Two Pan Method Guide For Baking Bread In Bulk In Home Ovens

Welcome to the ultimate Two Pan Method guide! -the place where I show you step-by-step (with pictures) how to bake bread in bulk at home using conventional ovens.

If you've been on a sourdough bread journey, or baking yeasted breads, then you know that baking a perfectly crusty loaf isn't as simple as tossing dough into the oven.

Steam is one of the most important factors when it comes to baking bread, but creating a steamy environment might be challenging to manage by home bakers wanting to bake several loaves of bread at once in their home ovens.

This is why I have created, fined tuned, and taught thousands of home bakers my Two-Pan Method of baking bread in bulk using home ovens (also known as the Double Pan Method or the Loaf Pan Method)

My method is perfect for bakers looking to make multiple loaves at once, maximize oven space, and simplify their baking routine-all while achieving a gorgeous crust and airy crumb.

I am not exaggerating when I say this method has changed the lives of thousands of home bakers.

I receive multiple messages like these every week from bakers who are so thankful this method was brought to light.

To them, using this method means they don't have to spend thousands of dollars on an expensive bread oven, wake up so early to bake or spend whole days in the kitchen lugging heavy iron pots in and out of the oven.

It means they can increase their production and make more money, while having more time to spend with their family or to run different parts of their business.

Jump to:

• The Importance of Steam in Bread Baking
• Traditional Methods of Adding Steam
• The Downsides of Those Methods of Adding Steam
• The Birth of the Two-Pan Method
• What Is the Two-Pan Method?
• What You'll Need To Bake Bread Using The Two Pan Method
• Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Two-Pan Method
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• Scaling Up: Baking in Bulk Using The Two Pan Method
• Useful Links Related To The Two Pan Method
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Recipes Using The Two Pan Method
• Other Helpful Posts About The Two Pan Method
• subscribe to get more home bakery tips

The Importance of Steam in Bread Baking

Steam plays a vital role in the process of baking sourdough bread as it enables the dough to expand fully and achieve the desired "oven spring" by maintaining moisture on the outer crust during the initial baking phase.

This prevents premature setting, resulting in a better crumb structure and a larger loaf compared to baking without steam.

Essentially, steam provides the necessary time for the dough to rise adequately before the crust forms.

• Maximizes oven spring: Steam creates a humid environment that prevents rapid surface drying of the dough, allowing for significant rising before the crust hardens.

• Improves crumb structure: Proper steam distribution facilitates even expansion of the dough, resulting in a more open and airy crumb.

• Enhances crust appearance: Steam aids in sugar gelatinization on the dough's surface, leading to a shiny, crisp, and well-browned crust.

• Improves scoring: The presence of steam enables the scored cuts on the dough to expand and open up effectively during the baking process.

Traditional Methods of Adding Steam

• Professional Bread Ovens: Bakery ovens come equipped with steam injection systems.

• Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Pot: These heavy-duty pots or cloches trap steam released from the dough itself, creating a perfect mini-oven environment.

• Open Baking with Steam Trays: Home bakers using standard ovens often resort to adding a tray of boiling water or spraying the oven walls with water to generate steam.

The Downsides of Those Methods of Adding Steam

• Professional Ovens: Out of reach for most home bakers due to cost and space constraints.

• Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Pot: While effective, they're big, heavy, bulky, expensive, and limit you to two loaves at a time.

• Open Baking with Steam Trays: Inconsistent results. Unless you've mastered this approach, you might risk setting the crust too soon, leading to minimal oven spring and a dense crumb. The crust can brown too quickly-or even scorch-while the interior remains undercooked. This often forces you to remove the bread early, leaving you with an unevenly baked loaf.

• Gas Ovens: Their design, made to vent heat and steam out to prevent the buildup of moisture and maintain proper combustion, makes it difficult to retain the steam and high heat required for sourdough baking, resulting in loaves that struggle to achieve proper oven spring or a well-developed crust.

The Birth of the Two-Pan Method

This method was discovered purely by chance. In the midst of growing my home bakery, I knew I had to increase the amount of loaves I baked per hour in my home oven. I came across content from Haley, who open baked several at once using loaf pans.

I bought four loaf pans to try open baking but for my experiment I had only made enough dough for two loaves. Staring at the extra two pans, I thought:

"Why not use them as lids to trap steam?"

It worked! The bread came out beautiful and my family enjoyed it even more than they did my sourdough boules. That shape made it easier to store, slice, and use for breakfast toast or lunch/dinner sandwiches. I knew my customers would love it better too!

I shared my excitement on a Facebook group for micro bakers. To my surprise, while a ton of bakers were impressed, wanted more details, and were excited to try it right away, 2 or 3 bakers chimed in with "I've done this before." My thought was:

"If no one is talking about this, I will".

I started sharing about it on my social media, and wrote down all of the details, turning it into a method that would be easy to replicate by anyone in the world.

I have loved watching hundreds of home bakers try out my Two-Pan Method, sharing their great results and how their bakeries are flourishing because of it!

Thank YOU for sharing your kind words with me! I love hearing from you!

What Is the Two-Pan Method?

The Two-Pan Method is a simple, budget-friendly solution for baking sourdough bread at home with bakery-quality results.

But how does it create the ideal steamy environment? Similar to how a Dutch oven (cast iron pot) works, the top loaf pan traps the dough's natural moisture, creating a steamy micro-environment without needing additional water trays or misting.

Most store-bought bread get their uniform shape and size from being baked in loaf pans, making it perfect for slicing and using -ideal for mass production and consistent presentation. The Two-Pan Method helps you achieve those results.

The Two-Pan Method creates similar loaves to those baked with rectangular Pullman loaf pans with their signature lids. Bread baked in Pullman loaf pans are very uniform (square or rectangular) with a soft crust, ideal for sandwich bread or precise slicing.

While the Pullman method isn't as versatile for artisan-style sourdough (where you want to achieve a crispy crust) it's another great option for baking in bulk-especially if you're aiming for consistent shapes and sizes. But Pullman pans tend to be more expensive, so let's keep chatting about our Two Pan Method.

What You'll Need To Bake Bread Using The Two Pan Method

1. Loaf Pans

• Quantity: You'll need two pans for each loaf you plan to bake.
• Type: Stainless steel pans are highly recommended for durability and avoiding non-stick coatings with harmful chemicals. Their sleek profile allows me to fit more loaves in the oven (and in my fridge to proof).

2. Greasing or Lining the Pans

To prevent sticking, it's essential to grease your pans well or line them with parchment paper.

• Best Oils:
  • Avocado Oil: Ideal for its high smoke point (up to 500°F).
  • Coconut Oil, Butter, or Ghee: Also effective and add a hint of flavor to the crust.
• How to Grease:
  • Spray the oil, then use a napkin or paper towel to spread it evenly.
  • Ensure every corner and edge is coated to avoid sticking.
• Alternative and my preferred method now:
  • Use parchment paper to line your pans. It's affordable, guarantees easy release, and makes cleanup a breeze. Make sure you use my tested and recommended liners. Other brands use more wax than parchment and the dough might stick.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Two-Pan Method

Scaling Up: Baking in Bulk Using The Two Pan Method

One of the biggest advantages of the Two-Pan Method is how easily it scales for bulk baking.

Here are all the tips and tricks from successfully baking 24 loaves at a time in my double wall oven:

• Rack Placement:
  • Arrange racks to maximize space without compromising airflow. Experiment to find the setup that works best in your oven.

• Initial Temperature:
  • Preheat the oven to 500°F. You need a higher temperature since you will be baking many more loaves at once.
• Loading and Lid Handling:
  • Use silicone gloves for a secure grip and to prevent lids from slipping during loading and removal.
  • Be quick to minimize heat loss, but be calm. I find that when I hurry and worry too much about heat loss, I act nervously and the lids fall off.
  • Practice until you become confident loading the pans.
  • If you find the bottoms of your loaves get too dark, you might want to try adding a large baking sheet on the bottom of your oven, to act as a shield from the heat. Don't do this if, on the contrary, your sides and bottoms are not getting sufficiently brown.
• Temperature Management:
  • After loading the pans, turn off the oven, then immediately turn it back on to 500°F to trigger the preheating cycle for faster temperature recovery. I find ovens tend to reach the desired temperature faster under the preheating mode than if we wait for it to go back to temp on its own.
  • Set a timer for 30 minutes.
• Removing the Lids:
  • Be quick when removing lids to minimize heat loss.
  • Use foil to cover the loaves on the top rack after removing their lids to prevent over-browning or burning.
  • Turn the oven off and then back on and set the temperature to 450°F.
    • Lately I have been baking at 500°F for the entire 45 minutes and I like better how my loaves come out, but remember: every oven is different! you have to experiment to find what temperature and timing works for your setup!
  • Set a timer for 10 minutes. Check and add 5 minutes at a time until they reach a golden brown crust. Because you are baking more loaves at once and losing some oven temperature in the process of loading and removing the pans, you might need to bake for a few extra minutes. This depends on your oven. I don't need to add extra time in my oven, but your oven might be different.
• Inclusion Loaves:
  • Bake loaves with sweet or sticky inclusions (like fruit or cheese) on the bottom rack to avoid drips onto other loaves. But if your oven runs hot on the bottom rack, you might want to bake them on the top rack. It's up to you and your oven.
• Batch Baking:
  • After baking, let the oven return to 500°F before loading the next batch.
  • Always check that each loaf reaches an internal temperature of 205°F before removing from the oven.
  • If you want your loaves to come out darker, try baking at a higher temperature or longer.
  • If they are browning to soon, try lowering the oven temperature or reducing the baking time.

Useful Links Related To The Two Pan Method

Here and here you can find posts and stories that I have saved from other bakers trying the Two Pan Method successfully.

Here you can find videos I have shared on the Two Pan Method.

Check out my Shop Page for all the links to the tools I recommend for:

• Basic tools for making sourdough bread at home
• Essentials for making bread in bulk
  • Pre-Prep Day Essentials
  • Dough Day Essentials
  • Bake Day Essentials
  • Packaging Essentials

Stainless steel loaf pans

Parchment paper liners

Silicone Oven Gloves (Use code MARIA15 to get 15% off)

Sourdough thermometer

Bread scoring lame

The mixer I recommend for making sourdough bread (and other treats/bakes) in bulk

Grain Mill (if you want to mill your own flour to add to your breads)

If you have baked using my Two Pan Method or recipes I would love to hear from you! Please let me know in the comments and share pictures if you can 🙂

The Two Pan Method, also known as the Double Pan Method or The Loaf Pan Method was developed by Maria Baradell, founder of Leaf and Loaf.