I've been working on making the perfect French bread baguette. (It's delicious with goat cheese and some artichoke-lemon spread, but that's another review.) I have an excellent bread machine recipe for the dough but letting the bread proof on my pizza stone before cooking it resulted in slightly "squashed" loaves that were more like narrow ellipses than circles. Although I love my stone's effect on a loaf's crisp crust, I finally ordered this baguette pan.
Mindful of the recommendations in other reviews, I sprayed the pan with cooking oil before using it. I also tossed some corn meal on it. (What can I say? I like its effect on the crust.) I laid the dough in the pan's "troughs," let it rise, then moved it to a preheated oven to bake. Unable to part with the stone entirely, I placed the pan on top of it. The loaves turned out beautifully. They're almost perfectly round, about 2" in diameter; the crust was even crispier than when I used my stone, and it's fairly even all around--slightly more brown on top than on the bottom, perhaps because of the stone being underneath.
Since my kids ate them all, I had to make more the next day. This time, I didn't stretch the dough as much so they came out as 3" baguettes. I also reduced the heat a little, as the pan's instructions recommend. The loaves touched when they rose, so I pulled them apart after about ten minutes of baking. That wasn't a problem though, and they came out even better than before.
Cleanup is easy, especially if you spray the pan, but the perforations are a bit harsh on a sponge, so you might want to use the recommended nylon scrub or a paper towel instead. (Cleaning corn meal out of those holes is a little difficult, however, so I'm reconsidering using corn meal.)
If you bake baguettes frequently, I heartily recommend this pan! (No offense to my pizza stone.)
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Chicago Metallic Professional Nonstick Perforated Baguette PanProduct Description: Is there any better treat than a piece of crusty French bread hot out of the oven, possibly slathered with sweet butter? Now you can replicate a bakery loaf right out of your home oven with a pan that molds and bakes a high-crust, slight crumb bread. This non-stick bakeware was developed to withstand the extreme environment of professional kitchens.
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yes this is a gret breadbox not only is it fingerprint proof but it comes in a nice big size and it is matted inside for a different feel. I was very impressed when I received this it makes the kitchen pop.
