How to Use Decorative Baking Tubes

Are you interested in using decorative baking tubes, or have you purchased these baking tins? These can be a fun, unique way to bake bread and other baked goods. You simply bake the food in the tin, then cut it into pieces when it has cooled. Try star-shaped banana bread or round slices of bread with the baking tubes. 

It's not always an easy process, though. Using these baking tubes may require a little trial and error for the ideal baking time depending on the tube, your oven, and the recipe.

What You'll Need

• Decorative baking tubes
• Spray or solid vegetable shortening
• Parchment paper or foil
• Pie plate or baking pan with low sides
• Cooling rack
• A bread recipe of your choice
• Patience

How to Use

Here are the directions for using decorative baking tubes along with some general tips:

1. Spray nonstick cooking spray inside the tube and inside caps prior to using. This will prevent your dough from sticking.
2. Place a double-thick piece of parchment paper or foil over the bottom of the tube and then put the cap on.
3. Only fill the tube about halfway. Once you see how the recipe takes to the tubes, you could fill it about 3/4 of the way in the future if filling it halfway doesn't completely fill out the tube. How the tube fills during the baking process depends on your ingredients, so it can take a few tries to learn how to make your favorite recipes in these tubes. For bread dough that includes yeast, only fill the tube halfway to allow space for rising the dough before baking it.
4. Bake, with top cap in place, in the vertical position in a pie plate or other pan with sides. The batter may seep out of the bottom or flow over the top, so you want to have something beneath the tube to catch any spills.
5. Baking time is usually around an hour at 375 F to 400 F. Follow the recipe as usual.
6. Test for doneness with a long cake tester or uncooked spaghetti noodle. A toothpick can't get all the way into the middle of the tube the way it does in a traditional cake pan, so you need something longer. Once it comes out clean, the tube is done.
7. Cool your item. For yeast bread, cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and place it on a rack so it can finish cooling. For quick bread loaves, let them cool in the tube for 15 to 20 minutes. Then place them on a cooling rack so they can cool off. 
8. To maintain baking tubes, follow the directions. Most are not dishwasher-safe and require you to hand-wash them immediately after using them so they do not rust.
9. Once your baked goods are cooled, you can slice them into pieces and enjoy the fun shapes that the tin creates.