November 21, 2010 - 8:28am
Ceramic loaf pans (edit: clay loaf pans)
What is the proper way to use a ceramic loaf pan? Do you preheat them? Will a loaf have trouble browning if you don't?
I don't pan a lot of loaves, but I found this at a Good-Will store for $2, and I just can't pass up a deal on a new toy.
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Tell us a little more about this pan please.
Is it really metal but with a ceramic/enamel non-stick coating sort of like a bathtub? (If so, my guess is to use it just like any other metal pan.)
Is it really an opaque glassy substance something like Corningware? (If so, my guess is to use it the same as Pyrex: just as with a metal pan except turn the oven down 25F.)
(When I use a loaf pan, I proof the dough right in the pan, so preheating it would be out of the question:-)
It looks like terra cotta. Just like a Romertopf baker. http://www.breadtopia.com/store/romertopf-111-clay-baker.html
Now that I think about the comparison, I would have been more correct to have said clay instead of ceramic. Maybe I can edit that.
With the Romertopf or La Cloche clay bakers, I get them right up to baking temp before dropping a batard into them.
That's where my confusion comes in. I also always proof right in the pan with loaf pans, but I have never used any other than metal pans. It did not really seem right to do it any differently, except that I have only used clay hot.
There's a sequence of five comments on another thread (if it's not already obvious, click on those words to go to the other thread:-) which seems relevant to this question. (You may find the very last "comment" on the blog the external link points to to be the most useful part.)
We use a clay loaf pan that all the time. We just line it with parchment and use it like a metal pan, except that we do tend to use higher temperatures with it than with metal. We've never seasoned it. We sometimes insert it into a larger Römertopf covered vessel to get a Cloche effect, although the Römertopf does not produce quite as nice a crust as a real La Cloche.
Our pan has a "Superstone" stamp on the bottom. I'd love to get another one, but they don't seem to be available anymore. I believe that Sassafras used to sell them.
footsore
edit:
I should have added that we proof in the pan and just preheat the Cloche lid when we're using one. It works perfectly. If we're not using a Cloche lid, we treat it like any other loaf pan.
Thanks for the link, Chuck; that answered my question.
I think that I will try some rice flour in it too. That stuff works great to keep dough from sticking to my brotforms, and I'll bet it works in the pan as well.
Footsore, I like your idea of putting it into a Romertopf. I have one of those, and will definitely try it.