Over cooked banana bread.

I did not hear the timer for my banana bread because I got distracted and consequently it stayed in the oven an extra 65 minutes!!! You would think it would be a "toasted brick" but it wasn't. It's edible and actually pretty tasty. So I'm wondering what does this say about the normal baking time? Should we be baking to an internal temperature or is this moisture-filled delight capable of such a huge variation in cooking time? BTW, it is not my best effort as I make these loaves regularly, but the fact that it is edible is what I find amazing.

JT
  • Posted by: JT
  • May 9, 2018
  • 15259 views
  • 2 Comments

2 Comments

HalfPint
HalfPint May 10, 2018
The fact that you can bake the banana bread beyond the recommended cooking time indicates that the recipe has lots of moisture, fat, and sugar to keep it from drying out. Sugar is hygroscopic (ie. it loves to hang on to water). The high sugar content may be the reason why the bread didn't dry out.

The given baking time for any recipe is more of a guide than an absolute since ovens can vary so much in performance even among the same brand/model. It might take you 60 minutes to bake in your oven, but it may take me 45 minutes for the same recipe because my oven is different from yours. Side note: most bakers don't use timers, they rely on their sense of smell. Try that that, instead of setting a timer, waiting for the aroma of your baking to reach your nose in the next room. That's what I've started doing for a few years now (I still have the timer as a back up) and it does work remarkably well.
 
JT
JT May 10, 2018
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I am an avid Alton Brown fan and so I completely understand your answer. Thanks again.
 
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