tsp liquid lecithin.Nothing ever sticks. On my metal pans, I don't scrub/scrape off the baked on oil-just the food.The darker the better and the less likely the pans are to stick. This is the same as curing iron pans and was used long before non-stick surfaces.They also don't rust.

I've used pyrex loaf pans for decades and they're fine for bread. I know the authorities say to lower the recommended baking temperature about 25F (since pyrex presumably heats slightly faster) but I never bother doing that anymore. I bake loaf bread at 350 - 375F (whatever the recipe calls for).

The down side to pyrex is that it can chip, so you have to be careful. Also, they take up more storage room than the equivalent size metal loaf pans, since they don't stack as snugly.

In my experience, loaves baked in pyrex pans tend to have a lighter, softer crust on the sides and bottom than the same recipe baked in a metal pan. Depending on your preference, this can be a minus or a plus. If you like a darker, crisper crust and are baking in pyrex, you may need to remove the loaves from the pans for the last 5 minutes or so and let them finish baking directly on the oven rack.

You mention being irritated by the build up of rust on your metal pans. If you use non stick metal pans, I would bet you wouldn't have this problem.

A few months ago, I purchased several non stick carbon steel loaf pans from lionsdeal.com. I'm not, in general, a fan of non stick cookware, but these are very nice pans. The non stick finish really works, so now I can skip the step of oiling/greasing the pan.

carbon steel non stick loaf pan - size: 8 x 4 x 3" (perfect for a one-pound loaf) - cost $2.50 / pan 

They also sell a 9 x 5 x 2-1/2" loaf pan (good size for a 1-1/2 pound loaf) at $2.80 / pan

I'm  not affiliated with this site - am just a satisfied customer - but if you're interested in non stick metal loaf pans, you might want to check them out. Just go to lionsdeal.com and enter loaf pans in the search box at the top of the page.

Whatever you end up chosing, best of luck in your baking.

- SF

I picked up one of these somewhere, and I really like it a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/Oneida-Harmony-Inch-Loaf-Pan/dp/B001A6EI7E

I use Pyrex loaf pans.  I love the fact that you can see the browning on the sides.  They clean up easily if you use spray oil.  A few months ago I baked one loaf of bread in Pyrex and one in metal (halves of a single batch of PR's Cinnamon-Raisin-Walnut Bread).  The loaf in Pyrex was lighter and poofier.

I also like the Cuisinart Classic Non-stick metal pans.

Glenn

Silicone sheets for freeform loaves are great to line a baking sheet.  The other muffin and cake silicone forms are terrible.  They stick, they are flopsy, and unsturdy.  I have a stainless steel loaf pan.  It can be lined with parchment or not.  Pure stainless, no coatings is the way to go. I have found glass pyrex doesn't bake the loaf inside.

Loaf Pans

From Season 8: Quick Breads

Note: America's Test Kitchen continuously updates our equipment reviews and taste tests. The written content below is the most up-to-date information available and may not match what appears in the video segment.

Overview: Seven years after our last testing, we wanted to see if anything new could best the bargain loaf pan we had previously chosen as a winner, (which is still available for $6 in supermarkets). Seven pound cakes, seven loaves of
sandwich bread, and hours of baking later, we had a motley crew of baked goods and some new thoughts about loaf pans.

Size was one primary factor that made a difference. Bigger pans allowed the sandwich bread to bake up a bit fluffier than did smaller pans but yielded dense, square pound cakes. Narrower pans were the only correct choice for pound cake and fine for sandwich bread.

Our other primary concern was browning. Light-colored aluminum finishes yielded pale, anemic-looking baked goods. On the other hand, the dark nonstick surface on our previous winner actually browned the bread and pound cake a shade too much. Despite its wide availability and low price, it's no longer our top choice. Glass Pyrex browned nicely, but the real star of the show had a gold-colored nonstick surface that yielded baked goods with a perfectly even, honeyed-copper crust. (less) Overview: Seven years after our last testing, we wanted to see if anything new could best the bargain loaf pan we had previously chosen as a winner, (which is still available for $6 in supermar...(more) Winner: Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan

Product Tested		Price*
Highly Recommended
	Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan This pan yielded perfectly gold browning on both yeast breads and teacakes, and turned out a sandwich loaf that, as one test cook noted, "looked just like a bread should look."	$21.00
	Pyrex Glass Loaf Pan A bargain for its performance, this glass dish fell just short of the Williams-Sonoma pan and was just a tad heavier.	$6.95
Recommended
	Baker's Secret Basics Non-Stick Large Loaf Pan This past-favorite bargain pan still performed well overall but took browning further than we wanted on both our sandwich loaf and pound cake.	$4.99
Recommended with Reservations
	Anolon Suregrip Nonstick Loaf Pan Great heat-resistant handles and a large capacity for yeast bread didn't make up for a squat, dense pound cake.	$13.95
	KitchenAid's Professional Nonstick Loaf Pan Fairly good browning on both the cake and the sandwich loaf, but, like the Anolon, too large for a teacake.	$19.95
Not Recommended
	All-Clad Gold Standard Nonstick Loaf Pan Not, in fact, the gold standard of this lineup, this pan was absurdly expensive and offered pallid color on both baked goods.	$74.95
	Doughmakers Loaf Pan Unfortunately, this pan's main selling point-the company's signature pebble-pattern finish that ensures easy release-was superfluous, since neither cake nor bread stuck to any of the pans. Plus the pale metal turned out pale baked goods.	$14.95

*Prices subject to change

...my pyrex loaf pans.  I have 3 of various sizes.  I also like stoneware or pottery pans.

Frequent Flyer

my William's Sonoma GoldTouch pans.  I have every size and shape they make. Once you bake with them you won't bake with anything else.

Pam

...of replies to your original post.

If you're still reading this thread, what did you decide to purchase?

Inquiring minds + the idly curious are eager to know.

Thanks