Unleash Your Inner Baker with the Secret Weapon: The Best Cast Iron Baking Pan

For the past 15 years, I have been an avid bread baker and have created numerous bread recipes for home bakers. These recipes have been featured in magazines such as Cook’s Illustrated, taught in classes at institutions like the King Arthur Baking Company, and shared in my own bread-instructional newsletter, Wordloaf. Although I have lost track, I estimate that I have baked thousands of loaves of bread over the years.

The majority of these loaves were baked in an enameled, cast iron Dutch oven, as it is the simplest way to produce bakery-quality results at home. The key to great loaves with an open crumb and a crackly, blistered crust lies in two factors: heat, for optimal oven spring, and steam, to maintain a soft and pliable crust while the loaf expands. Dutch ovens provide both, thanks to their heavy mass that transfers heat to the bottom of the loaf and their tight-fitting lids that trap the steam generated by the evaporation of water in the loaf as it bakes.

However, there are two significant disadvantages to using Dutch ovens for bread baking. Firstly, most Dutch ovens are round, whereas breads come in various shapes and sizes. My preferred style of loaf is a long, narrow bâtard, which produces uniform and evenly-sized slices from end to end. No Dutch oven can accommodate such a long loaf, regardless of its size. Secondly, the high walls of a Dutch oven protect the sides of the loaf from the heat of the oven, hindering rapid browning and making it risky to insert and remove loaves from the pot without getting burned.

The Artisan Bread Pan offers a solution to the limitations of Dutch oven baking. Unlike a deep pot with a flat lid, the Artisan has a shallow 1-½ inch “pot” and a 4-inch tall “lid” that can be removed to allow air to circulate around the loaf. Furthermore, the Artisan is rectangular and spacious, accommodating nearly all loaf shapes and sizes. After using the Artisan Pan for almost a year, I can confidently say that it is a game-changer for serious home bread bakers.

Design and specs

The Artisan Bread Pan is crafted from pre-seasoned black un-enameled cast iron. It features two sets of handles, one set built into the short ends of the base and lid, used for moving the entire pan in and out of the oven, and another pair on opposite sides of the top of the lid for convenient removal during the bake, once the loaf has fully risen and no longer requires steam.

The Artisan’s nearly 13-pound lid fits snugly onto the base, trapping nearly all the steam released by the dough, leading to optimal oven spring and a crisp, blistered crust. At 22 pounds in total, the Artisan is almost double the weight of the average Dutch oven, providing maximum oven spring and an open crumb. However, this extra weight also requires considerable strength to move, something to consider before making the investment.

The Artisan Bread Pan boasts inner dimensions of 11 inches in length, 8-1/4 inches in width, and 5-1/4 inches in height, thanks to its curved inner edges. This ample space accommodates large artisanal loaves, from round boules to elongated bâtards, with ease. I personally have baked 2-pound loaves in mine without any issues.

The Artisan Bread Pan, with its curved inner edges, has an effective interior space of 11 inches in length, 8.25 inches in width, and 5.25 inches in height, making it spacious enough to hold even large artisanal bread loaves such as boules or bâtards. However, its height may not be suitable for the average 15-inch baguette, but it can hold one or two 10-inch “demi” baguettes.

Baking with the Artisan Bread Pan

The Artisan Bread Pan requires a slightly different approach than traditional Dutch oven bread baking due to its unique design. The instructions suggest preheating the pan for 1 hour at 500°F (although some have had success preheating at 475°F for 30 minutes), and then lowering the oven temperature to 425°F once the bread has been placed inside. This is because of the Artisan’s increased mass compared to a Dutch oven. Those familiar with Dutch oven bread recipes may need to adjust their preheating time and temperature.

Using the Artisan Bread Pan may require a slight adjustment in approach for those familiar with using Dutch ovens. The pan’s instructions recommend preheating it for 1 hour at 500°F, compared to the standard 30 minutes at 450°F for Dutch ovens. The oven temperature should also be lowered to 425°F once the bread is loaded. The pan’s heavy mass and black color make for faster cooking, around 30% faster than in a lighter-weight Dutch oven, but loaves can also be more prone to burning on the bottom. To counteract this, it’s recommended to remove the loaf from the pan and finish it on the bare oven rack for 5 to 10 minutes once it is nearly fully baked.

With a little adjustment to your baking routine, you can easily turn out gorgeous, professional-looking bread using the Artisan Bread Pan. After using it for ten months, I’ve consistently produced tall, crunchy loaves with a blistered crust in various shapes and sizes. The pan’s unique design and extra weight results in faster cooking times and the potential for underbaking on the bottom, but with a few tweaks, you’ll be making bakery-quality bread in no time.

Care and upkeep

The Artisan Bread Pan comes pre-seasoned, making it ready to use right away. Although re-seasoning is simple, involving just a thin layer of oil on the inside and outside, it is rarely necessary. In my experience of using the Artisan for 10 months, I have only re-seasoned it a handful of times.

Cons to consider

The Artisan Bread Pan is an investment piece for bread bakers, costing $279, which is more expensive than most Dutch ovens. While it requires some adjustments in technique, even for experienced bakers, it yields beautiful, bakery-quality loaves. The pan comes preseasoned and requires minimal maintenance, and with its unique design, it promises to turn Dutch oven baking on its head.

The Artisan Pan can be used for cooking more than just artisan loaves, such as pizza, buns, cinnamon rolls, and freeform pies. However, its small size compared to a typical baking stone and raised lip make it less ideal for cooking flatbreads like pizza. Baking buns, rolls, or pies on the base is possible but does not offer any added benefits.

The bottom line

In my opinion, the Artisan pan is essential for those who are dedicated to baking crusty artisan bread. It won’t replace an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, so if you’re new to bread baking, I recommend starting with that. However, if you’re looking to advance your bread-baking skills and it fits your budget, the Artisan Pan is worth investing in.