Pumpkin Bread Fail

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W5WPL

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
7
My pumpkin bread after baking @ 350 for 1 hour isn't done in the middle.
It's like a filling. I have a good oven thermometer. Funny that it didn't happen last week. ?????

3 1/3 flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
3/4 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
3/4 cup pecans
 
That recipe is very similar to mine, except I use 2 teaspoons of baking soda.

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

If it is still raw in the middle, keep cooking it. I like to bake low and slow as to not over brown the loaves. 325 works well in my oven, but I had to go a little lower in different ovens, and I'd suggest a little lower than 325 if using a glass pan.

I've literally made hundreds of loaves from this recipe, never fail. I will be making 35 loaves of it tomorrow. Here are a couple of loaves that I made a couple weeks ago.

pumpkin%20bread.jpg
 
Honestly, I'm not sure, I would bet around an hour for a loaf that size, I usually set the timer for 45 minutes and start checking from there. I cook things until they are done since recommended cooking times don't really mean much with different ovens.
 
If you need to keep cooking them you can always put a loose foil tent over the top to prevent them from over browning. By then most of the steam will have been released so it won't become soggy
 
Pumpkin Bread Fail II

My pumpkin bread after baking @ 350 for 1 hour is split on top and has a big bump in the middle. I don't see this bump in other folks bread. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be using baking powder as well?
This time I used milk instead of water, trying to see if that would help.
It didn't.
Thank you all

3 1/3 flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
3/4 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
3/4 cup pecans
img_1215415_0_a788a692e31aba5364963a51f67d0d72.jpg

img_1215415_1_42e282e32577101c8f7ec6c6a1dc8dd1.jpg
 
If you notice your recipe calls for two cups of pumpkin puree. Bakechef's calls for 15 ounces. One ounce less than yours. That could be your problem. It may not seem like a lot, but that one ounce can throw a recipe off. Are you using pure pumpkin puree or pie ready. The kind that already has the spices in it.You should be using only the pure puree. Also are you filling your pans too full? If you notice, bakechef's sides are only 3/4 up the side of her pan and the top has risen just to the top. :angel:
 
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The reason that you have a big hump in the middle and short sides with ridges, is likely that you didn't grease AND flour the pans. When your batter can't grip the sides of the pan, it can't climb while baking, causing short sides and a hump in the middle, and the edges will be crunchy. The spray with flour won't produce the same results as greasing and flouring.

Also, are you fluffing up the flour and scooping lightly into the cup and leveling off? The loaves almost look like they could have a bit too much flour, but it's hard to tell with just a picture. Just scooping flour out with your measuring cup can pack it into the cup too much, causing you to use too much flour.

As you can see, my recipe which is very similar to yours has no baking powder and works just fine as you can see from the picture.
 
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I forgot about the grease and flour. I always do that even to the so called non-stick pans. Just like I add a bit of grease to a saute' pan.
 
Addie said:
I forgot about the grease and flour. I always do that even to the so called non-stick pans. Just like I add a bit of grease to a saute' pan.

My pans are pro pans from restaurant supply and are very non-stick, but I always grease and flour so that they will actually stick enough to climb, LOL! My cake pans are uncoated and I either grease and flour the sides or do nothing at all to the sides to help with the climb (I use parchment on the bottom).

I get the same results with my pumpkin bread using foil pans when I am doing large volume baking of pumpkin bread, the grease and flour just makes for a prettier loaf.
 
Thank you all. I'll try again and let yall know.
Thought that baking spray was enough.

A second thought: Where can I get 9" cake pans that are not sloped but
have straight sides.
 
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W5WPL said:
Thank you all. I'll try again and let yall know.
Thought that baking spray was enough.

A second thought: Where can I get 9" cake pans that are not sloped but
have straight sides.

Places like AC Moore, Michael's, craft stores that sell cake decorating supplies usually sell them. The light weight aluminum work quite well (wilton is a popular brand), so don't be fooled by the weight. Bed Bath and Beyond and most other kitchen stores should have them as well, Chicago Metallic, and Calphalon are popular brands. Just look for the pans that don't "nest" inside of each other but rather just sit on top of each other, that's usually a good indication of straight sides.

Amazon is a good place too to find all of these brands as well as a couple of professional brands like Magic Line and Fat Daddios, these are constructed similarly to the Wilton pro pans, but much better quality.

I would suggest both 8" and 9" pans, I use the 8" most often, with most recipes this will produce a nice thick layer. The 9" are good when you have a larger recipe. A cake mix for instance will look a bit thin in a 9" pan.
 
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My pans are pro pans from restaurant supply and are very non-stick, but I always grease and flour so that they will actually stick enough to climb, LOL! My cake pans are uncoated and I either grease and flour the sides or do nothing at all to the sides to help with the climb (I use parchment on the bottom).

I get the same results with my pumpkin bread using foil pans when I am doing large volume baking of pumpkin bread, the grease and flour just makes for a prettier loaf.

I had to bake eight of them for the church fair this year. Grease and flour in those lovely little disposable loaf pans. I remember back in the 60's when Teflon first came out. I couldn't grasp the idea that it was really non-stick. I was making a loaf of bread and used my new non-stick Teflon pan. I still treated it. And everytime there after. I just didn't trust it. And I still don't. :angel:
 
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