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See why.Loaf Pans
Making bakery-quality sandwich breads and pound cakes at home isn't hard. You just need the right loaf pan.
By Published Dec. 1, 2018
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What You Need To Know
Loaf pans give baked goods a distinctive tall, rectangular shape that would be impossible to achieve with any other piece of equipment. They're a must-have for zucchini and banana breads, sandwich loaves, and pound cake. We also use loaf pans for more intricate baked goods, such as brioche, babka, and flan, and for small lasagnas.
A decade ago, the Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan, 1 lb ($22.95) won our testing of loaf pans. Its internal dimensions are 8½ by 4½ inches at the top of the pan, about ½ inch smaller in each direction than a classic loaf pan. It sounds negligible, but the narrower dimensions result in loaves that rise slightly higher and have taller, prettier domes. (Pans of both sizes can hold about 1 pound of dough and are sometimes labeled that way.) After years of use in the test kitchen, our winner continues to impress us by baking foods evenly and releasing them cleanly. There's just one hang-up: Its corners have little crevices that trap food and are a nuisance to clean.
We resurveyed the market and were pleased to see more options in the smaller size we prefer. We purchased 10 pans, priced from $7.53 to $24.95. Most were made from metal or silicone and marketed as 8½ by 4½ inches. We couldn't find any glass pans in those dimensions and were curious about how the material performed, so we included two that were the right length but slightly wider. Then it was time to start baking.
How Did the Pans Perform?
We baked three foods in each pan: sandwich bread, pound cake, and mini lasagna. All the pans released food easily. However, we did see some subtle differences in overall browning, particularly with the breads and cakes. They varied from golden brown to darker brown, but all were acceptable.
The pans were generally easy to maneuver, too. Those with handles felt more secure, but even a simple rolled edge offered enough room to grip. With good performance and maneuverability across the board, we focused on aesthetics, paying particular attention to the breads and cakes, where we saw clear differences. Our preferences came down to two factors: size and shape.
Why Pan Size Matters
Pan size affects the shapes of baked goods. If the pan is too small, the batter or dough can overflow more easily. One pan produced a pound cake that almost overflowed and mushroom-shaped sandwich bread with a bulbous top that rose up and out; the exposed edges on both burned. Several other pans produced noticeably wider loaves that looked comparatively chubby and squat. Our favorite pans created cakes and breads that rose straight up and had rounded tops that didn't slump or spill over the sides. They looked like something s...
Everything We Tested
Recommended
- Cleanup: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 3 stars out of 3.
This folded metal pan produced tall, picture-perfect pound cake and sandwich bread with crisp corners. Like all folded pans, it lacked handles and had crevices in the corners that trapped food. We had to clean it very carefully. The corrugated pattern on the metal didn't affect the appearance of the baked goods. It still scratched slightly.
- Cleanup: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 3 stars out of 3.
This folded pan produced straight-sided baked goods with sharp edges that released cleanly and browned evenly. But as with all the folded pans in our lineup, its inside corners had small crevices and we had to wash them carefully. The pan became slightly scratched in our abuse testing.
- Cleanup: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 3 stars out of 3.
In evaluations of baking performance, our old winner was still excellent. We love the crisp corners and straight walls it creates on cakes and breads. It became lightly scratched during testing. The small crevices in each corner trapped food, so we had to pay close attention to them when we cleaned the pan.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 2 stars out of 3.
This pan's rounded corners created baked goods with rounded edges that lacked the polish and refinement of foods baked in higher-ranking pans. The trade-off is that it's much easier to clean. The raised bumps at the bottom of the pan deflected and concealed knife marks, though the inside walls still scratched slightly.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 2 stars out of 3.
This pan, which was exactly 8½ by 4½ inches across the top, performed well across our tests. It produced evenly browned baked goods with the rounded edges characteristic of molded loaf pans. The loaves still tasted great, but they weren't as attractive. The pan scratched slightly.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 1.5 stars out of 3.
We liked the even browning of pound cake and sandwich bread baked in this iconic pan. Unfortunately, it was significantly wider than we wanted and its baked goods looked chubby and squat. It was heavier than metal and silicone pans, but it had helpful handles and was easy to clean. It didn't scratch, but overall we preferred metal pans, which are less likely than glass to shatter or crack.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This glass pan is wider than our top-rated models. Baked goods were a bit round; we preferred sharp, distinct rectangular loaves. The pan didn't scratch, and it was easy to clean. Although it was heavy and fragile, we liked its big handles.
Recommended with reservations
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This pan is noticeably larger than most of the others in our lineup and almost oval in shape. Pound cake and sandwich bread browned evenly and tasted fine, but we preferred the shape of baked goods from narrower 8½ by 4½-inch pans. It scratched fairly deeply.
Not Recommended
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 1 stars out of 3.
Although this pan measures 8½ by 4½ inches at the top edges, the bottom is narrow and its total capacity is slightly smaller than those of the other pans. Sandwich bread mushroomed over the top and pound cake overflowed slightly, which caused the edges to darken and burn. The pan also scratched badly and had a little groove on the rim that trapped food.
- Cleanup: 1 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Baked Good Appearance: 2 stars out of 3.
Food baked in this pan had fairly crisp corners, but it was frustrating to use. The soft silicone was too flexible; the bottom buckled when we pressed it, and we worried about slicing through the material when we ran a knife around the edges. Even using a dull butter knife was unnerving. Worse: It held on to lasagna smells even after we washed it several times.
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Kate Shannon
Kate is a deputy editor for ATK Reviews. She's a culinary school graduate and former line cook and cheesemonger.
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