Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Bakeware › Loaf Pans How to Line a Loaf Pan Published: July 9, 2026 · Updated: July 9, 2026
Grease the pan, then lay in a strip of parchment cut to the pan's width that runs up the two long sides and overhangs like a sling, so you can lift the whole loaf out by the flaps. A light grease under and over the paper holds it in place and covers the ends the parchment doesn't reach.
Recommended Grease, drop in a parchment sling across the long sides, and lift the loaf out by the overhang — Lining stops sticky batters — banana bread, pound cake, meatloaf — from gluing to the corners, and the neat trick is a parchment 'sling' that becomes handles for lifting the loaf out cleanly. Cut a piece of parchment as wide as the base of the pan and long enough to line the bottom and both long sides with a few centimeters hanging over each edge. First rub a thin film of butter or oil inside the pan; this both greases the exposed short ends and makes the paper stick so it doesn't float up into the batter. Press the parchment down the middle and up the two long walls, creasing it into the bottom edges, and smooth out air bubbles. Grease over the paper too for easy release. Pour in the batter, bake, and when it's done lift the loaf straight out by the two overhanging flaps, then peel the paper away. For a snug fit you can snip the corners; for a fully enclosed line, use a wider sheet and fold the corners like wrapping a parcel. Pre-cut parchment loaf liners do the same job if you'd rather not measure.
