Photo:
Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
Shop for a 9×13 baking dish, and you pretty much know what you’re getting. But try to buy a basic loaf pan, and the options are overwhelming. Dimensions can vary by as little as half an inch, which can affect whether your bread looks tall or squished. Sides might be straight or flared, bottoms might be smooth or corrugated, and corners may be sharp or rounded.
To find the best loaf pans in a range of sizes, styles, and designs, we conducted two rounds of tests. For our first round, Allrecipes product tester Samantha Lande baked enough of Janet’s Rich Banana Bread to feed an army. We then sent top-rated options to the Allrecipes Allstars, our trusty team of expert home cooks, to test in their home kitchens by baking yeasty loaves and banana bread. I then added my expertise—and my favorite Pullman loaf pan—to the lineup, passing on my experiences using various models to make sourdough and yeasted loaves, sweet quick and savory soda breads, cakes, lentil loaf, and even sorbet.
Our Top Picks
Our Top Pick:
USA Pan 1-Pound Loaf Pan at Amazon
$21
Jump to Review
Best Value:
SALE
Chicago Metallic Commerical II Traditional Uncoated Loaf Pan at Amazon
$13
$11
Jump to Review
Best Splurge:
Caraway 1-Pound Loaf Pan at Amazon
$40
Jump to Review
Best Large:
Nordic Ware Naturals Aluminum NonStick 1-1/2 Pound Loaf Pan at Amazon
$18
Jump to Review
Best Design:
Great Jones Breadwinner at Amazon
$35
Jump to Review
Best with Lid:
USA Pan Large Pullman Pan with Cover at Amazon
$38
Jump to Review
Our Top Pick
USA Pan 1-Pound Loaf Pan
PHOTO: Amazon
$21 at Amazon
$21 at Walmart
$21 at Williams Sonoma
Why It’s Great: Durable; bakes evenly; loaves release cleanly
Grain of Salt: Only oven safe to 450°F
The clean, functional design of this 1-pound loaf pan looks as appropriate for a commercial kitchen as your home one. It’s clearly built to last, with extra layers of aluminized steel folded around the corners and a sturdy rim thick enough to grab while wearing oven mitts. In our first round of tests, the banana bread cooked evenly and produced brown edges that weren't burnt. Even better, it released from the pan with ease, leaving minimal marks. "At $20, it's a no-brainer if you want a sturdy, easy loaf pan and don't mind the aesthetic," says Samantha.
Allstar Frances Carden appreciated how the sharp interior angles and high walls of the pan shaped her loaves. In tests, bread baked consistently with a slightly crisp, darker top crust. She was also a fan of the nonstick silicone coating, which is oven-safe to 450°F. “The loaf came out of the pan very easily, after just a moment of cooling down,” she says. The coating made the pan easy to clean as well—nothing stuck to the corners or fluted walls.
Frances admits that she has found less expensive loaf pans at the grocery store or online but says they can’t compare to the quality of this USA Pan. She plans to retire some of her older loaf pans now that she has this model. If you’re looking to upgrade a full collection, USA Pan makes a mini loaf pan set and larger single loaf pans in the same design and material.
The Details: Aluminized steel with silicone coating; 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches; 6-cup volume; hand-wash only
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
Best Value
Chicago Metallic Commerical II Traditional Uncoated Loaf Pan
PHOTO: Amazon
$13
$11 at Amazon
$12 at Walmart
View on Webstaurantstore.com
Why It’s Great: Oven safe to 700°F; easy to grab with oven mitts; yeast and quick breads rise well
Grain of Salt: Effort to clean if batter sticks
Chicago Metallic’s uncoated 1-pound loaf pan has the pro-grade features of our top pick with a slight dip in price. The folded 26-gauge aluminized steel conducts heat well and, unlike pans with a nonstick coating, is oven safe to 700°F. During testing, Allstar Kim Shupe found that the sharp, square edges of the pan and the narrow wire-reinforced rim made it easy to maneuver while wearing oven mitts.
Of the pans she tested, this one produced the best overall shape for Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread, with an amazingly even rise. “The top was beautifully browned, but the sides were a bit blonder than I would’ve liked,” she says. “It still produced an excellent, delicious and soft bread.” She buttered the pan before baking and had no issues with the finished loaf sticking.
The quick bread Kim made in this pan had a more uniform color, with great texture and moisture. However, even after wiping the pan’s interior with butter, the batter stuck slightly to the uncoated wall and left behind a tiny piece of crust. Kim needed a toothpick to clean out the residual crumbs. Otherwise, hand washing the pan was straightforward but slightly discolored the metal. “I have my own Chicago Metallic loaf pans that I've used for years, so I'm used to their quirks,” she says. “To me they are worth it, because the height and shape I get on my baked goods when I use these pans is unmatched.”
The Details: Aluminized steel; 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches; 6-cup volume; hand-wash recommended
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
Best Splurge
Caraway 1-Pound Loaf Pan
PHOTO: Caraway Non-Stick Ceramic 1 lb Loaf Pan
$40
$36 at Amazon
$40
$36 at Macys
Why It’s Great: Ideal for evenly browned yeast breads; attractive and nontoxic coating; a breeze to clean
Grain of Salt: Hard to maneuver while wearing oven mitts
If you have the budget for a high-quality, sleek, and attractive loaf pan, Caraway has you covered. The pan has curved, seamless walls, and its nonstick ceramic coating is gray on the inside with a rainbow of color options for the outer surface. Kim appreciated the nontoxic materials but wished the top rim was wider so that she could grasp it more securely while wearing oven mitts. During testing, the exterior also became quite slick if touched by butter or oil.
Kim particularly liked baking yeast bread in this 1-pound loaf pan. “It was perfectly baked, with the most gorgeous browned crust all the way around the bread,” she says. Kim also used this pan for Pumpkin Swirl Bread, which came out moist and well textured, if a little over-browned in a couple of spots. Quick bread was also more inclined to stick if she didn’t let it cool long enough before trying to remove it from the pan.
With rounded inner corners, Kim found this Caraway model incredibly easy to wash after every bake, even if the bread had stuck slightly. Unmolding and hand washing created no scratches, leaving the pan looking brand new. “I simply cannot overstate what a great loaf of bread this Caraway pan made with the yeasted bread," she says. "It was not only delicious with a fantastic texture, but the evenly browned crust was to die for!”
The Details: Aluminized steel with ceramic coating; 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches; 6-cup volume; hand-wash only
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
You Can Never Have Too Many Spatulas in the Kitchen—Here Are the Best Ones
Best Large
Nordic Ware Naturals Aluminum NonStick 1-1/2 Pound Loaf Pan
PHOTO: Amazon
$18 at Amazon
View on Perigold.com
Why It’s Great: Versatile size; smooth surface with rounded corners; easy to hand wash
Grain of Salt: Produces wider, shorter loaves
If you often scale up your bread recipes, a larger loaf pan will keep the batter from overflowing. The Nordic Ware Naturals Nonstick line uses formed aluminum with a gold-colored, nonstick coating for an attractive, smooth finish. Its loaf pan makes a 1.5-pound loaf, so recipes that use about 3 cups of flour—or even savory ingredients—fit into it nicely. “I could see the Nordic Ware pan not only being great for breads and loaf cakes, but also for savory aspects such as meatloaf,” says Kim.
In comparing the pans she tested, Kim says that the sides of the Nordic Ware loaf pan slope more than those from Chicago Metallic or Caraway, making the pan somewhat short and squat. When she baked the same recipes in it, they cooked evenly. “It doesn't produce quite the tall attractive loaves as the smaller pans with straighter sides do,” she says.
Even so, Kim says this pan did an impressive job of creating a golden crust on yeast bread and a consistent, pleasing texture throughout. The quick bread she baked during testing took longer to cook through, which darkened the top corners slightly, and it wanted to cool longer than the recipe recommended to ensure clean removal. Even so, no extra effort was needed while hand washing the pan.
The Details: Aluminum with nonstick coating; 9.1 x 5.3 x 2.8 inches; 7-cup volume; hand-wash recommended
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
Best Design
Great Jones Breadwinner
PHOTO: Great Jones
$35 at Amazon
$30 at Greatjonesgoods.com
Why It’s Great: Bright colors; heats and bakes evenly; ceramic creates nonstick surface
Grain of Salt: Pricey
The jewel-tone material of Great Jones Breadwinner loaf pans makes them eye-catching even before you see what’s been baked inside. A ceramic nonstick coating covers the sturdy aluminized steel core. The sides are smooth, but wavy grooves on the bottom help baked goods release easily. In our first round of tests, we loved that the banana bread came out with the perfect rise, with sides that were brown but not burnt.
In our second round of tests, Frances loved the appealing colors and angular design, which give this pan “a charming modern and whimsical look,” she says. Loaves baked evenly during testing, and Frances says that the top had a particularly lovely, consistent shade. She sprayed the pan with oil before adding the quick bread dough and found that the loaf released effortlessly. Nothing stuck inside, making cleaning by hand a breeze. Frances wondered whether the exterior folds of the pan’s material might retain water and eventually cause rusting, but no such damage occurred during testing.
Although Great Jones calls the pan dishwasher safe, the company recommends hand washing and drying. Metal utensils should also be avoided to prevent scratches and chips in the nonstick surface, which is oven safe up to 450°F. As a test, Frances did cut bread in it with a butter knife and saw no marks.
The Details: Aluminized steel with ceramic coating; 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches; 6-cup volume; hand-wash recommended
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Frances Carden
Best with Lid
USA Pan Large Pullman Pan with Cover
PHOTO: Amazon
$38 at Amazon
$33 at Kohls.com
View on Pleasanthillgrain.com
Why It’s Great: Enhances oven spring; large capacity; makes square or round-topped loaves
Grain of Salt: Might need to scale up some recipes
I love the effect created when a Dutch oven or a bowl is inverted over a pizza stone when baking sourdough bread, so I bought this Pullman pan for sourdough sandwich loaves. I definitely made the right choice.
A Pullman pan is essentially a standard loaf pan with straight sides and a lid that slides across the top, trapping steam and producing impressive oven spring in sourdough and yeast breads. Use it to bake perfectly square loaves for Texas toast, or pull the cover in the final minutes for a more traditional, arched top.
This USA Pan model is designed for 1.5-pound loaves, so recipes you might make in a 1-pound loaf pan won’t rise completely to the rim. I have no problem with that because the narrow footprint keeps dough and batter from spreading too widely. The quick breads I bake in this pan, like Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, come out taller than they do from a standard loaf pan, with a more consistently rounded top. In the final minutes, sliding on the lid protects any topping from over-browning. Lentil loaf only fills the pan about halfway, but the corners stay sharp and neat when sliced.
The Details: Aluminized steel with silicone coating; 9 x 4 x 4 inches; 8-cup volume; hand-wash only
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Julie Laing
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Julie Laing
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Julie Laing
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Julie Laing
PHOTO: Allrecipes / Julie Laing
I’m a Former Bakery Owner—This Is My Favorite Cake Pan
Our Takeaway
For a standard-size loaf pan that creates sharp corners on its consistently baked loaves, we recommend the USA Pan Nonstick Standard Bread Loaf Pan. If you prefer rounded corners and flamboyant colors, the Caraway Nonstick 1-Pound Loaf Pan is worth the splurge. For a larger loaf pan that can be used with or without its lid, I’m a fan of the USA Pan 9×4-Inch Pullman Loaf Pan.
How to Pick the Right Loaf Pan
Material
Loaf pans come in a range of materials, such as glass, ceramic, silicone, or metal. Our favorites for baking yeast and quick breads are all made of aluminized steel. This material conducts heat superbly and creates an appealing golden surface all the way around the loaf. When uncoated, it’s usually oven safe to 700°F. Many metal pans come with a silicone or ceramic nonstick coating for easy unmolding. Such pans shouldn’t be used above 450°F, but few loaf recipes call for a higher temperature.
Regardless of the material, if you want to make your loaf pans last, clean them by hand with warm, soapy water. Even when pans in this roundup were advertised as dishwasher safe, the manufacturer recommends hand washing.
Shape and Design
Loaf pans are rectangular by definition, but some have tall sides and a narrow bottom, while others have a wider, squatter shape. If you use a pan size that fits your recipe, its shape has little effect on how evenly a loaf bakes, but it can make a difference in the final presentation. You might prefer a tall, narrow pan for dry-yeast and sourdough loaves, but find a shorter one suitable for quick breads and other loaf pan uses like meatloaf or a half-batch of brownies.
Some loaf pans have straight sides, especially Pullman pans that come with a lid. Others flare slightly, which helps to produce tall loaves, or more widely, which lets a glaze drip off of sweet bread rather than down the sides. The interior corners might be sharp or rounded. The former produces neat edges, but the latter can be easier to clean if the baked loaf sticks.
Size
Loaf pan sizes might be given in several ways: capacity by weight, capacity by cups of batter or the recipe’s cups of flour, or dimensions, inside and out. A 1-pound loaf pan, which has interior dimensions of 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches and holds six cups of batter, and a 1.25-pound loaf pan, which measures 9 x 5 x 2.75 inches inside and holds seven cups of batter, are the most common sizes.
Larger loaf pans might bake a 1.5-pound, 2-pound, or even heavier loaf. When deciding whether a pan’s dimensions will work for a recipe, the width and length measured at the top, inside the rim, matter most, especially if the pan has flared walls. When determining capacity, fill the pan about two-thirds of the way to the rim to accommodate oven rise.
About Our Tests
In our first round of tests, Samantha Lande put top options on the market to the test by baking Janet’s Rich Banana Bread. Allstars Frances Carden and Kim Shupe then tested five top-rated loaf pans in their own kitchens, and I added my favorite and well-used pan to the list. We considered the design, heat distribution, and ease of cleaning for each loaf pan. We noted the smoothness of unmolding loaves, the exterior coloring and texture of the bread, and whether food caught in the pan’s corners.
During tests, we paid attention to the following attributes:
- Design: Are corners sharp or rounded? Is there a nonstick coating? Are the handles or rim large enough to grab while wearing oven mitts? Is it a good height for a loaf? Is it easy to store in the container? Can you easily travel with it? Is the pan presentable enough to serve with?
- Performance: Do loaves bake evenly, with a good, even crust? Does the material conduct and retain heat well? Does the loaf unmold easily?
- Cleaning: Is the loaf pan easy to clean? Do crumbs get stuck in the corners? Are there any scratches or other damage after using and cleaning?
Allrecipes / Kim Shupe
Common Questions
Do you need to line a loaf pan with parchment paper?
You don’t have to line a loaf pan with parchment paper, but it has a couple of advantages. Parchment is nearly foolproof at preventing sticking—no need to try to smear butter into sharp corners or worry that oil or cooking spray didn’t completely coat the pan. The nonstick advantage is twofold because if crumbs don’t stick, the pan is easier to clean.
My favorite reason to line a pan is that you can cut parchment paper taller than the pan’s sides and then use it like a sling to lift the loaf up and out. This creates far less mess than flipping the pan upside down and trying to catch the loaf without denting its top. The best way to line a loaf pan with parchment is to fold it around the pan’s exterior—like you’re wrapping a gift—so that the corners stay sharp and smooth while you slide it into the pan.
Can you bake sourdough in a loaf pan?
Sourdough bakes beautifully in a loaf pan with a few adaptations. If you usually bake sourdough in a bread cloche or Dutch oven, you might prefer a lidded Pullman loaf pan. If you’re using an open-topped loaf pan, one with fairly straight sides produces a more traditional sandwich loaf look. To create steam during the first part of the baking time, pour hot water into a preheated pan set below the uncovered loaf pan.
If you want to convert a go-to sourdough recipe for a loaf pan, consider its size. My favorite freeform sourdough recipes fit well in a 1.5-pound Pullman pan, but my brioche recipe needs to be scaled down to bake evenly. Loaf pan walls conduct heat so well that you will likely want to lower the baking temperature to 425°F or 450°F, especially if your loaf pan’s heat resistance is limited by a nonstick coating.
Why do some loaf pans have perforated or corrugated bottoms?
Raised ribs, wavy texturing, and holes in loaf pans aren’t aesthetic choices. Perforations and corrugation improve airflow and distribute heat evenly so that breads have a consistently crisp, golden crust on all sides. They also keep moisture from becoming trapped in the pan and creating an unevenly cooked surface.
Such texturing rarely leaves noticeable marks on the finished loaf. I usually only notice a difference while baking a recipe like brioche bread or a pound cake in a perforated pan because it has a lot of butter that can seep through the holes. For such recipes, I simply line the pan with parchment paper, which seems to have no effect on airflow or heat distribution. You could instead consider a meatloaf-specific pan that comes with a hole-dotted insert, allowing excess fat and grease to drain away.
Why Take Our Word for It?
Julie Laing used the testing insights of two Allrecipes Allstars and her own experience with loaf pans to write this article. Julie has been a writer and editor for 25-plus years, focusing on original recipes, kitchen tools, and the stories around them. She is the author of “The Complete Guide to Pickling,” the Flathead Beacon food columnist, and a reviewer and recipe developer for numerous other publications. Julie was an avid sourdough baker long before COVID; she also uses loaf pans to make all sorts of quick breads that she slices, freezes, and then reheats in her toaster oven for easy breakfasts.
Want to know more about the Allrecipes Allstars? Learn about their favorite recipes, kitchen hacks, and product picks.
This Is the Best Brownie Pan According to a Professional Baker
