Vera

February 14, 2019 at 10:52am

Thank you for this helpful article. I happen to be a veteran baker. I love my banana bread recipe, which I measure the banana by volume (2 cups), but I'm having difficulty striking the right balance. If I bake for the full hour in the center of my perfectly calibrated gas oven at 350º, the outer 40% of the bread loses the soft pillowy texture that I love. It gets dry and the top gets way too crusty brown, while the center is almost overly moist. If I cut the time by 10-15 minutes (I've tried every increment), the center is undercooked but the outer 40% is perfect. I don't hate the undercooked center. It almost has a wet bread-pudding texture. I have never thrown an undercooked version away, and I've never encountered any problems eating it. But I would like to find a way to improve on this result. I use a very old glass Pyrex loaf dish. I love the size and shape of its slices. I oil and flour the sides, and my batter is mixed to French standards. My batter is never over-mixed. I thought about cutting back on banana. I thought about possible tenting. I even considered baking it bain marie style. I can easily use my ThermoWorks to check the temperature. I prefer doing that, because the knife never shows the actual truth on this recipe. But, again, if I go for the correct internal temperature, the outer 40% will be a fail for me. Any thoughtful suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
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