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Cast iron has found a home in kitchens around the world. After much research, Jim Challenger discovered it’s the best material for baking bread, especially artisan-style bread.
Do I need to do anything before my first bake?
Your Challenger Bread Pan® has been pre-seasoned and shipped ready to use. Prior to your first bake, simply wipe the pan with a damp cloth.
What can I expect with the first few bakes?
Your pan retains consistent heat longer than other baking vessels and therefore you may need to adjust your usual bake times. Please monitor baking times closely during the first few uses and adjust oven heat and bake times as necessary. Minor smoking may occur during your first few bakes. This is normal and safe and will not affect your bread. The smoking will soon dissipate.
Where can I learn more about the Challenger Bread Pan®?
All About the Challenger Bread Pan® is a great place to learn more.
Here are some very easy cast iron pan care suggestions that fit into your baking workflow and keep your Challenger as good as new.
When you’re done baking, you can let your pan cool in the oven after you turn it off. You can store it right in the oven, or anywhere that will keep it dry.
Cast iron has found a home in kitchens around the world. After much research, Jim Challenger discovered it’s the best material for baking bread, especially artisan-style bread.
So what makes taking care of your Challenger unique to, say, your trusty everyday cast iron skillet? To start, it’s the seasoning. While your trusty skillet gains natural seasoning from fatty foods like bacon or steak, your bread is not full of fat! Your Challenger comes pre-seasoned to perfection with 3 layers of organic grapeseed oil that’s been carefully sprayed on by hand. Between each coat, the pans are moved through precision ovens where the temperature and time have been dialed in to give your Challenger Bread Pan® the beautiful black durable seasoning you’ll notice when you receive your new pan.
The seasoning on your Challenger does have an enemy to its longevity: steam. While the steam that settles on your loaf is desirable while it’s baking, that same water, can wreak havoc on the seasoning of your pan. We’ve even found that the heat in gas ovens is moister than in electric ovens. If you look closely after each bake, you may see spots where the pan is not quite as black as it used to be, but fear not. Maintenance of your pre-seasoned Challenger is easy. And when you love your pan as much as we do—and we know you will—you’ll enjoy giving it a little tender loving care.
Keeping that rich, dark black color.
There’s a primer layer on your Challenger that gives your pan a rich dark black finish. To keep the steam in your oven from burning off that primer coat, we recommend that you follow the following method before or after each bake — whichever fits your schedule better.
If you’re doing it after you bake, take your pan out, and leave the oven on—set to 500°F/260°C is best. Follow the instructions below and place your pan back in the oven when done. You can then turn the oven off, and the heat will bake the oil into a new layer of seasoning.
If it’s easier or fits your schedule better, you can follow the instructions below right before you start preheating your oven for baking your bread. The heat during preheating will bake the oil into a new layer of seasoning.
By adding oil in this manner, you’re creating a new topcoat of seasoning on your pan. This becomes the sacrificial layer of seasoning that burns off due to all the steam in your oven. The primer coat will then stay intact, and your pan will always look as good as new.
Which oil should you use to season your Challenger? For maintenance, we recommend what you probably already have! A vegetable oil or high-heat extra light olive oil will work great. We don’t recommend extra virgin olive oil, because it becomes sticky and burns easily.
Instructions for re-seasoning:
First, very lightly coat only spots where you feel need it. Maybe where you put an ice cube, or some spots you may be seeing on your lid. Please use a very thin layer of oil—no drips! Just rub on with a lint free cloth and place your pan back in the hot oven for 15 minutes. If you see smoke, perfect: your Challenger has reached its smoking point. This is the process called polymerization, when the oil bonds with the cast iron creating a layer of seasoning.
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