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I am having trouble any time I make a loaf bread (such as banana bread). The inside takes longer to cook than the outside, then the outside is dark and tough. Could the pan be the problem? It's just an ordinary (aluminum??) loaf pan--it's a little on the dark side, which could be contributing to the problem, but it's not super dark. I was wondering if the Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan might work better as far as more even cooking. Or could another pan be better? I don't want to start buying a lot of pans I don't need.
you might want to jiggle the temp a bit, maybe start out at a lower temp for 15 minutes or so then turn up to the normal temp. I would try this before purchasing a new pan. Let me know if this helps.
My experience with any bread has been to use the freshest ingredients possible and to measure accurately. And stirring too much will make the outside tough. Are you baking on the bottom or middle oven rack? You might test your oven temperature using a manual thermometer and adjust if necessary. Finally, using a baking stone will create a crispy outer crust.
Below is the recipe I like if you want to compare it with yours or try it in your loaf pan.
Banana-Nut Bread
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; make well in center of mixture. Combine egg, mashed banana, milk, and oil; add mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Stir in pecans.
Spoon batter into a greased 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loafpan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes then remove.
Yes, I'm at high altitude (about 6,000 ft.), but I have been using the "Pie in the Sky" cookbook, so the recipes should work for my altitude. And yes, the temperature in my oven appears to be off, but the last time I made a loaf bread, I monitored the temperature carefully to make sure it was correct. It still took too long to bake in the middle, so I had to leave it in a little extra time. Even without leaving it in extra time, very often with any cake or bread I bake, the outside edges brown much more quickly than the rest of the cake/bread. That's why I'm wondering if there are some good pans out there that can prevent this problem.
I am at high altitude also, 4,500 ft. When I have problems with uneven cooking, I turn the oven down about 15 degrees. That usually takes care of the problem. Are you having problems with other things cooking unevenly or just the bread?
But I also love Pampered chef, so if you need a good excuse to get one of their pans, then use the uneven baking reason, lol.
Thanks for the above suggestions. I did a little research this afternoon on loaf pans, and it appears that a lot of people like the Pyrex, plus it's cheap! FYI, Cook's Illustrated recently ranked Williams Sonoma's goldware (right name?) loaf pan as the best.
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