Trying Out Those Paper Loaf Pans
Okay, so I decided to give these paper loaf pans a whirl. Seen ’em around, figured why not try baking my usual bread recipe in them. Grabbed a few from the store the other day.
Getting the Dough Ready
First things first, I got my dough mixed up. Just my standard recipe, nothing fancy. Flour, water, yeast, bit of salt. Let it do its first rise in the bowl like always. You know the drill. It felt like a normal bread-making day up to this point.
Putting Dough in the Paper Pans
This is where things got a little different. Instead of grabbing my trusty old metal pans, I unfolded these paper ones. They felt… well, papery. Not super flimsy, but definitely not metal. I had to be a bit more careful scooping the dough in. I wasn’t sure if they’d bulge out or something.
- Handling: Needed a gentle touch getting the dough centered.
- Shape: They held their rectangular shape pretty well on the counter, which was good.
The Second Rise and Into the Oven
I covered the pans loosely and let the dough do its second rise. Seemed to rise okay, maybe a little contained because the sides aren’t rock solid like metal. They didn’t spill over or anything, so that was a relief. Moving them was the next test. I put them on a baking sheet first, just to be safe. Didn’t want to risk dropping one full of dough. Slid the whole sheet into the preheated oven.
How They Baked Up
Watched them through the oven door. The paper browned up a bit, obviously, but didn’t burn or anything scary. The bread seemed to cook fine. Took about the usual time.
When I pulled them out, here’s what I noticed:
- Crust: The crust seemed okay, maybe a little softer on the sides and bottom compared to my metal pans? Color was decent, that nice golden brown.
- Shape: The loaves came out pretty square, holding the shape of the paper pan exactly. Less domed on top than usual sometimes.
- Sturdiness: The pans held up through the bake. They were hot, but still together.
Cooling and Final Thoughts
Let them cool on a rack. Getting the bread out was easy, obviously, you can just tear the paper away if you want, or slide it out. Clean up was the best part – just tossed the paper pans. No scrubbing sticky pans, which is always a bonus.
So, yeah. They worked. Convenience is the big win here. Good for maybe gifting bread since the pan is disposable, or if you just hate washing loaf pans. The bread itself was fine, maybe slightly different texture on the crust, but totally edible and tasted good. I’d use them again, probably for quick breads or when I’m feeling lazy about cleanup.
