The humble bread pan

I've been travelling a bit lately and baking in strange kitchens without my usual bannetons, lames, etc.  This has been an opportunity to pare down my baking routine and it has been fun.  I thought I would briefly share a few of my experiences.  One problem I had to overcome was lack of a oven stone.  My poor man's oven stone was an upside down pyrex dish.  It worked surprisingly well, though I didn't try a simple cookie sheet to see if the heat capacity of the pyrex was making a difference in the amount of oven spring I got.  Limited access to banneton and couche in some kitchens had me using the humble bread pan, which worked wonderfully.  I even baked in a stainless steel bowl in one particularly poorly outfitted kitchen.  It turns out you pretty much can't go wrong.

When baking sourdough in a pan I recommend using a sparing amount of refined olive oil to prevent the bread from sticking (not extra virgin because it burns at 350F).  Other vegetable oils (like canola) give a flavor to the outside of the bread that I find undesierable.  In the end I still prefer the traditional free standing loaves.  The larger crust surface area is a must for us crust lovers, and the superior aesthetics of freestanding loaves are unquestionable.  Still, baking in pans is fun and easy.  You don't have to worry about damaging the loaf while trying to get it in the oven!