Recipes

[petepetey]

When you bake a quick bread how long do you wait before you slice into it?

I've always heard it needs to cool down so the flavors and glutens and moisture

all settle into the bread.

My DH wants to eat it right away and I think it ruins the rest of the loaf.

[loriqvc]

Quick breads (meaning non-yeast breads such as banana bread, zucchini bread, and so forth) need to cool for structural purposes—if you try to cut into them while they're warm, they'll fall apart. However, just like hot/warm muffins, it doesn't really affect the flavor if you don't wait for the cooling process.

I'm not a big yeast bread baker, so I'll leave that response to others...

[HLP]

Yeast breads should be cooled before cutting, hard to do ,but it does affect the rest of the loaf. Sweet breads can be cut as soon as they come out of the oven.

[jannabelle1]

I make a lot of banana bread and always mention to DH that the loaves are cooling. Doesn't make a bit of difference to him! He cuts a big slice while it's still warm. I honestly don't care, although I think it takes a couple of hours for it to cool.

[gardenman]

I make yeast breads and I try to let them cool for a half hour before slicing, but I tend to cheat and sometimes only let them cool for fifteen minutes.

[Nightowlz]

I don't blame DH for wanting to eat it hot fresh right out of the oven. I'm the same way. LOL!!!

It's really best to let all these baked goods cool before slicing.

I find when you do this with homemade bread it's harder to cool so when you put it in a box or bag it seems to mold quicker because it never cooled properly.

ITA quick breads will crumble if you cut while hot.

I always leave them on my bread cutting bread with towel over it to cool.

[mustang66lady]

I used to make a lot of quick and yeast breads in years past.  Family has moved on, passed, etc. so I don't make anywhere near as much as I used to.  I'm in the camp that I love fresh, hot bread as soon as it comes out of the oven, but in the case of yeast bread, it tends to collapse the bread cutting it before it is cooled.  I make a Guiness beer quick bread for St. Patricks Day that I try to pull out of the oven just before we eat our St. Pat's Day meal.  I cut it no matter what-sometimes I have nice slices and sometimes it falls apart.  No one seems to care.  I think it is what you are going for.  If you want appearance, make dinner rolls with your yeast bread so it doesn't make a difference. if it is cut.  If you want loaves, don't cut it until it is cool, then slice and wrap up in foil and re-warm if you want hot bread for your meal.   

[gardenman]

Just an extra note, you can cut yeast bread while it's hot without crushing it, but you need a sharp, serrated bread knife and to let the knife do the work as you very gently saw back and forth through the bread. You have to go exceptionally slowly on breads with a softer crust. Breads with a firmer crust you can be a bit more aggressive slicing even while fresh from the oven. My go-to bread recipe these days is from Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads and it's called pain ordinaire careme. (I've got a loaf of it defrosting in the kitchen now that'll be my lunch today.) It's got a very strong crust to it and can be sliced effectively while still very warm. You can hear the crust crackling as it starts cooling when removed from the oven which is always a neat sound.

[forrestwolf]

Agree with the serrated knife, and let it cool for at leat 15 minutes, and hold the back part of the bread with a bit of pressur when cutting the slice. The serrated knife keeps from tearing the bread, and preserves the reset of the loaf. I love cooking the no knead bead in dutch oven for really crusty outside and tender inside bread.