Is the cooking time for 5 individual-sized loaf pans the same for 1 loaf baked in a regular sized pan?

Answer 1

No. If you bake 5 small loaves instead of 1 large loaf, the cooking time will be significantly reduced. For example, cupcakes made from a standard Duncan Hines mix will cook in 21 minutes, while a bundt cake from the same mix takes 48 minutes. This is because the amount of surface area exposed is greatly increased in smaller batches, so it heats through faster. To get perfect loaves, use the same doneness test as for a single large loaf, but start testing at half the baking time. In fact, one tip for cutting the cooking time of meat loaf in half is to form individual loaves.

Answer 2

Probably not, 5 loaves are smaller and will have more surface area than 1 loaf, so moisture will escape more rapidly from the 5 loaves meaning they will probably cook faster. BUT 5 loaf pans may interfere with airflow in the oven, so that escaping moisture with poor airflow means the upper part of the oven will be a wet heat, the lower part will be a dry heat, and both temps will be different...making for uneven baking.