I recently tried this recipe:
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/09/easy-pumpkin-bread/
with the following modifications:
- I didn't have any butter, so I substituted 1/3c olive oil and 2 pureed apples
- I cut the sugar down to 1.5c
After cooking for 50 minutes at 165°C (preheated), the insides (everything more than a few cm from the edge) were still kind of moist. Why is this? Is there a problem with my oven? Was the batter too "wet" or something? I've had this with other stuff, too (muffins).
Best Answer
Substituting oil for butter in a quick bread would be fine, but you only used 1/2 the amount of oil, and further added two pureed apples. These are about 84% water, substantially increasing the amount of liquid in the recipe.
The thing is, the method for this pumpkin bread relied on the creaming method, which requires a solid fat; changing to a liquid fat and apples) would dramatically change the outcome. It would make the bread denser (no leavening from creaming) and more wet from the increased liquid.
Then, by cutting the sugar almost in half, you reduced the ability of the bread to hold water, as sugar is hydrophylic. So it would seem more wet.