9 x 4 or 13 x 4? Choosing the Best Pullman Loaf Pan

A Pullman pan is a loaf pan with a lid. The dough rises until it meets that lid, then bakes against it, so the loaf comes out with a flat top, straight sides and square corners. The French call the bread pain de mie; Japanese bakeries bake shokupan the same way. The result is the even, close-grained sandwich slice that fits a toaster, holds a pressed sandwich together and cuts into neat squares for tortas or French toast.

Ordinary loaf pans, the 8½ by 4½ and 9 by 5 inch pans most kitchens own, are covered in our guide to the best baking loaf pan. This page goes narrower: only lidded pans built for square loaves, sorted by the two standard sizes, by material and by how much dough each one takes.

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Quick verdict: which Pullman pan to buy

The table lines up five standout pans, one for each kind of baker. All seven are reviewed in full after it.

Five Pullman pans side by side

One pick for each kind of baker, with the size, material and coating each maker or listing states.

Product images from Amazon. Sizes, materials and coatings are as stated by the maker or its Amazon listing; “not stated” means we found no figure. Check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best Pullman loaf pan

Seven lidded pans, chosen to cover the real choices: the two American standard sizes, a French tin, two Japanese shokupan pans, a ceramic baker and a small pan for a household of one or two. Each was in stock on Amazon when we checked.

How to choose a Pullman pan for square sandwich bread

1. Match the pan to your recipe, not the other way round

A Pullman pan only works when the dough fills it. Too little dough and the loaf never reaches the lid, so the top rounds over; too much and the lid jams or the dough squeezes out of the ends. King Arthur Baking gives the two standard American sizes as 9 by 4 by 4 and 13 by 4 by 4 inches, and its pain de mie recipe, with 570 grams of flour, is written for the 13-inch pan. USA Pan says its 9-inch pan holds a recipe of 3 to 4 cups of flour. Japanese and French pans are sized by loaf or in millimeters, so weigh your dough the first time and write down what fills the pan; a kitchen scale for baking makes that easy.

2. Coated or uncoated

Silicone-coated pans from USA Pan and CHEFMADE release easily and clean quickly, and their makers describe the coatings as PTFE and PFOA free. USA Pan sets a 450°F ceiling for its coating and advises against cooking sprays. The Japanese pans from Tiger Crown and Endo Shoji are aluminum-plated steel or iron with no stated coating: they need greasing, but there is nothing to scratch off.

3. Watch the proof, then slide the lid on

King Arthur’s method is to let the shaped dough rise until it is just below the lip of the pan, then slide on the lid and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. The lid then comes off for another 10 to 20 minutes, until the center of the loaf reads 190°F. If the dough has already risen above the rim, the lid will be hard to slide on, so keep an eye on it toward the end of the rise.

4. Metal or ceramic

A metal tin gives the classic pain de mie: thin, pale crust and sharp corners. A ceramic baker such as Emile Henry’s holds heat and steam differently, so expect a thicker crust and softer edges. Both make good sandwich bread; only the metal tin makes the textbook square slice.

5. Think about how fast you eat bread

A 13-inch loaf is a lot of bread. If it will sit for days, a 9-inch or 1 lb pan bakes a loaf you finish while it is fresh; if you do bake big, a bread box gives the loaf a home on the counter.

How we chose these seven Pullman pans

We started from what decides a Pullman pan: the size and how it matches common recipes, the lid, the material and coating, and the care rules each maker states. We searched Amazon US and checked each listing’s stock through Amazon’s product data, keeping only pans that were in stock when we checked and that came from identifiable bakeware makers. Many lidded pans on Amazon come from sellers with no maker information; we left those out rather than pad the list.

Specifications come from each Amazon listing, from USA Pan’s use-and-care page and from Sur La Table’s product page for the Emile Henry baker. Sizing and method come from King Arthur Baking’s guide to baking pans and its pain de mie recipe. We left out the USA Pan pans sold in pairs, which are the same pans as picks one and two, and Paderno’s blue steel Pullman pans, which showed low stock. We checked the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database for every brand here and found no recalls involving these pans. We have not baked in these pans ourselves for this guide.

Pullman loaf pan questions, answered

What is the best quality Pullman loaf pan?

For most home bakers, USA Pan’s 13 x 4-inch pan: heavy-gauge aluminized steel, made in the USA, with a lifetime warranty and a clear 450°F limit. For an uncoated, Japanese-made pan, Tiger Crown is the alternative.

What size Pullman pan should I buy first?

The size your recipes use. King Arthur’s pain de mie is written for the 13-inch pan. If your sandwich loaf recipe uses about 3 cups of flour, the 9 by 4 by 4 inch pan is the better fit.

Can I bake in a Pullman pan without the lid?

Yes. CHEFMADE, for one, says its Pullman pans can be used with or without the cover; left open, the dough rises above the rim into a domed top, like a standard sandwich loaf. The lid is what makes the top flat and the slices square.

Why won’t my Pullman loaf fill the corners?

Usually because there is too little dough for the pan, or it went into the oven before it had risen close enough to the lid. King Arthur lets the dough rise to just below the lip before sliding the lid on. Weigh the dough so you can adjust next time.

Is a Pullman pan the same as a regular loaf pan?

No. A Pullman pan has straight, taller sides and a lid. For open-top loaf pans in the 8½ by 4½ and 9 by 5 inch sizes, see our best baking loaf pan guide.

Our final pick for square sandwich loaves

Buy the USA Pan 13 x 4-inch if you want the standard pain de mie pan, and its 9 x 4-inch sibling for smaller loaves. Choose Tiger Crown or Endo Shoji for Japanese-style shokupan in an uncoated pan, Gobel for a French tin with a higher heat limit, Emile Henry for a ceramic baker with more crust, and CHEFMADE for a small loaf for one or two.

A square, even loaf is easiest to slice with a proper bread knife, and a bread proofing box takes the guesswork out of timing the rise to the lid. For the rest of the loaf pan family, go back to our best baking loaf pan guide. And if you would rather let someone else do the cooking tonight, see the menu or call to order.