Equipment Testing: Loaf Pans

After hours of baking, and seven pound cakes and seven loaves of sandwich bread under our belts, we had a motley crew of baked goods and some thoughts about our loaf pan of choice.

“Squat,” “flat-topped,” and “dense” described the pound cakes we did not prefer, baked in the bigger pans, Anolon’s Suregrip Nonstick Loaf Pan ($16.95) and KitchenAid’s Professional Nonstick Loaf Pan ($19.95), the latter of which also sported slightly flared sides that made our baked goods appear to be bulging. For yeast breads, however, these larger pans (including the Baker’s Secret) worked well because they allowed the breads to bake up a bit fluffier than those baked in their smaller (by roughly ½-inch in width) competitors: Pyrex’s Glass Loaf Dish ($6.95), All-Clad Gold Standard Nonstick Loaf Pan ($74.95), Doughmakers Loaf Pan ($14.95), and Williams-Sonoma’s Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan ($19).

The other primary concern was browning. We’ve learned over the years that pan color largely determines the color of the food; light colors reflect heat, while dark colors absorb it, making the food brown too much. That being the case, we weren’t surprised to find paler finishes on cakes and breads from the aluminum-colored All-Clad and the Doughmakers. Thinner, dark metal on the Baker’s Secret took browning beyond a desirable honeyed copper to an almost char-colored rust, while the medium-gray KitchenAid and Anolon, and the golden beige Williams-Sonoma pans all turned out evenly golden goods.              

Ultimately, however, Williams-Sonoma’s Swiss-made Goldtouch—a revolutionary, new ceramic-reinforced nonstick surface bonded to aluminized steel—claimed the crown for turning out superiorly balanced color to both the pound cake and the bread. We’ll be anxious to try similarly toned bakeware as it comes on the market.

GOLD STANDARD

The lighter-hued nonstick surface in the Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan ($19) took browning to the perfect point.