Have you tried different pans? That would be my first option. Then turning down the oven a bit.

Same old pans, same oven? You might need to get your oven recalibrated. Or use an oven thermometer and adjust the settings for the real temp.

Quickbreads shouldn't be crunchy. :) Hard and dry, like for any cake, usually comes from baking at too high a temperature. Ovens do tend to go wonky as they age. Hm... But hard with a moist crumb could also come from other things drying it out.

Are you using convection? You might try turning it off.

Is it perhaps just baking for too long?

Both too high and too long are things I’ve considered... especially with this last loaf I baked. I went for an internal temp of 190. But, my cranberry bread was crusty too and very moist and yummy inside.

So I went looking. Quaker says hard crust on quickbread is from too high a temperature, too. It's the air temperature in the oven that matters for this, not the internal doneness temperature. An oven thermometer costs something like $10.

The (gas) oven that had no functional temperature control, and was uneven. I kept 2 thermometers in there at all times, and went by the actual temperature(s), and rotated the pans. I managed to cook a lot of great things, including tall individual souffes, but never got a decent cake. It always was too hot even when the thermometers seemed to be at okay levels. The appliance guy tried to calibrate it and gave up. That's because it was dead. I found takers for everything that wasn't literally rotted in that kitchen, even if, like my old fridge that had moved around with me for 20+ years, had no light, a broken shelf and froze anything on the top shelf. No one wanted anything to do with the old oven, but someone did volunteer to dispose of it without charging me. :)

I'm sure your oven is much better than that, but might need adjusting. :)

I will bake another loaf of Cranberry bread and lower the temp and see what happens.

Thanks to all of you for your input.

Linda, I baked it at 375 for about 40 minutes to get an internal temp of 190; this was for a 10 grain bread from Bob's Mill. I also always bake bread on the bottom rack; have done for... always.

That does seem like a long baking time. I bake at 375F for 25-27 minutes for my loaves - and they're usually made with approx. 4 cups flour.

I don't go by internal temperature, just the usual rapping to see if it sounds 'hollow', and making sure it's not getting too dark.

How do you check internal temp.? Are you piercing the loaf?