My Cast Iron Bakeware


My Bakeware Essentials

Griswold Loaf Pan

About a year ago I was able to get my hands on the the ultimate cast iron bakeware: A Griswold #877 loaf pan.  I have 3 bread recipes I use a lot (cornbread, lemon bread and banana bread), and a really good family meat loaf recipe I can use in this pan.  It doesn't exactly fit in the pot rack, but it's a pretty cool piece of bakeware! More recipes to come!

 Wagner #1508 Baking Pan

I recently bought this pan, and just finished stripping and seasoning it. I have a lot of recipes I'd like to try using this pan. Everything from my family bread pudding recipe, to baked macaroni and cheese, to Katie's off-the-hook lasagna recipe. Stay tuned!

Griswold 1108 Cookie Sheet

I picked this up the same time I found my Griswold loaf pan. I'm in the process of stripping and re-seasoning it. I'm hoping it makes cookies that are crunchy on the bottom and soft on the inside. Yum. We'll see. Stay tuned!

German "Kugelhopf" Bundt Pan with "Gadroon" Swirls

I grew up eating bundt cakes my mother used to make.  I also remember the unusual looking bundt cake pan with the hole in the middle of it. Bundt pans are actually an Americanized version of the German "kugelhopf" pan. In southern Germany they were called a “bundkuchen” (group cake) pan, served at formal gatherings. 

Back in 1950, a group of German immigrants approached David Dalquist, then president of Nordic Ware in Minnesota, about recreating the “bundkuchen” pans they remembered their mothers using when they were kids in Germany. Unfortunately, because the original bundkuchen pans were made of cast iron and were very heavy, most of the pans had to be left behind in Germany when families immigrated to the US. The “t” was added by Dalquist to the word “bundt” pan so that Americans would pronounce “bund” the German way.


Gem Pans and other Bakeware

I've never been much of a baker.  When I attended the Le Cordon Bleu program in San Francisco, I studied the Culinary Arts program, rather than opting for the Patisserie and Baking program.

But, over time, I started wanting to add more baking recipes. I already had a loaf pan I used for my family meat loaf recipe, as well as banana and lemon bread, but that was pretty limiting. So I took the plunge and bought myself an old cast iron muffin pan, baking pan and cookie sheet. I wanted to experiment with how cast iron was different from modern, lighter weight, non-stick aluminum bakeware. Big difference! While very heavy, cast iron bakeware holds and distributes heat really well, which creates a nice crust on the outside of what you're baking, while leaving the inside light fluffy and moist.

From those humble beginnings, I moved on to gem pans. Gems, first popularized in the the mid-1800's, were small muffins made with whole wheat Graham flour, and were baked in a heavy cast iron gem pan.  Most of the gem recipes have been lost to time, but I am researching them and will include some in this site, and will be adding some modern ones of my own.

My Muffin & Gem Pans

Nathaniel Waterman of Boston is acknowledged as having first patented (in 1859) what is considered the gem muffin pan design, at the time calling it an "egg pan". The main features of the patent were the individual cups with cut-outs between each to allow for the even circulation of heat around them, but still being sufficiently connected together to promote conduction of heat through the iron. 

Waterman #6 12-Slot Farmhouse Pan

This is an excellent example of the the pan that started it all: a  Waterman #6 12-slot rectangular farmhouse pan. This has been copied by most of the major foundries including Griswold, Wagner and Lodge.

Waterman #8 11-Cup Oval Gem Pan

I recently located my second Waterman gem pan. This pan has 11 shallow, flat-bottomed oval cups arranged in a 4-3-4 pattern with bars joining the outer middle cups to handles. I plan to bake sweet gems/muffins  and dinner rolls in it. I have a great lemon gem recipe for this pan.

Russell & Erwin #4 Elliptical 8-Cup Gem Pan

This is a great example of a Russell & Erwin elliptical gem pan. They produced the same  pan designs as Waterman.  It is theorized that R&E produced the Waterman-marked pans because Waterman's primary business was that of a kitchen equipment retailer. Good pan for my lemon gems!

Griswold #1 Gem Pan

This Griswold round cup gem pan (#1, variation #2) was the first gem pan manufatured by Griswold. The round cups offer a lot of baking options. I use this pan for my blueberry gem muffins, cinnemon rolls, lemon tarts and even scones.

Griswold 947 #9 Brownie "Golf Ball" Pan

I'm sure most of these gem pans could be used for brownies. But since this pan actaully says "brownie pan" on the bottom, this is now my go-to brownie pan.  I just posted my recipe for salted caramel brownies using this pan. Check it out!

G.F. Filley #10 11-Cup Gem Pan

This pan was manufactured by G.F. Filley, of Excelsior Manufacturing Co.  Filley differed from most other manufacturers in that they came up with their own unique designs, rather than copying Waterman patterns. Iuse this pan to make Rosemary Seat Salt dinner rolls.

Wagner "Little  Gem" 12 Cup Gem Pan

This "Little Gem" (c/n  466) has 12 small, shallow, round flat-bottomed cups, arranged in a 4-4-4 pattern, without cut-outs. Perfect for brownie bites! Recipe coming soon!.

Lodge #30 Turk Head Swirl Gem Pan

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what a "turk head" is. But it's a beautiful pan and I'm currently working on adapting my madeleines recipe so I can bake them in this pan.

Griswold #10 Popover Muffin Pan

I love my Griswold/Wagner ("GrisWag") dual logo #10 muffin pan. I use this pan to make everything from muffins, to foccacia bread rolls to mini molten chocolate cakes. 

 Griswold/Wagner #9 Cornbread Wedge Skillet

In the past, I have used my #10 Griswold skillet to make my brown butter cornbread. For fun, I purchased a Wagner/Griswold ("GrisWag") #9 cornbread wedge skillet. This works well for cornbread and even for wedge-shaped scones!

BSR “Handy Dan” Cornbread Pan

Everyone needs a cornstick pan! I picked this one up because it's the only one I've seen with a handle, and the price was right. I still bake my corn bread in my wedge pan, but I use this pan for the left over corn bread batter I always seem to have.

Recommended Reading

Griswold Muffin Pans

by Jon B. Haussler


The broad range of muffin and gem pans produced by the Griswold  from the late nineteenth century through the 1950s is covered in detail in this book. The book contains more than 235 photographs and drawings of  pan designs. It also includes  the names, numbers, pattern numbers, dates of production, and comparative rarity of each pan. 


Reviews: Goodreads | Purchase: Amazon

For a comprehensive list of gem pans and muffin pans from foundries including Waterman, Russell & Irwin, G.F. Filley, Wagner, Lodge and others,  go to The Cast Iron Collector.