Quick bread
Encyclopedia
Quick bread is an American term used to denote a type of bread
which is leavened with leavening agents other than yeast. Quick breads includes many cakes, brownies and cookies, as well as banana bread
, beer bread
, cornbread
, biscuit
s, muffin
s, pancakes, scones, and soda bread
.
, the demand for food was high. Thus, bread was rapidly made and leavened with baking soda, instead of yeast. Hence the name "QUICK bread".
, hence increasing the pastry's volume and producing shape and texture. Usually, the resulting baked product is softer and lighter.
Examples of such agents include baking soda (sodium bicarbonate
) plus an acid
, such as cream of tartar, lemon juice or cultured buttermilk, to elicit an acid-base
reaction that releases carbon dioxide
. (Quick Bread leavened specifically with sodium bicarbonate is called soda bread
). Baking powder
can also be used as it contains an acid and a base and simply needs a liquid medium in which to react. Other leavening agents are egg whites beaten to form stiff peaks as in the case of many waffle recipes, and steam, in the case of cream puffs. Nevertheless, in a in commercial process, designated chemical leavening acids and bases are used to make gas production consistent and controlled .. Examples of Acid Base Combinations:
To learn more, go to the Wikipedia article Bread
and read the"Chemical" paragraph under the Chemistry and Composition section.
Yeast
breads often take hours to rise. The baked good's outcome texture can vary greatly based on external factors such as temperature. However, breads made with chemical leaveners are relatively uniform, reliable, and quick.
Almost all quick breads have the same basic ingredients: flour, leavening, eggs, fat (butter, margarine, shortening, or oil), and liquid such as milk. Ingredients beyond these basic ingredients are included for variation in flavor and texture. The type of bread produced is variable based predominantly on the method of mixing, the major flavoring, and the ratio of liquid in the batter. Some batters will be thin enough to pour, and others will be thick and consequently be dropped.
There are four main types of quick bread batter: pour batter, drop batter, soft dough and stiff dough.
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
which is leavened with leavening agents other than yeast. Quick breads includes many cakes, brownies and cookies, as well as banana bread
Banana bread
Banana bread is a type of bread that is made with mashed bananas. It is often a moist, sweet, cake-like quick bread; however, there are some banana bread recipes that are traditional-style yeast breads.-History:...
, beer bread
Beer bread
Beer bread is a simple bread based on the idea that both beer and bread have a common creation process: yeast is used to turn sugar into alcohol, which in the case of bread then boils off....
, cornbread
Cornbread
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.-History:Native Americans were using ground corn for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World...
, biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
s, muffin
Muffin
A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins, also exist...
s, pancakes, scones, and soda bread
Soda bread
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a raising agent rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk...
.
History:
"Quick Bread" possibly originated from the United States of America at the end of the eighteenth century. Before the creation of Quick bread, baked goods were leavened with either yeast or by mixing dough with eggs . During the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the demand for food was high. Thus, bread was rapidly made and leavened with baking soda, instead of yeast. Hence the name "QUICK bread".
Leavening Process:
During the "Chemical Leavening" process, agents (one or more chemicals--usually an acid and a base) are added into the dough of baked goods. These agents undergo a chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, hence increasing the pastry's volume and producing shape and texture. Usually, the resulting baked product is softer and lighter.
Examples of such agents include baking soda (sodium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula Na HCO3. Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder. It has a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda . The natural mineral form is...
) plus an acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
, such as cream of tartar, lemon juice or cultured buttermilk, to elicit an acid-base
Base (chemistry)
For the term in genetics, see base A base in chemistry is a substance that can accept hydrogen ions or more generally, donate electron pairs. A soluble base is referred to as an alkali if it contains and releases hydroxide ions quantitatively...
reaction that releases carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
. (Quick Bread leavened specifically with sodium bicarbonate is called soda bread
Soda bread
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a raising agent rather than the more common yeast. The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, bread soda, salt, and buttermilk...
). Baking powder
Baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and American-style biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...
can also be used as it contains an acid and a base and simply needs a liquid medium in which to react. Other leavening agents are egg whites beaten to form stiff peaks as in the case of many waffle recipes, and steam, in the case of cream puffs. Nevertheless, in a in commercial process, designated chemical leavening acids and bases are used to make gas production consistent and controlled .. Examples of Acid Base Combinations:
| Leavening Acids | Leavening Bases |
|---|---|
| Sodium Bicarbonate | Potassium Bicarbonate |
| Glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) | Citric Acid |
| Ammonium Bicarbonate | Tartaric Acid |
To learn more, go to the Wikipedia article Bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and read the"Chemical" paragraph under the Chemistry and Composition section.
Yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
breads often take hours to rise. The baked good's outcome texture can vary greatly based on external factors such as temperature. However, breads made with chemical leaveners are relatively uniform, reliable, and quick.
Almost all quick breads have the same basic ingredients: flour, leavening, eggs, fat (butter, margarine, shortening, or oil), and liquid such as milk. Ingredients beyond these basic ingredients are included for variation in flavor and texture. The type of bread produced is variable based predominantly on the method of mixing, the major flavoring, and the ratio of liquid in the batter. Some batters will be thin enough to pour, and others will be thick and consequently be dropped.
Mixing methods:
There are three basic methods for making quick breads: the quick-bread method, the creaming method, and the biscuit method. These three methods combine the rise of the chemical leavener with advantageous lift from other ingredients.- The muffin method, also known as the quick-bread method, blending method and stirring method. This method is for pancakes, muffins, corn bread, dumplings, and fritters . It calls for measurement of dry and wet ingredients separately, then quickly mixing the two. Often wet ingredients will include beaten eggs which have trapped air, causing the product to rise. In these recipes, the fats are liquid, such as cooking oilCooking oilCooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....
. Usually mixing is done using a tool with a wide head such as a spoon or spatulaSpatulaThe term spatula is used to refer to various small implements with a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift materials including foods, drugs, plaster and paints...
to prevent the dough from becoming over beaten and deflating the egg's lift. - The creaming method is frequently used for cake batters. The butter and sugar are creamed, or beaten together, until smooth and fluffy. Eggs and liquid flavoring are mixed in, and finally dry and liquid ingredients are added in. The creaming method combines rise gained from air pockets in the creamed butter with the rise from the chemical leaveners. Gentle folding of the final ingredients prevents destroying these pockets.
- The biscuit method or shortening method is a technique which is used for biscuits, scones, and pie crusts. This method cuts chilled fat (whether lard, butter, or vegetable shortening) into dry ingredients using a food processorFood processorA food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of food. Today, the term almost always refers to an electric-motor-driven appliance, although there are some manual devices also referred to as "food processors".Food processors are...
, pastry blenderPastry blenderA pastry blender or pastry cutter is a kitchen tool used to mix a hard fat into flour in order to make pastries. The tool is usually made of narrow metal strips or wires attached to a handle, and is used by pressing down on the items to be mixed...
, or two forks. The layering from these process gives rise and adds flakiness as the folds of fat melt during baking. Confusingly, while this technique produces "shortened" cakes and breads (regardless of whether the chosen fat is vegetable shortening), shortbreadShortbreadShortbread is a type of unleavened biscuit which is traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal flour. The use of plain white flour is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice or cornflour are sometimes added to alter the texture...
cookies are made with the creaming method, and strawberry shortcakeShortcakeShortcake is a sweet biscuit .Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, milk or cream, and sometimes eggs. The dry ingredients are blended, and then the butter is cut in and mixed until the mixture resembles cornmeal...
recipes may use any of these three methods.
Dough consistency:
Quick breads also vary widely in the consistency of their dough or batter.There are four main types of quick bread batter: pour batter, drop batter, soft dough and stiff dough.
- Pour batters, such as pancake batter, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:1 and so pours in a steady stream.
- Drop batters, such as cornbread and muffin batters, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:2.
- Soft doughs such as many chocolate chip cookie doughs, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:3. Soft doughs stick significantly to work surfaces.
- Pie crust and sugar cookie doughs are considered stiff doughs and are easy to work in that they will only minimally stick to work surfaces including hands. Stiff doughs are produced with a ratio of approximately 1:8 liquid to dry ingredients.