These pans do a great job baking but I do not like trying to clean them. Even using a tooth brush ( their own) or a vegetable brush you cant get in all the nooks and crannies. It says not to put in dishwasher but I sure am thinking about it. Wonder what happened to molded pans or why they changed to this folded technique.
I have wondered about that as well, all those grooves seem like places for things to stick. They
might increase the rate of heat transfer between the pan and your dough, I suppose.
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Mike Nolan
Rascals--try using a soft sponge to get into the nooks and crannies. That is what I do with the nooks and crannies on my Bundt pans. KAF now sells a special brush, from Nordic Ware, that is designed to clean out Bundt pans. I wonder if it would work well on the USA seams.
I note that my hearth pans (not made by USA)do not have side seams.
To elaborate on my previous reply. I love the USA pans too. I generally find them easy to clean, for yeast breads I usually just rinse them with hot water. I made a blueberry bread in them a couple of times, blueberries will bake onto the sides which then require a little more attention. If the interior seams need more attention, I have had good luck using a flat toothpick.
Oh, and as far as the dishwasher is concerned, the thing that will kill it will be the detergent and possible high heat. If you must, I would run it without detergent and skip the heat dry.