2 years later we are in 1.21.6 and the only thing that works is still putting a chisel on top of the work item in your crafting menu. I did this after clicking clever accidentally instead of plate. It did however return 20 bits, which is not losing any material other than the charcoal to heat it up. It would be nice to be able to change the work item if there has been no hammer hits made to the ingot, but it is what it is. At least we aren't losing material (with copper at least)