Avoiding Non-Stick Bread Pans
Hi all,
I am in the process of looking for some new bread pans to bake my sourdough bread. I will be strictly avoiding any non-stick coated pans.
I'm looking at some commercial grade Aluminized Steel pans but am a bit concerned about the possibility of aluminum leaching - especially due to the acid when proofing the sourdough in the pans. Does anyone have any thoughts on aluminized steel and safety concerns using this product for sourdough baking.
I believe stainless steel pans are not good at providing even heat and the ones I have seen are cheap and nasty so I will be avoiding. It seems glass is the only other option which I can easily get my hands on but of course there is the risk of dropping and breaking or thermal shock when removing from the oven.
I currently have a clay pot but I'm after pans.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I use these: Lodge L4LP3 Loaf Pans
And they produced the loaf on the right here:
I did cover the pan with the lid of a turkey roaster for the first 15-20 minutes. There is other Cast Iron cookware that you can look at as well. I used the combo cooker for the round loaf.
Thanks for the replies. I will keep looking out for those options locally.
I previously had some silicone pans but they have since vanished. I like the idea of cast iron pans (apart from the weight) especially for even heat, but I can't find any locally in store or online. I have a cast iron pot but again I was looking for loaf pans.
Apart from the aluminized steel - which I am unsure of its long-term safety... I can get the pyrex glass loaf pans locally and for a reasonable price.
Do glass pans work well apart from risk of breaking?
Does the rounded corners make it easier or harder to get the bread out?
Is it more likely to stick or are their any other issues with glass pans?
I know you should reduce the temperature slightly 25f when using glass pans. However it seems most are marketed for things like meat loaf and not many actually mention bread in product description.
Of course personal experience welcome.
Many Thanks again!
P.S. With glass pans is it best to bake from cold oven, preheated oven or it doesn't matter either way?
Bump... Anyone got any thoughts, advice or experience with glass pans. My questions are above.
Many Thanks
I was pleasantly surprised when my first attempt ever at a banana yeast bread came out perfect when baked in my new Pyrex loaf pan. Had slathered the inside with butter so the finished loaf slid right out. Great thing about the clear glass, you can check to see the color developing and pull it from the oven when it looks just right.
I did however notice the tiniest little hairline crack at the base of one of the handles of mine, so faint it is almost undetectable. Dunno whether it was like that before I baked, my kitchen is small and cluttered so stuff gets banged around a lot and stuff breaks all the time; or it could have come like that from the store, I wouldn't have noticed. Anyway none of my four other Pyrex vessels show any defects and I've had them for a few years.
Only real caveat is that the Pyrex loaf pan only comes in one size, 1 1/2 quarts. That is a bit small for baking a sandwich bread but perfect for a cake loaf. Still, they are relatively inexpensive at BB&B, so it pays to buy two and divide your bread recipes in halves. You can also find a nice large ceramic loaf pan there by Wilton. Opaque so you lose the visual clues but at 2 quart capacity it will bake up a hefty sandwich bread.
Bad pan. Use elsewhere, in the garden or as a drawer divider or toss to recycle glass. It will crack thru when you least expect it and could result in a bad burning or cutting accident either you or someone near you, not worth it.
Thanks for the heads up, Mini. Upon closer inspection I realize now that what I thought was a hairline crack is just surface imperfection from the where the glass must have been poured, like the edge of a wave against the shore. What clued me in was that following the direction of the line past the void in the handle to the outer edge, there appears a tiny whorl and beside it a little bubble — again so faint as to be almost imperceptible. Had I not a background in antique restoration it would have gone right by me.
Sorry to have besmirched the reputation of good Pyrex.
Anyway, even if the vessel were ever to shatter, it wouldn't be of great consequence. A few shards of glass wouldn't faze my dinner guests. They've come to expect worse.
when it let someone else use its good name.
Thanks for the reply.
and they come in all sizes too from Pyrex or other manufacturers. Great in tehsmojertoo since they c,ean up spo well. I got a bunch of ancient ones, the depression ones are beautiful, for 50 cents each at Goodwill. Just spray them with non stick oil first. I don't usually bake with them when over 450 F and use sprayed metal pans then - which are also available in great quantities at Goodwill for 50 cents each The silicon pans aren't guaranteed over 456 F or some such thing either and they tend to flop around all over the place when filled but are available at Goodwill to for 50 cents each too. Great baking baskets there too and plenty of large pots to use for dutch ovens and cloches..
I say take $5 and get 10 different pans of different sizes, be set forever and ready for any whim in bread baking you might have. I shop at Goodwill on half price Thursdays.to get the best price.
Aluminized steel will be perfectly fine. Acidic substances don't react with aluminum oxide coating present on aluminum surfaces. It is not clear if aluminum has any adverse health effects anyway.
Hi Suave, Thanks for the reply.
Where did you get the information regarding Aluminized steel not being reactive?
I have been searching and searching to out whether it was reactive or not with no luck.