Baking a loaf of bread is a great way to spend an afternoon and make your house smell amazing! While there are an endless amount of types of bread that you can bake, you're probably only using one kind of pan to do it, a loaf pan. Unfortunately, with a loaf pan, sometimes sticking can be a problem. We have looked into all about the best ways to line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that you won't have to worry about your loaves sticking again.
When lining a loaf pan with parchment paper, you should cover all areas inside of the pan. You also have to think about if you want to grease the pan along with the parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, you may also use aluminum foil. There are a couple of different methods that you can use to line your loaf pan:
- The quick way
- Taking the time to measure
- A mix between speed and precision
- Using strips
While there is more than one way to line a loaf pan, there might be one way that you personally prefer. That's one of the reasons why it's important to have all of the information possible when figuring out how to do any task. Continue down below to get the complete picture of how to use parchment paper in your loaf pan!
Lining A Loaf Pan With Parchment Paper
There are several ways to try to prevent sticking in your loaf pan. One is to use an oil to grease the pan, but then you have to pick the right kind of oil and worry about the pitfalls that may happen with that. Learning how to use parchment paper to get this job done is great to give yourself more options.
Click here to shop for parchment paper on Amazon.
Do You Line Just The Bottom Of A Loaf Pan Or The Sides With Parchment Paper?
When it comes to lining your loaf pan, you will want to cover all of the parts where the loaf will touch. For the best practice, this means covering the bottom and sides of the pan and even having some extra hanging out of it for good measure.
This is if you are only using parchment paper. If it's being used with something else, then covering all of the pan may not be necessary. However, if you are using the parchment paper to prevent some mess and help with cleaning the pan later, you should still consider covering all of it.
Do You Grease The Pan When Using Parchment Paper?
You don't have to grease the pan when using parchment paper, but it can help with several things. Greasing a pan and then pressing parchment into it will help the paper stay in place and help make your finished loaf look nicer.
If you grease in between layers of parchment, this will also help them stay together and stop the layers from possibly sticking. If anything else, doing this gives you an extra layer of protection from sticking.
Can You Line A Pan With Foil Instead Of Parchment Paper?
You can use aluminum foil in place of parchment paper to line your loaf pan in a pinch. Just keep in mind that foil isn't as non-stick as parchment paper.
You'll be able to get it out of the pan, but you may have to pick some pieces of foil off of the loaf. But as far as keeping it from sticking inside the pan and helping to reduce any mess, the foil will do nicely.
Can I Use Wax Paper Instead Of Parchment Paper?
While wax paper is a suitable substitute for parchment paper, in some scenarios baking a loaf isn't one of them. Unlike parchment paper, wax paper isn't heat resistant. That means that there is a good chance that it may melt in your oven. If that happens, it will ruin your bread and give you the headache of trying to clean melted wax paper.
1. The Quick Way
This method starts with cutting a large square of parchment paper. You have to make it roughly double the size of the inside of the pan. Then press it into the pan as best you can. Making cuts in the paper where it meets at the corners of the pan can help make it fit better.
The main advantage of this method is that it's fast and it will get the job done. The drawbacks are that it probably won't fit nicely in the pan, so that you may have some trouble with that. Since it likely won't be perfectly smooth against the pan, that means your loaf won't look smooth either. Any wrinkles in the paper will be reflected in the loaf when it's done.
2. Taking The Time To Measure
Start by measuring your loaf pan's width and length. You'll want to cut two separate pieces of parchment. The first piece should be a couple of inches more than the width of the pan and exactly the length. This piece will be placed so that it hangs over the sides of the pan.
The second piece should be a couple of inches more than the length of the pan and exactly the width. Now you can place it over the other piece so that it overhangs on both ends of the pan.
The only real drawback of this method is that it takes more time. Aside from that, its precision will make it so that it fits into the pan perfectly and gives you a great-looking loaf!
3. A Mix Between Speed And Precision
For this method, first cut a square of parchment that is double the inside of the pan. Then, set your loaf pan in the middle of the piece of parchment. Now take a pair of scissors and cut a straight line from the end of the parchment to the corner of the pan. Next, make another straight cut to the same corner but from the other side of the paper. Repeat this on each corner of the parchment.
When you're done, you should have squares cut out of each corner of the paper. Finally, you can push the paper into the pan, and it should fit in nicely. This will give you a combination of advantages from the above two methods. For a better look at this method, check out the quick video below!
4. Using Strips
In this method, you will cut strips of parchment paper. The length and width of them don't have to be exact as long as they are a few inches longer than the width of the pan and wide enough that you can grab onto them. You'll want to grease your pan and then lay 4-5 of these strips across the width of it before you pour in your mix.
This method is good if you're almost out of parchment paper or don't want to use a lot of it. The strips will help you get your loaf out of the pan by gently pulling on them where needed. The downside is that this method won't stop any mess, and you will still need to grease the pan.
Which Side Of The Parchment Paper Goes Up?
Both sides of Parchment paper are the same. So it doesn't matter which side you place up when using it because it will have the same effect.
Wrapping It Up
When lining your loaf pan with parchment paper, you can do it in several different ways. You can quickly cut a piece and place it in the pan, take the time to cut pieces to fit nicely, try a combination of those methods, or just cut strips to help you get the loaf out of the pan.
Each one can be used in combination with greasing the pan. You can also use aluminum foil in place of parchment with these methods. Just keep in mind that it may stick to your loaf a bit. Regardless of which method you choose, it will help you have a better time making bread!
To get the most out of your loaf pan, make sure to click on the links below:
Can You Bake A Cake In A Loaf Pan?
7 Bread Pans with Lids [Pullman Loaf Pans Explained]
