Brunswick Bakers Seasoned Cast Iron Bread Pan
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A safer, easier, and cost effective way to make better bread at home.
Are you (or is someone you know) a home bread maker? Are you looking for a way to get all the bread-related benefits of a lidded cast iron dutch oven, such better oven spring (better rise) or more evenly, beautifully browned crust that imparts amazing flavours… without the associated issues of using a dutch oven? If so, you're certainly not alone. This is why I bought the Brunswick cast iron, lidded loaf pan.
The issues with baking bread in a dutch oven might be burning your hands on the walls of the pot as you delicately lower shaped dough ...
Read moreballs into your pre-heated pot. Perhaps you’ve found that ideal baking temperatures (say 270 Celsius) exceed the safe temperatures of even high-end pots (Le Creuset or Chasseur for example). Have you had to remove the handle on the lid to stop it from melting? Perhaps you’ve had a bread loaf stick to the bottom of the pot, those high walls make it hard to remove. Some people may use baking paper, but even baking paper doesn’t stop the bottom of your loaf from burning and sticking sometimes. As someone who’s blown numerous heating elements cranking his oven “all the way” and cracked his partners enamelled cast iron pot by cooking at 275 Celsius, who’s burned his hands on the high walls of the dutch oven, and who has had to remove the handle from the lid and dealt with the problems that causes when trying to remove the now-handle-free lid while using oven mitts… I’ve sometimes put the work in, only to just put my ready-to-bake dough balls into a lidded non-stick baking dish, despite the inferior quality that produces. This undermines the whole point of baking my own bread. I discovered the Challenger Bread Pan online early last year, the design was intriguing because it has a shallow pan as a base, more like a baking tray made of cast iron. This makes putting the dough ball in, and taking the baked loaf out much easier than a pot with high walls. The depth (the area that the dough is allowed to rise) was provided by the domed lid. In short, this is the cast iron equivalent to a Tupperware cake box, where you put the cake on the lid, and use the box as the dome. (I mean in arrangement, I certainly do NOT recommend trying to bake bread in any sort of plastic box, that's a terrible idea). COMPARING PRICE AND SPECIFICATIONS BETWEEN THE BRUNSWICK, THE BRISBANE, AND THE CHALLENGER:
Purchased at Kitchen Warehouse Online Store for $129.95.
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Questions & Answers
How long do i have to heat the brunswick pan in the oven. I had 3 dough ready to be baked. 1 of the dough i used a cast iron pot, it rises as usual, although the dough is a little soft when I took it out from the basket, the rest I baked in the brunswick and it didnt rise like the bread in the cast iron pot. Is the fault is in the dough or the brunswick pan wasn't heated enough. Thank you
Hi Glo,
Always happy to help a fellow baker....
Read more I don't know what's going on with your dough, I'm flying blind here. If it's the same dough in all three cases, and it behaves differently in two different pieces of iron bake ware, then my guesses are: 1. Maybe you're over-proofing (because the Brunswick takes so long to heat up) and the gas is lost. This is merely a scheduling/timing issue. 2. The Brunswick is not up to temperature... 3. Different sized loaves need to be baked differently. (This requires a little trial and error) Each of these cases can (individually, or combined) to slow or even inhibit the rise. If you're making different dough recipes, (as I often do) it's hard to nail down the exact cause. Some sourdoughs for instance, simply won't rise as much as normal breads. They can be a little finnicky, especially if you're changing quantities, and making different sized loaves. It takes longer to get the heat into larger loaves, especially with high hydration recipes. So a somewhat lower initial temperature for longer time will probably ensure a better rise, but of course, you probably want that high heat to get a crunchy, flavoursome crust too afterwards. Your oven is also a consideration. There's no "one set time". Pre-heating times will depend on various factors like your current climate, how hot you're baking at, and of course, how effective the oven is at getting to the target temperature. Every oven is different, and the greater the difference between ambient and target temps, and the more iron/food you have... the longer it'll take. Here in Canberra winter, on a 15Amp, 70L (60cm wide, standard height/depth) oven that's 18 years old.... I usually start the oven (and the preheating of my cast iron gear) about 45-55 minutes early to ensure I'm at the 220-270 Celsius needed when I start baking. If you have an infrared thermometer (the non-contact kind) you could check the temperature of the Brunswick prior to putting the dough in. Alternatively, just give it a bigger head start to heat up the Brunswick. If your cast iron pot works for you, maybe heating the extra iron in the Brunswick is the issue. If your cast iron pot weighs less than the Brunswick (my empty Brunswick is 7Kg of iron) I'd weigh the other pot, find out how many times your other pots weight can fit into the Brunswick. Let's say your other pot weighs 3.7Kg (empty) then calculate the heat-up time by using the following example: 7Kg divided by 3.7Kg = 1.89x (I'd multiply the heat up time accordingly). Then you can experiment a bit, shortening it until the preheating isn't reached in the time frame. Anyway, good luck, I hope this helps! Harmo.
My pan has just arrived. according to information enclosed it has been preseasoned. Have previous purchases found that this is sufficient?
Hi Colc,
The pre-seasoning was ok on my Brunswick. However, after washing it by hand in very mild soapy water for first use, (which is always recommended) and thoroughly drying the base and lid. I ju...
Read morest gave it an additional seasoning coat to cover any gaps with a little grape seed oil, I find it's a little nicer than vegetable oil, but your mileage may vary. There are plenty of You Tube videos on how to season a cast iron pan if you don't know how.
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Details
| Category | Cookware & Fryware Products |
|---|---|
| Main Body Material | Cast Iron |
| Induction Compatible | Yes |
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