14 Cast Iron Skillet Bread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What size cast iron skillet for baking bread? ›

Rustic Cast Iron Skillet Bread – Extra-Large Loaf. This loaf can be baked in a 10.25” or 12” cast iron skillet. I do not recommend using enamel coated cast iron for this recipe if you are baking it on the grill.

Cast iron: While cast iron requires more care than the other materials on this list, its heat retention and distribution are second to none, resulting in beautifully browned loaves every time. However, it's heavy and is hand wash only.

This is my method of choice. Simply preheat your cast iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven before you add your sourdough. Place your bread, either on a baking stone or cookie sheet on the middle rack, and then pour boiling water into the skillet.

You just need a lid to cover it and the proper heat-conducting cast-iron material, and your bread will come out perfectly every time. Size & Shape: Look for a 6- to 7-quart, round Dutch oven. Anything much bigger will cause the bread to spread out and go flat.

Is a 15-inch cast iron skillet too big? Yes, a 15-inch cast iron skillet is too big for most people. They're not practical since they are difficult to cook with and store. For the occasional social event with 6+ people, a 15-inch skillet can work well.

But despite some popular cooking myths, cast iron does not heat evenly—or quickly. That's why preheating is such an important (and often overlooked) step.

The side-by-side comparison shows that bread baking in a Dutch oven (and preheating it first) is the key to making an artisan-looking loaf. More steam is created inside the preheated Bread and Potato Pot than when water is poured into a pan in the bottom of the oven, one trick for making crusty bread.

Our favorite loaf pan is the Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Loaf Pan, which baked picture-perfect loaves. We also liked the round-edged Nordic Ware Treat Nonstick Loaf Pan. It had handles, making it easy to pull out of the oven.

To prevent burning, use coarse cornmeal or wheat bran

This layer helps keep the dough from sticking to the cast iron but also lifts it up to prevent burning.

Can I bake sourdough in a cast iron skillet? ›

If you are looking to make sourdough without a dutch oven, this sourdough country skillet bread is just the recipe for you. The dough rises and bakes to perfection in a trusty cast iron skillet. With just four simple ingredients, it's a straightforward sourdough recipe, perfect for beginners.

The most common reason food sticks to cast iron is because the pan is simply too hot. Because cast iron retains heat much better than other types of cookware, you generally don't need to use as high of a heat setting as you normally would with stainless steel or aluminum cookware.

What size Dutch oven is best for bread? Again, your best bet is anywhere between 5 and 7 quarts.

I preheated the Dutch Oven in the oven to 400F/204C in 15 minutes. The loaf then baked for 80 minutes (30 with lid on and 50 with lid off). It baked up nicely with an ear, blisters and nice ovenspring. I would suggest leaving the lid on for at least 45 minutes.

You can still cook all the bread recipes that were written for a larger Dutch. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, however. For example, if you find yourself with a lot of dough, you might want to reduce the recipe by a third to fit nicely in the 3.5-quart Dutch oven.

Use the Right Size for Best Results

The two most popular bread pan sizes are 9×5 and 8½x4½ inches. Both sizes are typically 2½ inches tall. While the difference in sizes seems small, it actually equals a 15% difference in capacity.

But the vast majority of yeast bread recipes call for one of two basic bread pan sizes: 9" x 5" or 8 1/2" x 4 1/2". Both of these bread pans are generally 2 1/2" tall; sometimes, they're interchangeably referred to as a “loaf pan.”

Most home baking recipes call for pans that are between 8 x 4 inches and 9 x 5 inches. If you bake a lot you'll probably have a variety of loaf pans in various sizes on hand, but if not, you should pick up the size pan that is called for in your recipe or scale the recipe to fit the pan you have.

In America, what recipes call a “standard loaf pan” is 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches. If a store sells only one size of loaf pan, this is probably it. If you own one loaf pan, it should probably be this size. But larger loaf pans are not uncommon, either in stores or for recipes.