How to Line a Loaf Tin Properly

There are two ways lining a loaf tin goes wrong. Either the paper wrinkles and bakes pleats into the sides of your loaf, or you discover, at the exact moment you turn the tin over, that the paper itself has stuck to the cake. One is a technique problem and one is a paper problem, and the paper problem catches out far more bakers than it should.

Check your paper first

In a UK kitchen there are two rolls that look almost identical: greaseproof paper and baking parchment. They are not the same thing. Baking parchment has a silicone coating, which is what makes it non-stick. Greaseproof paper doesn't. It resists grease soaking through, and that's all it does. Use it to line a tin and it will weld itself to a warm banana bread with remarkable commitment.

If a bake has ever come out wearing its lining, this is almost certainly why. For lining tins you want the roll that says baking parchment or baking paper; keep the greaseproof for wrapping sandwiches.

The sling method

For banana bread, tea loaves and most cakes, you don't need to origami a full lining. A simple sling does the job in under a minute.

The short ends of the tin stay bare, so give them a light greasing. The sugar-heavy corners that cause trouble are along the base, which the sling covers.

If a recipe genuinely needs a fully lined tin (a rich fruit cake that bakes for hours, say), scrunch the whole sheet into a ball first, open it out, and press it in. Scrunched parchment loses its spring and sits into the corners instead of fighting you.

When you don't need to line at all

Here's the part the parchment industry won't tell you: a decent tin needs far less help than most recipes imply (it doesn't need seasoning either, if it's coated). Bread dough contains little sugar and plenty of structure, so in a good non-stick tin it wants a light greasing at most. I stopped lining tins for bread years ago and the loaves come out cleaner than the paper ever managed, without the crinkled sides.

Batters are different. Banana bread and tea loaves are heavy with sugar, and sugar caramelises against hot metal. That's why a stuck banana bread always sticks at the corners. For sugary batters, the sling earns its place even in a new tin.

If you're lining every bake because your current tin has form, the tin is the problem. Ours are heavy-gauge carbon steel with a coating made without PTFE or PFOA, and they're covered by a 10-year warranty, sticking included.

If yours is the air fryer kind, our air fryer banana bread recipe was written for the 1lb tin, and it also comes as a set of two if you bake small loaves often.

Not sure which size your recipe means? Our guide to loaf tin sizes settles the 1lb vs 2lb question with actual measurements, and the full loaf tin buying guide covers what to look for in the tin itself. Or skip the decision entirely: the 1lb and 2lb set gives you one of each, and the four-piece Home Baker set doubles up both sizes for anyone baking two loaves to eat and two for the freezer.

The three mistakes that spoil a lined tin

Wrinkled sides. The paper wasn't anchored, or the creases were soft. Grease first, crease hard. If the paper can move, it will.

Scorched paper ends. Parchment towering above the rim browns fast and can tip over onto the top of the loaf. Trim the handles to a couple of centimetres above the rim.

Batter under the paper. If batter creeps beneath the sling it bakes into a rock-hard fin along the base. Same fix as the wrinkles: a greased tin holds the paper flat so there's nowhere for batter to go.

Whichever method you use, what happens after the bake matters just as much. Our care and use guide covers the washing and drying habits that keep a tin releasing cleanly for years.

Line the tin for sugar, grease it for bread, and make sure the roll actually says parchment. If you're doing all three and still scraping loaves out in pieces, it isn't you: see the loaf tin range.