I’ve noticed Amazon’s bread pans are the most popular and have the most reviews, but I also saw a bad review saying:
"I see a trend on Amazon regarding people’s reviews who buy the product. They unpack it. They either haven’t started using it yet or have used it for a few days, times. But they’re already taking pictures and posting positive reviews without really knowing how this product will work in daily use, especially after a few weeks or months. We’re talking about a bread pan that’s used for more than a few months - it should last several years!
So I’ve looked at different pans, but most are very similar to the Amazon ones. The only ones I’ve seen that are different are some stainless steel ones like Herogo, TEAMFAR and HaWare. I’ve also seen a BURNHARD cast iron one but it’s 6.5L which is too much bread. Or another cast iron one from Kaisertal. And one made of Aluminum from Nordic Ware.
Would you recommend cast iron, stainless steel, aluminum or one of the popular ones from Amazon Basics, Pyrex, MasterClass, KitchenCraft?
Ex commercial (sourdough) Baker here. Cast iron will be handed down to your children’s children.
What we used was basic (good quality) sheet metal bread pans. Avoid coatings, or anything fancy… Sure they may do something in the short term… But… Same with pyrex. They used to be good, but quality has gone way down in the past 20 years, and you have to be real careful with them, like they’re made of glass or something ;)
This is one place, where possibly the cheapest option is what will win the day. Keep it simple silly :) don’t overthinking it, get something, and get baking!