Brod & Taylor Ultralight Baking Shell for Sourdough Bread (Boule) – No Preheating Needed for Crispy Crust and Even Baking

I absolutely love this shell! My husband bought me this and the heavy weight oven steel for my birthday. They both are wonderful to use and produce great results. I have a number of good quality cast iron pans for my sour dough bread, but definitely prefer using this method. No long period of time preheating pans and the shell weighs very little. He did get me the rectangle one and I ended up returning that one and exchanging it for the boule shape. This is large enough and functional for all shaped breads. The only negative is I can only do one loaf at a time. Since I do not have to preheat the cast iron and only need to preheat the oven for the Brød and Taylor steel, it actually takes the same amount of time to do two of them. This system is expensive- but in my opinion well worth it. I highly recommend the steel and the shell for bread making!

I’ve had this Brod & Taylor Ultralight Baking Shell (Boule version) for about three months now, and honestly, it hasn’t gotten the attention or praise it truly deserves; this product and the company behind it are game-changers. This has given me by far the best and most consistent sourdough baking experience of my life. Before this, I spent money on two different Dutch ovens, tried every technique out there— I was even seriously considering buying a whole new oven because nothing was giving me the crispy crust, oven spring, and airy crumb I wanted reliably. Then I discovered this Baking Shell. I paired it with their base tray/steel, and if I hadn’t, I doubt I’d ever have achieved such killer loaves at home. No preheating the cover, super lightweight, easy to handle, traps steam perfectly, and the results look and taste professional — crackly crust, beautiful ear, open crumb. It’s honestly unmatched. Huge thank you to Brod & Taylor for creating something this brilliant and practically unrivaled in the home sourdough world. If you’re tired of heavy Dutch ovens and inconsistent results, do yourself a favor and get this — you won’t regret it!

The Brod & Taylor Ultralight Baking Shell has been a game-changer for my steam oven baking. It is impressively lightweight, making it easy to insert and remove even when hot, yet it feels very durable and solid. The flat, smooth surface ensures even heat distribution, which gives consistent browning and a nice crisp crust on bread, pizza, and pastries. I also appreciate that the edges are slightly raised, helping to keep dough or batter in place without spilling. Cleanup is simple since nothing sticks, and the non-reactive surface maintains its quality over time. The shell is slightly larger than I expected, so storage requires a bit of planning, but the quality, performance, and versatility make it an excellent tool for any serious home baker.

This is a useful, well-designed, lightweight addition to my bread baking equipment. Definitely functions as expected and makes baking bread with a nice crust easy. Love that it is so lightweight and doesn't need preheating. Taking one star off for the price which fits seem too high for an aluminum product.

New to baking bread and didn’t want the heavy cast iron Dutch ovens often used. I have a pizza steel in my oven and put the Brod & Taylor lite shell over my loaf and it worked great! No preheating and really easy to use. Very high quality, now going to purchase their sourdough home starter kit.

Awesome. Made two Batard loaf's this weekend and didn't have to worry about adding any water to a preheated cast iron skillet. Slide the bread onto the preheated baking steel and covered with the baking shell. Easy to remove after the first 20-25min, nice and light. Bread turned out beautiful

I have two of these batard shaped shells, and one boule. I use these frequently on a large stone in the oven, that fits two shells side by side (also purchased on Amazon), and they are lightweight, and do not require preheating. They seal in the steam so that the loaves have the appropriate amount for proper baking, and I highly recommend them.

Perfect! Excellent results, so much easier than a heavy dutch.