It’s a huge disappointment when your bread looks great, but you find that it’s actually adhered to the sides of the pan so you can’t get it out. You might have baked your bread so it’s perfectly risen and a gorgeous color, but you go to turn it out and it doesn’t budge. You pull on the sides a little and it’s stuck.
The only thing you think to do is find the nearest flat object (probably a knife) and saw the bread away from the sides of the dough. When you eventually manage to get it out, there’s a high chance that the sides will be torn to shreds and the base might have pulled away from the crust completely.
The best thing you can do now is let the bread cool and just feel sorry for yourself since the bread is kinda ruined. Only kidding! You should figure out what went wrong and what you can do next time to stop it from happening again. Since you’re reading this, you’re going to be able to figure out the problem and get a great loaf next time.
Using parchment paper is the most effective way to stop your bread from sticking to the pan as it prevents the bread from touching the sides of the pan directly. Alternatively, a coating of fat, like vegetable oil or shortening can be used to create a non-stick barrier between the dough and the pan.
If you want to take the easier, but arguably more risky route, you can use spray oil. If you’re going to do this, you need to make sure that you cover the inside of the cake pan completely. If you miss even a small area, the bread will most likely stick.
Ways To Stop Your Bread Sticking To The Pan
There are a few ways to stop your dough from sticking to your pan. These methods can either be used on their own, or in conjunction with each other for more effective results.
Here are the most common methods you can try to completely avoid sticking:
- Parchment Paper
The most effective method you can use to stop sticking completely is to simply use parchment paper.
It works by quite literally preventing the dough from touching the pan, so it can’t stick at all. The only thing your dough can stick to is the parchment paper, but this should pull off the bread very easily once baked.
If you’re going to be using parchment paper, I’d recommend greasing the sides of the pan with some form of solid fat, like butter or lard. This allows the parchment to stick more easily, so it doesn’t move around when the dough is put into it. You can also grease on top of the parchment paper before you put the dough in for added safety.
It’s also good to cut extra parchment so it hangs out of the side of the pan. These can act as handles when the bread is done baking, meaning that you can lift it out with ease.
Although it’s the most effective, it’s not used by everyone for good reason. Firstly, it’s just that not everyone has it/is willing to line a baking pan with it, especially if they’re making a lot of loaves, like in a bakery. Secondly, it can ruin the aesthetic of the bread by giving it a messy side crust. This is because the parchment paper can scrunch up and fold in areas of the pan, which then shows indentations or lines on the bread. - Oil
Both spray and liquid oil work for this application. Whilst they are both oils, they still have their pros and cons, so let’s go through them.
The most obvious advantage to spray oil is that it gives you an easy application. You can be done spraying in a matter of seconds and the pan should have a somewhat even coating of the stuff.
The disadvantage to it is that you’re only getting a thin layer of oil and you’re more likely to get an uneven coating.
Unless you’re spraying a very heavy coating of the oil all over the interior of the pan, you’re most likely going to miss some areas, which may cause the bread to stick in places.
When talking about regular liquid oil, the benefit is that you get a better application (if you’re willing to spread it around with your fingers) and it’s generally going to be thicker than spray oil, so it creates more of a barrier between the dough and the pan, lowering the chance that it will stick.
The disadvantages are that it takes more time (since you need to spend more time rubbing the oil in to get a good coating) and the oil may impart flavor into the bread or cause the bread to become oily.
If you’re using some oil, like olive oil, you may find that the flavor of the oil has worked its way into the bread slightly. Of course, this can be good for certain bread, but not all types. If you go slightly overboard, the bread may absorb too much oil, leaving you with an exterior that’s too greasy. - Solid Fat
Using a firm fat, like butter or lard, can prove easy to apply and effective at preventing sticking. It is arguably more effective than oil as it isn’t easily absorbed into the dough like a liquid oil can be.
Using a solid fat is a simple as taking a good chunk of it and spreading it all around the interior of the pan, allowing the heat from your hands to melt it slightly as you push it about
Whilst it might not be the easiest to apply, especially if it’s been in the fridge, it does prevent sticking with a thick and even layer. Just make sure that you’re getting all in the corners too. Using a folded-up paper towel might help you with it. - Coarse Cornmeal or Semolina
Possibly the least effective way to prevent sticking, but still viable, is to use something coarse. Both cornmeal and semolina can be used as they create space between the pan and the dough.
When used alone, these aren’t great and will still likely stick at least a little, but when used in combination with something like an oil or solid fat, they can be used to further prevent sticking.
Simply coat your pan in your fat of choice and pour in a very small handful/a couple of pinches of cornmeal or semolina, then spread it evenly around the tin. After this, you can put your shaped dough in and continue as normal.
Cornmeal or semolina can stick to the dough, especially if you use too much, so make sure that the bread you’re making will be okay with some extra texture to it.
No.1 Reasons Why Your Bread Stuck To The Pan
The reason why your bread stuck will simply have been because the pan wasn’t prepared well enough. If your pan isn’t greased or coated properly, then your bread is almost definitely going to stick.
You need to make sure that you’re thoroughly coating your pan in whatever you’re using the prevent the sticking. Once you make the mistake of not greasing it properly once, you won’t want to do it again.
Even if you’re using a supposedly ‘non-stick’ pan, your bread can still stick pretty badly. Although they might be good at first, this non-stick coating can wear down over time and become less effective. You should coat these with a form of fat in order for them to be completely non-stick.
It’s always useful to coat your dough in a good layer of flour before you put it in the tin too. This just adds another layer of protection that can be what stops the dough from sticking completely