I have a large collection of loaf pans in all kinds of finishes and a variety of sizes. The heavy, professional grade are my favorites (Chicago Metallic) for even baking. I even like my heavy-duty stainless steel pans. I recently got a "cool" pair of NORPRO loaf pans at an Amish hardware store. They are dark metal, non-stick, and have waffle/dimpled sides. The bread browns more because the pans are very thin. I often use Pullman Pans (aka Pain de Mie Pan) for our everyday bread when it's destined to be used for sandwiches in brown bag lunches. I use a 1-pound size (3-3-1/4 c. flour), but also have a 2-pound size (4-5 cups of flour) for when we have family here. This is a loaf pan that includes a tight-fitting lid. You bake the bread with the lid on for part of the baking time, then remove it for rest of the baking time. With this pan you get a crustless, square, sandwich-type bread. Perfect for a close-grained type enriched dough. These are the types of breads you can cut into thin slices - perfect for sandwiches. I use small loaf pans (5-3/4x3-3/4-inchs) for making small quick breads for gifts baskets, and also use these pans for making 2 hot dog buns. I have a number of them. Another favorite pan are my good old, shiney aluminum 7-1/2x3-1/2 Bake King pans. They hold up to 1# of dough or a recipe using 2-1/2 c. flour. Great for small loaves of quick breads. I often divide my 100% whole wheat dough into 3 of these and get 3 small loaves of bread. Another fun pan is a Danish Loaf Pan (aka Tea Loaf Pan), which is longer and narrower than a normal pan - 12" x 4" x 2 1/2" pan that holds the equivalent of a 9" x 5" loaf pan. This gives you smaller slices for yeast breads or quick breads. The slices stay together when sliced thin. I also like to bake in covered clay bakers. I have a round one and one for the long Italian-style loaves. It's the next best thing to having a brick oven and a steam-injection oven. The biggest mistake people make with loaf pans is not knowing the amount of dough for the size pan - more than what type of pan they use - and not scaling their dough for their pans. This is often the cause of over- or under-proofed dough, as well as shredding or blow-outs on the sides of the loaves. For instance, 9x5-inch pan is designed for quick breads, but also holds a recipe for yeast breads that contains about 4 c. flour or around 2-pounds by weight. Standard size loaves are 8-1/2x4-1/2-inch and hold recipes that contain approx. 3 c. flour or 1-1/2-pounds of dough. -Grainlady

This has become a favorite with us Honey (whole) wheat bread - single loaf/breadmaker 3 cups of all purpose flour (about 13 oz by weight, 4.25 oz/cup flour, 120 - 125 gm) or (2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cups whole wheat flour) 1 pkg. active dry yeast (I use ~1 T) 4 tsp vital wheat gluten (optional) 2 Tbs instant potato flakes (optional) ¾ tsp. salt ½ cup milk ¼ cup orange juice ¼ cup water ¼ cup honey 2 T butter 1 egg lightly beaten Combine dry ingredients in breadmaker. Microwave 1 minute: milk, orange juice, water, honey, and butter until warm. Add warmed liquid and lightly beaten egg to flour mixture. Run breadmaker on “dough only” cycle (about 90 minutes), remove and Shape and place dough, into greased 9x5” bread pans or shape as rolls, etc. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough fills the corners of the pans and is double in bulk, 60 - 80 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until bread is golden brown. If it starts to get too dark, tent with foil. Brush the bread with butter when it's still hot from the oven for a softer crust. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Lay bread on its side and cover with a dishtowel. I get my homemade bread to last and stay fresh for about 5 days. 1. I use 2 TBSP instant potato flakes in each loaf regardless of type. 2. I use vital wheat gluten powder 4 teaspoons in each loaf I make 3. I let all bread cool completely on a cooling rack 4. I put a clean white paper towel (or 2) into a large 2 gallon zip bag and keep bread in a cool place.

Rye Bread with Caraway and Fennel, Pullman Style 2 pound loaf (for Pullman loaf): 2-1/2 tbsp caraway seeds and/or 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1-2/3 cups water 2 tbsp onion powder (can substitute 1/4 cup pureed onion) 1-1/4 cups dark rye flour 2-1/4 cups bread flour 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 3 tbsp semolina flour 3 tbsp VWG 2-1/2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tsp salt 2 tbsp olive oil + 3 tbsp butter 4 tsp IDY (I sometimes use more) Grind caraway seeds and fennel seeds in a coffee grinder that is used only for spices. Add the seeds to the water (I use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup) and microwave for one minute. Stir and microwave 20 more seconds, and then add the onion powder (or pureed onion if you are using that). If using pureed onion instead of onion powder, you can reduce the water by 2 tablespoons. Allow the ground seeds to sit in the warm water until the water has cooled to about 100 degrees. Meanwhile, add the flours, wheat gluten, sugar, and salt to the mixer bowl and stir gently with a plastic spatula. Add the oil to this mixture and stir slightly. When the seeds have soaked for at least 15 minutes, add the seed/water mixture to the bowl, and add the yeast. Knead the dough with the dough hook for 5-8 minutes, or until the dough is elastic. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with plastic, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1-1/2 hours in my garage), and then form the dough into a long log, to fit into the pan. Cover the pan and allow it to rise one hour more and the place in a 400° preheated oven, turn the temp down to 375° and back for 25 minutes with the lid on. Then turn the pan on one side and bake 5 minutes more; turn the pan on the other side bake 5 minutes more, and then take off the lid and bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until internal temp is 195°. When the bread is done, remove from pan and rub all sides with butter, and then allow the loaf to cool on a wire rack before storing it in a bag. Well, it took this one this time. Note that the two recipes have different baking methods - I tend to use this one for both, and I check the temp of the bread as soon as I uncover it, as sometimes it is done after only 35 minutes. If you do not have semolina or VWG, you can substitute regular white flour, but the semolina gives it a better texture IMO.

I agree with PM, if you are set on using a cake mix, Cake Central bakers often use that recipe. I'd probably use a scratch cake recipe and make a recipe and a half to start, as I dislike cake mix, but that would take experimentation to figure out how much batter to use to make the cake the way you want it. I'd probably start by figuring out the volume of the pan as opposed to a more standard sized cake pan, and use that number of cups of batter. Wilton has one and there are many more with different sizes and shapes. http://www.wilton.com/wedding-cake-guide/cms-wedding-cake-data.html Good luck! Annie