[toc]The worst case scenario with an aluminum baking sheet is that you will have to shimmy the food off if it’s stuck.
That’s possible with pizza, but not so easy to do with a loaf of homemade bread. That’s in a deep pan!
If it’s stuck, it will fall apart.
Unlike a casserole dish, where that may be okay, loaves of anything are expected to look Instagram-worthy. Whether it’s sourdough or meatloaf, they’re never supposed to be smushed or broken, right?
Of course this is why Teflon bakeware is so popular. Beautiful baking, even with minimal to oil-free surfaces.
Is Teflon safe? The answer carries many asterisks.
That’s why we here at Superfoodly use ceramic cookware instead. Its PTFE-free thanks to the old-school technology of ceramics – made with the same minerals you find in stones and sand.
Though unlike common pottery or that Fiestaware dish, they’re fired at higher temperatures to create a glossier, less porous surface. The best will resist sticking comparable to Teflon.
They’re PTFE-free and PFOA-free. Nor are any other PFAS chemicals used. Lead-free and cadmium-free too, of course.
Unfortunately, there are only a handful of manufacturers for ceramic and among them, only a few make the standard 9×5 inch pan. Here are our favorites…
Reviews
1. Casaware ceramic-coated loaf pan
For structural integrity, Casaware is not 100% ceramic. As you can imagine, a piece of pottery so thin would be extremely fragile and easily break.
As with other brands in this category, it consists of a steel or aluminum pan that is coated with non-toxic natural minerals; sand and silicon, which produces a slick and glossy surface. The same stuff used for ceramic dishes and mugs.
Casaware is not the type of brand name you’ll find at Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table. This is a rather low-brow brand that’s sold at Walmart and similar (on their website, not in-store).
So why are we recommending a cheap brand as our top pick?
Because non-stick ceramic has about one-fifth the life of PTFE-based coatings (e.g. Calphalon, T-Fal, Anolon).
This is a drawback of baking bread with a ceramic loaf pan versus PTFE non-stick. However, we think your health is well worth it, right?
But we don’t think the pan should be worth as much, right?
We own several Casaware sheets and pans and thus far, have had great luck with them.
Above is a gluten free loaf we made that’s oil-free. It’s vegan so there’s no eggs, either. To get it out of the pan, we didn’t even need a utensil. We simply flipped it upside-down on top of a cutting board!
Amazing results, though we know those days will eventually end. Ceramic doesn’t peel like PTFE, but it does gradually lose its non-stick properties and food will start adhering.
For that reason, we love the Casaware 9×5” loaf pan. We bought it on Amazon and for the price we paid, we certainly won’t cry when it’s time to replace.
You can check the current price here, which obviously is subject to change.
2. GreenLife ceramic non-stick loaf pan
In addition to Casaware, we’ve been using the brand GreenLife for about a year. It’s definitely sturdier and feels to have better engineering.
No surprise, given that GreenLife and GreenPan (both the same company) are probably the bestselling brand of ceramic pots and pans in the US, Canada, and United Kingdom.
They also use what many consider to be the highest quality ceramic technology.
The coating they use is called Thermolon. It’s made by a South Korean company of the same name, who has pioneered natural non-stick cooking technology for almost two decades now.
Thermolon ceramic coatings are known for tolerating extremely high heat. You can heat a ceramic pan up to 450 degrees C, which is 850 degrees F!
Even if that temperature were exceeded, which is highly unlikely in a normal kitchen, toxic fumes or gases will never be emitted.
The heavy-duty steel core of the GreenLife ceramic bread pan is about 8.5 inches long by 4.4 inches wide. Pumpernickel will pop out easily, as will just about any loaf recipe used.
Perhaps we should have read the above when we bought our very first pan
One mistake we made from day one with both GreenLife and Casaware was to wash their pans right after removing the food (you know, so you don’t have dishes to do after dinner). That’s a no-no, as the rapid temperature change isn’t good for the finish.
The manufacturer advises against this, so make sure you let yours cool before cleaning. Hand rinse to preserve its nonstick properties.
Here is the link for it on Amazon.
3. Calphalon signature nonstick bread/cake pan
What, Calphalon? Don’t they make the bad stuff with PTFE?
They do, however they also dabble a bit in ceramic cookware. Don’t get too excited though, because they only offer a few pots and pans with it.
Officially called the Calphalon Signature non-stick loaf pan, it’s a 5×10 inch size that features a ceramic coating which is PFOA and PTFE-free. They claim it’s scratch-resistant, though we have heard of no customer reviews which test that using metal utensils. The safest bet is silicone and wood spatulas only.
Calphalon says it’s oven-safe at temperatures up to 500 degrees F and can be put in a dishwasher. However as with Casaware and GreenLife, we wouldn’t recommend that.
If you do go the dishwasher route and give it a beating, at least its backed by a manufacturer’s lifetime warranty. As far as how much of a hassle (or not) that is to pursue, we can’t say from experience.
The neutral graphite color works well in any kitchen color scheme. That’s a complaint we have about GreenLife, as their bright pastel colors don’t match our other cookware.
This is the only brand we have yet to try, however the reviews are generally positive. Here’s what users on Amazon have said about it.
If you get it, please do let us know how your loaves turn out.