Using parchment paper for baking is awesome, but lets face it, lining a 9 by 5 by 3 inch bread loaf pan can lead to a big ball of bunched up mess. So here is a helpful hint on how to cut one sheet of parchment paper to seamlessly fit a bread loaf pan.

1. Turn your bread loaf pan upside down on the kitchen counter. Tear off a sheet of parchment paper and place over the loaf pan. Form the parchment paper over all four sides of the pan until touching the kitchen counter. Mark with a pencil. Cut off the excess parchment paper, making sure to also cut away the pencil marks. It’s alright to have some overhang of parchment paper over the edges of the pan.

2. Place the parchment paper flat on the kitchen counter and place the bread loaf pan right side up on top of the parchment paper. Fold the parchment paper up each side to get a better idea how it will look inside the pan so as to make sure everything is about equal.

3. With a pencil, make a mark about 1 inch from each corner of the pan toward each corner of the parchment paper. Make 2 pencil marks 1 ½ inches from each corner along the edges of the parchment paper. Repeat for the other 3 corners. Draw a line connecting the 3 marks for each corner. Cut away the parchment paper, making sure to cut away the pencil marks (see pictures below). It will kind of look like Templar’s cross.

4. Spray the inside of the bread loaf pan with cooking spray (optional). (I find that spraying the pan helps hold the parchment paper in place and keeps it from creeping up the sides). Place the parchment paper inside the pan and fold the parchment paper over itself in each corner. Press the parchment paper all over with your fingers so as to make sure it stays in place. You can fine tune by trimming some of the excess parchment paper where needed. You can even spray more cooking spray in the corners to keep the overlapping parchment paper in place if you wish.