Quick Bread Disasters

[Beankeeper]

Every single time I make a quick bread loaf - pumpkin, banana, zucchini, chocolate - the entire outer crust (all around except for the top) becomes hard as a brick. If I take the bread out when the outside is perfect, then the inside is goop. In order to bake the inside thoroughly, the outside becomes a rock! I have had to cut of the outside and bottoms of all my breads and after that, they are truly delicious! Yet, I have tried every possible version of every possible recipe in order to fix the problem. I have followed all directions to the letter. I've used butter, vegetable oil, coconut oil, applesauce, you name it and it still comes out like a brick. We've moved more than once in the past two years, so I've had the plenty of different ovens to try baking in. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. After I've removed the outside and bottoms, people taste my breads and beg me to bake for their events or just for their cravings and that's wonderful but I'm embarrassed to constantly give people pre-cut bread. I'd love to present them with a full loaf for holidays and things. What am I doing wrong?! Please help!

 

[monkeyboots]

hmm...what kind of pan do you use?

 

[Beankeeper]

I'm glad you asked because I've been wondering if it's my pans. They're supposed to be some of the best out there - non-stick (you don't have to grease it for most baked items) and something else about it but I forget. Anyway, this is one of my loaf pans. I don't know much about pans, so if you have any insight, let me know. I seriously have tried every recipe, substitution, whatever... it's been done and they all turn out hard on the outside. Thanks so much for trying to figure this out with me.

 

[Beankeeper]

Also, I thought I would add this: I have tried greasing the pan, not greasing the pan. I've tried five different types of oils and baking greasers - plain butter would make them even harder on the outside and only coconut oil and vegetable oil were the softest results but the loaves were still bricks on the outside so it didn't matter.

 

[Maria]

Hi there, not sure if you have fixed your problem yet but I was having the same issue with my cakes. Turns out the outside near the pan was cooking a lot faster then the middle. I came up with a solution using cut up 1 inch strips of a kitchen towel that I wet and wrapped around the outside of the pan then baked. If you look into something called magic cake strips it will explain the whole reason why it works. I'm pretty sure it keeps the pan a little cooler so everything bakes evenly. If this doesn't work you might need a different pan. Something with a light finish like aluminum. Oh and dont use butter to grease the pan the outside tends to be crispier like you have found out. Hope this helps

 

[Beankeeper]

Thank you, Maria. I'm going to check out the magic cake strips you mentioned. I get requests every week for quick breads and I've been avoiding everyone for a month now because I'm so tired of all the extra work it takes when I make the breads - all because of the hard outer crust. I wonder why the thicker, non-stick pan I have does this? Does anyone know why an aluminum pan would be better? I'm a baker but I don't exactly understand how it all works and the difference in baking pans. I just thought that buying the most expensive would result in the best baked goodies. Guess I was wrong!

 

[Maria]

An aluminum pan cooks evenly but can leave a metallic taste so line the pan with parchment paper. Dark nonstick pans cook faster so your bread close to the pan is getting overcooked. You can try lining your pans before you try the cake magic strips. That might do the trick too.

 

[PattyCakes]

It might be worth investing in an oven thermometer as it could be that the temperature is hotter than you think, causing the outside of your breads to become rock hard. Every oven is different, but it might just be worth checking. Also, you could take a look at your bread halfway through cooking, and if it looks like it's browning too much too quickly, cover it loosely with some foil or greaseproof paper - although avoid the paper if you have a gas oven!

I hope this helps.