You'll Love these Cast Iron Skillet Bread Recipes (#4 will make you drool!) (2024)

FAQs

Is cast-iron good for baking bread? ›

Regular old cast-iron Dutch ovens work pretty darn great for baking bread, but I still prefer using a vessel designed specifically and only for the task, for a bunch of reasons I will get into below.

My method for baking bread dough in a Dutch oven: Preheat your home oven to 450°F (230°C) with a Dutch oven inside for 30 to 45 minutes. Line a pizza peel, inverted baking sheet, or cutting board with parchment paper. Turn out your proofed bread dough onto the parchment paper (trim the paper to fit, if necessary)

Butter is excellent for cooking, adding to gravies, and even frying if you control the heat to medium-low. But it is not a good choice for seasoning cast iron cookware first time. Butter has a high smoke point. If you season the cast iron pots with butter, they will burn out too soon.

A cast iron skillet can be used for baking or as a casserole dish for your potatoes au gratin. I've also used a cast iron pan for biscuits, cakes, sticky buns, upside-down cakes, and giant cookies.

Cast iron is able to reach high heats and maintain constant temperatures, creating a Maillard reaction on the bread's exterior—aka a seemingly simple but rather complicated set of chemical reactions that take place as food is cooked, affecting both color and the complexity of flavor.

Grab a skillet and heat it on a medium or medium-high setting. Drizzle olive oil or spread butter all over the pan. Add your bread to the skillet once it has heated, then let it cook for one minute. Check on the bottom of your toast with a metal spatula to see how much it is browning.

Coat the pan lightly (inside and out of both the base and the lid) with the Grapeseed Seasoning Oil. If you use too much oil, your cookware may become sticky, or smoke a lot in the oven.

All cooking oils and fats can be used for seasoning cast iron, but based on availability, affordability, effectiveness, and having a high smoke point, Lodge recommends vegetable oil, melted shortening, or canola oil, like our Seasoning Spray.

There are a number of items you can use, including shortening, butter, or cooking oil. To make it even easier, you can coat the pan with a layer of coarse cornmeal. This won't adhere to the bread because it's not part of the dough, so there's no need to worry that it will alter your recipe.

Can you bake sourdough in a cast iron loaf pan? ›

And what better way to bake this bread than in a cast iron pan? Cast iron pans are an excellent choice for baking bread as they are durable, retain heat well, and provide even heat distribution. Plus, the cast iron surface will create a crispy, golden crust that is hard to achieve with other types of bakeware.

Parchment paper can also bring its non-stick convenience to cooking with cast iron. Whether you're baking bread in a Dutch oven or whipping up a pizza in a skillet, there are plenty of ways you can use parchment paper to make the most of your cast-iron cookware.

Perfect Your Yeast Levels

Carbon dioxide is responsible for all the bubbles that make holes in bread, making it lighter and fluffier. Because gas is created as a result of yeast growth, the more the yeast grows, the more gas in the dough and the more light and airy your bread loaf will be.

Too much yeast could cause the dough to go flat by releasing gas before the flour is ready to expand. If you let the dough rise too long, it will start having a yeast or beer smell and taste and ultimately deflate or rise poorly in the oven and have a light crust.

Bread baked in stoneware will be crustier in the area covered by the pan than bread baked in metal. This is a more compelling advantage with quickbreads. In my opinion sandwich bread doesn't need to be crusty. Metal bread pans are cheaper, lighter, and less fragile.

Glass: Glass loaf pans allow for you to be able to monitor the browning on the bottom and sides of each loaf pan. They also are often dishwasher-safe and may be microwave-safe or freezer-safe. Aluminum/stainless steel: Loaf pans made out of this material tend to be lightweight and on the affordable side.

Material: Stainless steel, cast iron, and aluminum are excellent choices for high-quality loaf pans. If you want to use your loaf pan for other purposes, check to see what temperature is considered safe. For instance, most nonstick bakeware isn't broiler-safe.

Metal loaf pans also conduct heat well, directly browning the sides and bottom of whatever you're baking inside of them. Most are nonstick, too, so your baked goods release from the pan without ripping or sticking.