bake quick breads on the center oven rack for best heat circulation. |
remove quick breads from the pan after about 10 minutes cooling for easier pan removal. |
cool quick breads completely before slicing. use a sharp thin-bladed knife and a light sawing motion to cut cleanly through the loaf. |
after cooling, wrap loaves tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. |
for muffins, grease only the bottoms of the muffin cups with shortening. paper baking cups are ideal for easy cleanup. |
muffin batter should be lumpy after stirring the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. stir just until moistened for muffins that are tender and nicely rounded. |
use a spring-handled #20 or #24 ice cream scoop to fill muffins cups or a melon ball-size scoop for mini-muffins. |
fill empty, greased muffin cups with water to prevent burning the grease during baking. |
