Långpanna

A långpanna is the large, deep baking tray that slides into a Swedish oven. The word means "long pan". It fills most of the oven shelf and has sides a few centimeters high, so it holds a batter, a tray of buns or a full meal of roasted vegetables without spilling. Swedish recipes use it as a standard size, much as US recipes use a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) pan.

How to use it

Sizes vary with the oven, but a typical långpanna is about 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in) and 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) deep.

1. Line it with parchment paper cut a little larger than the base, so the paper goes up the sides.
2. Spread batter or dough evenly into the corners with a spatula.
3. Bake on the middle rack. Many Swedish recipes assume conventional top and bottom heat.

Common dishes are sockerkaka and kladdkaka made as sheet cakes, rabarberkaka (rhubarb cake), cinnamon buns baked side by side, traybakes for fika, and oven-baked omelets and potatoes.

Substitutes

A rimmed sheet pan or a roasting pan of a similar area works. Compare the area of the base, not just the shape:

Pan	Base area
Långpanna, 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in)	about 1,200 cm²
US pan, 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in)	about 760 cm²
US half sheet, 33 x 46 cm (13 x 18 in)	about 1,500 cm²

In a smaller, deeper pan the cake is thicker and needs more time. In a larger, shallower pan it bakes faster. Check early with a skewer.

Common mistakes

• Using a flat cookie sheet with no rim. Batter runs off the sides.
• Baking a full recipe in a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) pan without adjusting. It is much thicker and may overflow. Make about two-thirds of the recipe instead.
• Using the oven's own tray without paper. Sugary batters stick to the enamel.

In recipes

"Grädda i långpanna" means bake in the oven tray. A Swedish recipe that names no pan size for a cake or traybake baked "i långpanna" expects the full tray, so plan for a large, thin bake that cuts into many squares.