Hello, can someone advise how to prevent the middle of my strawberry bread from falling in? It falls in about 1.25 inches. Otherwise the bread tastes great.
Thank you!
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Hello, welcome to the forum.
It’s impossible to know which factor or combination of factors is causing your quick bread to sink in the middle. But here are a few of the most common causes.
Hydration: if the ratio of liquid to flour is too high. Too much liquid will undermine the gluten structure. If hydration is from eggs and butter the only practical way to adjust the moisture is to slightly increase the flour. Start with a couple tablespoons more flour.
If your recipe actually includes a liquid like milk, buttermilk, water or a combination of these, then try reducing the liquid
Sugar: too much sugar will also cause collapse. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it pulls moisture from its environment. Sugar will compete with flour for the available moisture in the batter. If the sugar pulls too much moisture away, the flour will not have enough moisture to form a strong gluten network. A lot of baking sites claim the amount of sugar in quick breads is of no consequence. But dismissing the ratio of sugar, flour, and hydration is to completely ignore the fundamental science of baking. Sugar’s role in baking doesn’t change simply because it’s dismissed out of hand. If the sugar is 70% or great in weight (not volume, but weight) then try reducing the sugar.
Under-baking: The best way to determine doneness is check the internal temperature. For an enriched bread like quick bread bake to an internal temperature of 200°F.
Pan: I am not a fan of nonstick coating, dark metal pans. These types of pans conduct heat more intensely. The bottom and outer edges over bake, while the center underbakes. And of course an under baked center is going to collapse.
On the other hand if you fully bake the center, then the outer edges and bottom are dry and tough from over baking.
Quick bread temperatures vary greatly by recipe, anywhere from 350°F up to 400°F. When using non-stick and/or dark metal pans you have to reduce the oven temperature to account for the intense heat conduction.
Manufacturers of these types of pans recommend reducing the oven temperature by 15°F - 25°F. It is best to use an oven thermometer to confirm the oven temperature. The temperature you set on the dial and the actual temperature in the oven chamber is rarely accurate. So placing a thermometer in the center of the oven to confirm the temperature before loading the oven is best.
Preheating your oven: Heating the oven takes considerable time. Home ovens have really poor seals. Preheat the oven for 20 minutes then confirm it is at the correct temperature before you load it. My oven actually takes 30 minutes to come up to temperature. And when I say “temperature” I’m referring to the temperature in the oven chamber with the rack in the middle of the oven and the thermometer placed in the middle of that rack.
Cookie sheet and Silpat: I noticed your loaf pans are on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat. Did you bake the loaves on the cookie sheet and silpat? If so, this would Interfere with proper baking.
Conventional ovens are heated with a single heating element in the oven floor. By placing a cookie sheet under the loaf pans, the heat distribution in the oven chamber is significantly changed. The cookie sheet blocks the heat from circulating freely around the loaf pans.
By placing both a cookie sheet and a silpat mat under the loaf pans you not only change heat distribution, but completely change how the loaf pan itself conducts heat. The cookie sheet and silpat are changing the rate in which the loaf pan itself heats, and the rate it transfers that heat into the batter.
Proper baking requires warm air to circulate evenly around each loaf pan. So place the loaf pans directly on the racks for better heat circulation.
Just an aside, never place anything on your oven floor, especially aluminum foil. Anything directly on the oven floor will intensify and redirect the heat around the heating element. If an oven is built into the cabinetry, The heat can cause a fire in the cabinetry. Even if the oven is freestanding, there’s a fire hazard with covering an oven floor.
Filling the pan: Take care not to overfill the pan. If the batter rises even slightly above the rim of the pan during baking, it will then collapse in the middle as there is nothing to support the upward rise of the batter.
Many baking sites will blame collapse on “old” baking soda or baking powder. This is not the case. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder is nothing more than baking soda with the addition of an acid to activate it.
Sodium bicarbonate is naturally occurring substance. It’s present in all living things. It’s mined from the earth where it formed thousands of years ago. The notion that baking soda suddenly goes bad from sitting in a pantry for six months is ridiculous.
