SC - pie and bread pans

[Decker, Terry D.]

> Since clay was available, I wonder why it wasn't used for either
> bread or pie pans? Does cooking bread in a pan have particular
> advantages besides shape and vice-versa, what advantages does
> baking bread without a pan have? Why spend the time and resources
> to make a coffin crust each time you make a pie when a clay container
> would ease that or even eliminate the crust?
> 
> -- 
> Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
> 
There are woodcuts showing trappes being prepared for the oven.  A trappe is
a circular pie pan several inches deep.  The were probably used to prepare
soft crusted pies and casserole type dishes.  Later paintings show fairly
modern tart pans.  And, IIRC, Scappi's Opera has some illustrations of tart
pans.

Bread pans were probably not generally used because the number a
professional baker would need would be expensive and there would be the
additional cost of heating the terra cotta as well as the bread.  Metal pans
are more efficient, but metal pans would be more costly.

With the modern, continuous heat ovens and their open grill racks, bread
pans are an efficient way of loading bread into the oven.  The loaf shape is
efficient in  the modern mechanized commercial bakery.

Bear