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

FAQs

Is cast iron good for bread making? ›

But the real magic comes from the cast-iron Dutch oven, the perfect vessel for baking bread. It acts like an oven-within-the-oven, maintaining a high and steady heat that transforms this sticky dough into a gorgeous round loaf with a crisp crust and excellent crumb structure.

Most cast iron skillets these days come pre-seasoned, meaning they're ready for cooking on as soon as you take them out of the box. However, over time, the seasoning erodes, and you'll need to re-apply it by brushing the skillet with a thin layer of neutral oil and heating it until the oil bonds to the metal.

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.

What oils can I use to season cast iron? 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.

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.

While it won't really affect the actual bread itself, if you're using butter or oil in a cast iron or enamel pot there's a big risk that the bread will actually stick to the pot. It's not a pretty sight to behold ... and not a mess you want to clean up. Not to mention losing your bread.

A seasoned cast iron pan is needed to keep the surface nonstick, but excessive leftover grease can cause the bottom to burn and create smoke in the oven, affecting the bread's flavor. Wipe the surface with paper towels, then lightly brush with a neutral oil or cooking spray for easy bread release post-baking.

To season your pan, rub it all over with peanut oil or vegetable shortening, until it's completely coated. Bake for 90 minutes in a low oven (300°F), then wipe off any excess oil with absorbent paper.

Challah, ciabatta, semolina bread, baguettes split lengthwise, pain de campagne — all make fine toast (actually, day-old bread makes the best toast), given proper attention. And when the toast is burned, just start over; scraping the black stuff off the top makes a horrid sound, and it never fools anyone, anyway.

What skillet is best for toasting bread? ›

Start with a flat bottomed non-stick pan.

Toast scratches, so save your best Non-Stick pans for omeletes and dig out that old pan. You could use heavy Cast Iron Skillets (which feel like a waste to heat up for a slice of bread) or Carbon steel pans.

Just put the bread directly on the hot pan—I use a non-stick pan, so no butter or oil needed, but a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet would be great here too—and let it crisp and brown, 1-2 minutes per side.

A great loaf pan bakes evenly browned, neatly shaped loaves. It should be made from aluminized steel for optimized browning and have a nonstick coating that releases loaves immediately when turned over and is easy to clean. Finally, a good loaf pan is versatile and can handle yeasted bread, batter bread, and sourdough.

Non-stick metal bread tins – Metal bread tins made from aluminised steel are best for baking bread. I use the bread tin supplier brand USA Pan, which comes with an eco-friendly, PFOA- and PTFE-free silicone coating which has good non-stick properties.

The quality of absorbing heat and holding onto it makes cast iron ideal for any recipe that starts on the stove and ends in the oven. From searing a thick steak or spatchco*cked chicken that finishes in the oven to caramelizing apples for a tarte tatin, cast iron is the best possible choice for this kind of cooking.

Cast iron is one of the best materials for bread baking because it holds heat very well.