Lodge Cast Iron Loaf Pan – a Baking Review
I won this Lodge cast iron loaf pan in a contest on Linda’s Pantry YouTube channel. It is such a great addition to my cast iron collection. I now have a Lodge cast iron 10″ frying pan, a 10″ dutch oven and a 12″ dutch oven. I’ve used the loaf pan several times already, but I will tell you about my first bake in this extraordinary little guy.
I made dill bread. Many years ago, my husband and I would go to a dinner theater. I had been going to this theater with my mother since I was a little girl. The one thing I always remembered about the place was…. the bread. They served the most amazing dill bread and cheese bread that you have ever tasted. Everyone would ask for seconds, thirds, and more. After many years, the theater actually opened up a separate bakery on site where they would sell loaves so that you could bring some home. They sold out almost every time. It is that good. Soft and airy, with a great dill flavor. It became the routine that when you went there, you rushed to the bakery line that winded down several hallways, and bought your bread before the meal was served. Some people even came late to the meal so that they could get their bread. I wanted to recreate the kind of dill bread that my husband and I had been served at this fantastic dinner theater. It is that good. Soft and airy, with a great dill flavor.
To recreate this recipe I used my tried and true white bread dough recipe and added 2 tablespoons of dill. It looked good. It smelled good. I set it for the first rise and then pressed it into the Lodge cast iron loaf pan for the second rise.
I sprinkled some cheese on top, just like they do at the theater bakery.
The house smelled amazing. I wish I would bake bread more often because whenever I do, I am so happy. And the family loves it, too. While we’re waiting for it to bake, I will review the pan.
LODGE CAST IRON LOAF PAN REVIEW
When the loaf pan first came, I was surprised by how small it was. I’m used to long skinny loaf pans, and this one is a bit wider, but not very long. It measures 10″ long, 5″ wide, and has a depth of 2 3/4″. Once I used it, I realized that it is the perfect size. It weighs a nice and heavy 4.5 pounds. You know you are using cast iron when you pick this thing up! My daughters’ eyes bulged with surprise when they held it!
The pan is already seasoned and ready to use. After baking dill bread, banana bread, sourdough bread and meatloaf, everything just kind of slid out when it was baked, leaving little to clean up. A quick wipe with warm to hot water and a thin coating of fresh oil, and it was ready for it’s next use. This pan can also be used on the grill for holding smoker chips! That’s what I love about cast iron, it is pretty much indestructible!
So, how did my bread turn out?
Yum! It wasn’t quite as light as we get from the theater bakery, but we loved it. Next time, I’m going to add more dill. While we could taste the dill, we were expecting a stronger flavor, so next time I’ll double it and see if that is better.
The bread was gone in a few hours. And the crust all around was just perfect. Yep, I’m in love with my new Lodge cast iron loaf pan!
