Please tell me about your baking pans

[kbjesq]

So,  I am in the market to replace some bakeware and have decided on the "USA" brand nonstick for cookie sheets, loaf pans and regular cake pans. See example here: USA Bakeware

Unless anyone has a better recommendation, (bearing in mind that these products will be used for home baking only -  I'm not a professional baker and have no plans in that direction). 

I would also like to purchase one good bundt pan, as the 3 that I have now are cheap garbage that have been around for ever and I really don't enjoy using them. My thought is that if I purchase better bakeware, I'll enjoy baking more and get better results, thus causing me to prepare more home-baked goods and lessening my spouse's habit of purchasing cookies and cakes at our local grocery store (blech). 

I looked through the forums and didn't see a thread devoted to this topic. So please, if you have experience with bakeware (especially the USA Brand and bundt pans), please chime in with your thoughts. 

With regard to the bundt pan, I've been looking at Nordicware which seems to be highly rated. But there are so many lovely patterns. Are the patterns impractical? Should I just buy the "classic" bundt plan?  I don't want to buy more than one as I really don't have the space to store them and I'll likely use it once per month or less.  Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions. 

[palo]

I have a Pullman Loaf Pan from them and it works as advertised. I have the small one that fits and and functions in my CSO.

 

p

[kbjesq]

14 minutes ago, palo said:

I have a Pullman Loaf Pan from them and it works as advertised. I have the small one that fits and and functions in my CSO.

 

p

A Pullman Loaf Pan is also on my want list.  

 

[ElsieD]

I have a couple of their baking pans, the hamburger bun pan, the hit dog bun pan and a couple of their muffin pans.  I need to buy a bundt pan as well and I would not buy any other brand.  One of the things I really like about them is that they do not warp.

[Darienne]

ElsieD:  did you get your Pullman pans in Ontario?  Which store, please? 

[palo]

USA Pans 9 x 4 x 4-inch Pullman Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat

 

p

Edited January 23, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted Amazon Link format (log)

[MelissaH]

I have USA loaf pans. They seem to bake well, but I always line them with parchment before using so I can't speak to their release properties.

 

As for Bundt pans: bite the bullet and go with the Nordicware cast aluminum, NO nonstick lining. I chewed through several cheaper variants, and finally gave up. I have only the classic Bundt right now, but there are a few more I lust after. (Discussing this with some of the enablers in my local indie bookstore, I learned that some libraries out there actually have "lending libraries" of the baking pans you only need occasionally, such as some of the fancy cake pans. Wish mine did!) The key to successful Bundt cakes, for me, is to make sure that the pan is well lubricated before the cake batter goes into it. I usually do this with a healthy squirt of Pam for baking (the one with flour), which I then spread all over with a silicone pastry brush. I'd think for some of the fancier pans, this would be even more crucial.

[ElsieD]

43 minutes ago, Darienne said:

ElsieD:  did you get your Pullman pans in Ontario?  Which store, please? 

Darienne, I don't have a Pullman pan.  I purchased my USA pans at Golda's Kitchen in Mississauga.  They are not far off the 401.   I checked their Web site and they have the Pullman pans.  While they have a store, they also do mail orders.  Hope this helps.

[palo]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

ElsieD:  did you get your Pullman pans in Ontario?  Which store, please? 

Amazon Canada has them as I mentioned above:

 

USA Pans 9 x 4 x 4-inch Pullman Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat

 

p

Edited January 23, 2016 by Smithy
Adjusted Amazon Link format (log)

[Alex]

If you're getting just one Bundt pan, I'd stick with the classic shape. If you get into Bundt-ing in a serious way, you can always add.

 

I'm on my second Nordic Ware. It's nonstick, but like MelissaH, I'd probably opt for non-nonstick the next time. I also agree that sufficient Pam, butter, or whatever is essential.

 

I have an unholy assortment of brands for the rest of my bakeware, so I'm not the one to make a recommendation. I do like my Chicago Metallic half-sheet pans very much, though.

 

Have you ever read Bonny Wolf's essay about the Bundt pan? It's in her collection Talking with My Mouth Full (Gail Simmons stole the title for her memoir). And here's her Bundt talk on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, with recipes. And here's the WaPo's obit of its inventor, H. David Dalquist.

[kbjesq]

Thanks @Alex -  I had completely forgotten about the "tunnel of fudge" &  the store-bought mixes of the 1960s/1970s made especially for bundt pans.  Nice walk down memory lane there. 

Thanks for the other comments as well, I'll bite the bullet and buy the classic (non-non-stick) Nordicware bundt plan. Although the fancy designs are tempting, I think simpler is better in the long run, since I plan to purchase only one pan.

Love the idea of a "lending library" for specialty bakeware -  sadly, not available here in the middle of nowhere land. 

[Alex]

Here's something different for your Bundt pan: Joan Nathan's Gefilte Fish Pâté

 

I've been making it for many years now. Even folks who usually turned up their noses at "regular" gefilte fish tended to like this version -- perhaps because of its firmer texture and more concentrated flavor. And those who did like the regular variety usually preferred this one. One year I served it with homemade horseradish enhanced with lime juice and zest, which was a big hit.

 

Living as I do in the Great Lakes State, I've usually used all whitefish instead of the whitefish/pike combo in the recipe, but I'm getting ready to try it with cod from Costco -- probably made in an actual pâté-type pan, as it'll be only about a pound of fish instead of the recipe's three.

[Darienne]

I shall try one more Bundt pan and then I give up forever.  I've never made a Bundt cake which did not turn into a disaster no matter how much lubricant, and flouring, etc, etc, I did.  I just figured that Bundt pans had it in for me.  I have a friend in Mississauga who comes once a month into my area and I'll ask her to get me a Pullman pan.  Thanks all.

[Lisa Shock]

The really elaborate bundt pans don't release well. Cake doesn't have a lot of structural integrity anyway, and the stress of unmolding it just tears those fancy decorations apart. I currently use a plain tube pan.

 

Please note: silicon cake pans are horrible, do not buy one.

 

I would like to recommend my favorite pan coating, one that really helps release even stubborn high protein foods: lecithin granules and oil. Because sometimes it's not the pan, it's the prep.

 

Nonstick Pan Coating

56 grams granulated lecithin

200 grams vegetable oil (I like using peanut, it works well at high heat, but be cautious about allergies.)

Place both ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix for 20-30 seconds until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Use to coat baking pans.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Here is what I use:

https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/heritage-bundt-pan#.VqPoQWco7CM

 

Never had problem with sticking and I find the pattern lovely.  Almost too pretty to cut.

 

[kbjesq]

1 hour ago, Lisa Shock said:

 

Nonstick Pan Coating

56 grams granulated lecithin

200 grams vegetable oil (I like using peanut, it works well at high heat, but be cautious about allergies.)

Place both ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix for 20-30 seconds until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Use to coat baking pans.

Wow! Thank you. It just so happens that I have both of these ingredients on hand, so I will try this method for greasing my new bundt pan when it arrives. We have no food allergies, thankfully. Thank you very much for the suggestion & instructions.  

[kbjesq]

48 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Here is what I use:

https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/heritage-bundt-pan#.VqPoQWco7CM

 

Never had problem with sticking and I find the pattern lovely.  Almost too pretty to cut.

 

If I were to get a fancy pattern, that was my #1 choice. I've seen photos of cakes made in that pan and I agree they look too pretty to cut. 

I wish that I had friends or family nearby who were bakers. I could justify buying and storing such a pan if I thought that it would be used more than a few times per year by me or if I knew someone nearby that would be willing to "share" it with me.

[curls]

I also recommend the Nordic Ware bundt pans. I have a few of them and they all work very well. If you are only going to have one, I recommend their Anniversary Bundt (https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/anniversary-bundt-pan#.VqRLglKJFo4) because it will work with a wide variety of cake batter volumes (10 cups to 15 cups). The cookbooks are all over the place in their final bundt sizes.

[cakewalk]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Here is what I use:

https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/heritage-bundt-pan#.VqPoQWco7CM

 

Never had problem with sticking and I find the pattern lovely.  Almost too pretty to cut.

 

I have that pan, and I also have the Nordic War Pro Cast Bavaria bundt pan. I like both patterns a lot. I use either baker's Pam or Baker's Joy and have never had an issue when releasing them from the pan, although I remember reading about the lecithin a while ago and I keep meaning to buy some (but keep forgetting). My issue with Bundt pans in general is this: while I think the cakes look stunning when they're whole, I don't particularly care for the way the slices look. I generally find the slices to be clunky looking, and I can't get around that. I also have a Pullman loaf pan, the larger size (I think it's 13x4x4), that I got from King Arthur several years ago. I love it. And it might not look it, but it holds the same amount of batter as an Angel Food cake pan, so it would hold the batter for most bundts, I guess. I make angel food cakes in the Pullman pan (without the lid), and I love the way they turn out. The slices are so much more elegant. It also holds about 1 1/2 of most loaf cake recipes.

Edited to add: with Bundt cakes, I find it helpful to overbake just a little, like a minute or so, rather than underbake. It doesn't dry out the cake but it helps when releasing from the pan.

Edited January 24, 2016 by cakewalk
Added something (log)

[kbjesq]

So maybe I should skip the bundt pan and get a USA non-stick Pullman Loaf Pan instead? That's a multi-tasker that I know I would use regularly as I bake bread at least 2-3 times per week. If I could also use it for cakes, that would be great. 

Do you find that you have to convert existing cake batter recipes in order to use the Pullman loaf pan? In other words is the Pullman loaf pan so large that a normal cake recipe would not yield enough batter to adequately fill it up? And how, if at all, are  cooking times affected?

This would be a problem in our household as we are more or less down to two full time residents with occasional drop by family members and friends. So I'm not looking to create oversized cakes at this time of my life. I am glad that I brought up this topic because you guys have given me a wealth of information and made me think outside the box. Thanks so much for your comments.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I use a cheap classic bundt pan very similar to the one curls linked to as the "Anniversary" model from Nordic ware, and have never had problems with sticking. It's coated inside and out with black non-stick, which has a few nicks and scratches through the years on the bottom where it contacts the metal oven rack. The inside is pristine as the day I bought it somewhere like Big Lot's over a decade ago. It only gets used 3 or 4 times a year though. There are no identifying markings anywhere, and I can't recall brand or coating type. It's heavy-gauge, but light, and I'd be surprised if I paid over $5 for it.

 

Fun fact: almost all North Carolina recipes for pound cake, at least from living people, call for a bundt pan instead of a loaf pan. I was quite surprised by that when I moved here.

 

Several Christmases back, my adored nephew bought me a fairly elaborate bundt pan with an X-mas wreath design. I promptly stashed it in the upstairs linen closet, thinking the design would be too intricate to release intact, and loving the nephew even more for the thought. I just pulled it out from the bottom of said linen closet. I didn't know what I had. On the bottom is stamped USA and Nordic Ware. I didn't find my pan on the Nordic Ware site per se, but here it is in this Amazon link. The majority of reviews are positive, but some complain of sticking. Anyone have experience with this particular mold? 

 

Now I'm determined to make this cake the next time my nephew visits, Christmas or not, because he's in the navy, and I so rarely get to see him. That boy is a keeper! 

[palo]

There are two sizes available the 9 inch and the 13 inch. The 9 inch fits the BSO and CSO perfectly. The pans are designed to produce perfectly square loaves of bread. The flat top is achieved by letting the final rise reach about 1/2 inch of the top of the pan, sliding the lid on and placing in the preheated oven. Oven spring takes care of creating the flat top and ensuring the final square appearance. Pullman loaves generally have a very fine crumb.

 

Will it work for cakes? I have no idea. I don't bake.

 

p

[MelissaH]

17 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Here is what I use:

https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/heritage-bundt-pan#.VqPoQWco7CM

 

Never had problem with sticking and I find the pattern lovely.  Almost too pretty to cut.

 

That's the third pattern on my "someday" list. The first two: Bavaria and Jubilee. And then looking at these, I saw a new one, Stained Glass. If I made a lot of cakes with poured-over glazes that differed in color from the underlying cake, I'd need that one.

[Porthos]

21 hours ago, Lisa Shock said:

Please note: silicon cake pans are horrible, do not buy one.

I bought silcone muffins pans when silicone pans first became widely available. I used then exactly 0 times. Finally donated them to a thrift store because it was annoying me to devote storage space to something utterly unsused. Do please remember, though, that I am not really a baker as I see egullet defining bakers. That is my DW's department. Within our circle she is known for both sweet and savory bread puddings. And I will always leave cheesecake to her.

 

Edited because I didn't proof-read before posting.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Porthos (log)

[kayb]

I picked up a pair of Calphalon loaf pans at TJ Maxx several years ago that are my workhorse pans when baking bread and loaf cakes (which is generally what I do with anything I'd normally put in a bundt pan, because I can royally screw up a Bundt cake.

 

They aren't coated with non-stick, but appear to have some sort of finish on the metal. I've never had a loaf of bread stick, even when I forget to oil the pan.