Kitchen Gadgets Pick

Ceramic Loaf Pan For Baking Bread, 9 x 5 Inch Farmhouse Style

A ceramic loaf pan for anyone who has taken bread out of a thin metal tin browned at the corners and pale on top. Ceramic this thick holds its heat instead of dumping it the moment the oven door opens, which is what evens out how a loaf colors. It is 9 inches by 5 inches and 3.5 inches deep, not counting the two short handle lips, and it takes oven heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The glaze inside is smooth enough that a loaf lifts out without lining the pan first, and the same glaze is what makes it wipe clean rather than needing to be soaked. It is lead free, and safe in the fridge, the microwave, the oven and the dishwasher, so it also works for brownies, pound cake and rolls. The cream speckle over a bare clay foot is why it can go straight to the table.

What you're getting

• 9 inches by 5 inches and 3.5 inches deep, not counting the two handle lips
• Thick ceramic holds its heat when the oven door opens, so a loaf colors evenly
• Rated for oven heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit
• Smooth interior glaze lets a loaf lift out without lining the pan first
• Lead free and safe in the fridge, microwave, oven and dishwasher

Why we picked it

The difference between this and a thin metal tin is thermal mass. A light tin gives up its heat the moment the door opens and takes it back fast from the element, which is why loaves out of one tend to be dark at the corners and pale across the top. Thick ceramic evens that out. The two short lips are the practical detail: a hot loaf pan with no handles has to be gripped on its sides, which is where the pan is hottest and where the loaf is.