March 8, 2019 - 3:32am
Quick bread too brown inside, lower half only
Hello, I'm having problems I've never had before making Irish Soda Bread. The bread seems fine on the outside, but the inside crumb is really overbrowned on the lower half. The outer crust is fine, though, not burned at all. What can I do to fix this? Many thanks.
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Did you recently change ovens? Or add anything (stones,steel,etc) to your oven? Try baking higher up in the oven. Turn on convection , if you have it.
It really looks like the bottom is getting too hot. This happened to me when I acquired a new oven. It seemed the controls caused the elements to come on screaming hot every time the thermostat called when it was maintaining the temp.setting. It was, in effect, blowtorching the bottom of my bakes every few minutes. My older oven controls made the element come on at a lower setting so this was not a problem. My solution was changing out the controller (electrical talent in the house).
If that is the case for you, shielding the element is one option, with a baking pan, increasing the distance from the bottom of the baked item to the element.
If this is an oven that otherwise never used to do this, then a service call may be needed to check the temp. swing when it is set at a given point.
Lovely soda bread!
Any other hidden changes? (Such as a different brand of flour, a different way of mixing, etc)?
I thought it might be the flour but I went back to King Arthur and got the same effect. I just tried another loaf without preheating the skillet as much ... It was better but not perfect. I'm guessing this is the stove. I'm going to try putting a baking pan just above the heating element next. And I ordered an oven thermometer. The oven is not new, though.
You used the same skillet, same oven, same preheat time, before?
An electric oven? Maybe electric heating elements fluctuate over time. Or maybe your element is in the first stage of burnout. OR... Maybe your oven's heat sensor is dirty... That's probably a metal tube that has a thin wire leading to it. It doesn't need to be sparkling clean, just not have stuff caked onto it.
with the skillet. Try baking parchment between dough and pan or use a different pan.
Does it happen without fruit or raisins? Are you using powdered milk in the recipe?
Cut off a slice and observe the bread inside a plastic bag over several days for more discoloration, changes in aroma and/or spoilage. Report back any changes should any be noticed.
when microwaved too long. Any chance?