What a Difference a Pan Makes

I had seen them in catalogs. Special pans for baking gluten-free bread. But do they make a difference?

I decided to find out.

A typical loaf pan measures 8 inches by 5 inches, or 8.5 inches by 4.5 inches. The gluten free bread pans are narrower and taller; mine measures 9 inches by 4 inches, and it’s 4 inches tall. It doesn’t seem like a big difference.

The gluten-free pan is on the left, and my traditional loaf pan is on the right:

My gluten-free breads are also made without eggs, which makes rising that much more difficult, so I’m determined to get all the help I can from my tools.

Does it work? Yes, it definitely does. My bread rose at least an extra inch during the proofing process prior to baking, and by the time it came out of the oven the bread was at the top of the pan – something that I’ve never seen before.

Note that these pans are best for yeast breads. For quick breads I’ll continue to use my regular loaf pan.

What are your tricks for helping your gluten-free and allergen-free yeast breads to rise?