March 20, 2014 - 4:41am
Glass verses metal loaf pans?
Hi, I have been using a glass loaf pan to bake my bread. They sell metal ones at my local kitchen store, and I am just wondering what the advantages and disadvantages to using a metal loaf pan vs. glass.
Thanks so much.
The metal pans will conduct heat better than glass and you should get a better overall final product.
Thanks, how or why would the overall product be better? What does the heat conduction do for the loaf?
There are advantages and disadvantages to each, and it also depends on what kind of oven you are using. For instance, if baking in an "apartment sized" (small) oven, the heat distribution may not be even and some parts of your loaf might scorch inside a metal pan, because the heat passes through it so readily; a glass pan evens out the temperature so the entire loaf cooks more uniformly. But, you will not get as good oven spring in the glass pan and it is more difficult to achieve a crispy crust — unless of course you pre-heat the glass, as you would do for a Dutch oven or cloche. OTOH if you are using a large electric range, chances are you will get pretty even heat distribution, so it would be safe and more efficient to bake your loaf in a metal pan. Then again, glass pans are great for baking sweet loaves, where you want a more cake-like finish. Being able to see what color your loaf is turning also provides a most valuable clue here, because you don't want to over bake sweetened breads.
My three cents.
Thanks Andychrist. This explains why I keep burning mini loaves in my toaster oven, using little metal pans! I can make smarter decisions now that I understand how the heat conductivity works.