# Can you bake in a microwave? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298 "2002-09-23T17:06:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/1 "2002-09-23T17:06:13Z")
…or even on the stove? :eek: I intended to make banana bread on Saturday. I turned on the (gas) oven to preheat as I made the batter, and when it came time to put the batter in the oven I found that the oven was not hot. The flame won’t light, and it will be a few days until building maintenance can come by and see what’s wrong. I’ve got banana bread batter (with raw eggs) sitting in my refridgerator, waiting impatiently to be baked. Can I bake it in the microwave? I would think not, but perhaps one of you knows better? Otherwise, how long will the batter last before I have to throw it out? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/2 "2002-09-23T17:20:07Z")
Google to the rescue. “microwave banana bread” Put it in some kind of glass or Corningware dish (not a metal pan, duh.) [http://www.quick-easy-recipes.com/banana\_bread\_recipes.html](http://www.quick-easy-recipes.com/banana_bread_recipes.html) > [@](#): > > Coat bottom of 9x5 inch glass loaf pan with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. > > In mixing bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger. In another small bowl, mash bananas, mix with lemon juice and set aside. > > In large bowl, combine orange juice, margarine, eggs, and milk. Stir in chopped nuts and 5 teaspoons currants. Fold in mashed bananas and add dry ingredients, mixing well. Turn into microwave-safe pan and top with 1 teaspoon currants and a few dashes of cinnamon. > > Place in microwave on inverted saucer. Microwave on medium-high (70%) 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. Turn pan and continue microwaving at 70% another 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. Microwave on high 4 to 5 minutes, until knife inserted into center of bread comes out clean. If browned top is desired, place under conventional oven broiler 30 seconds. Let cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan. If bottom is still damp, return to microwave, bottom up and microwave on high 1 to 2 minutes, until dry. Got all that? The raw batter has been sitting in your fridge since Saturday? Me, I’d throw it out and start over–raw eggs mixed into things are very problematic to store. Also, whatever chemical leavening you used (baking soda or baking powder) has almost certainly lost its fizz by now. Start over. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/3 "2002-09-23T17:33:22Z")
I’ve never tried it, but I’ll take a guess. You know how a microwave cooks food more or less uniformly, inside and out? Well, you don’t want that with bread. Baking from the outside in is, I think, what forms the crust (even banana bread has a crust to some extent). Without a crust forming, I suspect that you would lose the little bubbles in the bread, and it’d go flat. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/4 "2002-09-23T17:57:00Z")
I seem to recall being served cornbread in a skillet at one time. I imagine you’d have to cover the pan to keep in the heat, but if the skillet warms evenly it shouldn’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/5 "2002-09-23T18:49:15Z")
I think the skillet goes in the oven though - at least it does when I make cornbread. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/6 "2002-09-23T21:08:52Z")
Come to think of it, you could also do it on the stove, if you have a heavy cast-iron pan with a fitting cast-iron lid (this is called a Dutch oven). If it were outdoors on a campfire, then you’d also want to pile coals on top of the lid, but that’s probably not an option. Probably the best solution, though, is to head over to a neighbor’s house and borrow their oven. This also guarantees that you won’t have leftover bread. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/7 "2002-09-24T13:02:21Z")
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions! Here’s what I’m going to do – as **Duck Duck Goose** says, the batter should probably be tossed, esp. since it’s now 4 days old. So I’m going to try cooking it in the microwave, just to see how it turns out. If it works, I can make new batter and make a loaf of bread for keeps. I’ll let you know how it turns out… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-bake-in-a-microwave/129298/8 "2002-09-24T13:22:11Z")
Something similar happened to me; I made a batch of sundried tomato bread, well, that is I made the dough, proved it, knocked it back, proved it again and when I came to bake it - Fzzt! the oven died on me. I could have simply frozen the dough (on thawing, it needs knocking back and proving again), but I took small pieces of it, rolled it out very thin and cooked then one at a time in a cast iron pan - because they were leavened, they puffed up like naan breads and they were very good. If it had been a cake mix, I’d probably have added a little more milk (to make it just runny enough to pour from a ladle), then fried it as pancakes.