Quick bread

Quick bread
Type Bread
Place of origin United States
Main ingredients Flour, leavening agent
Cookbook: Quick bread  Media: Quick bread
Banana bread is a type of quick bread

Quick bread is any bread leavened with leavening agents other than yeast or eggs.

Quick breads include many cakes, brownies and cookies—as well as banana bread, beer bread, biscuits, cornbread, muffins, pancakes, scones and soda bread.[1]

Preparing a quick bread generally involves two mixing bowls. One contains all dry ingredients (including chemical leavening agents or agent) and one contains all wet ingredients (possibly including liquid ingredients that are slightly acidic in order to initiate the leavening process). In some variations, the dry ingredients are in a bowl and the wet ingredients are heated sauces in a saucepan off-heat and cooled.

History

"Quick bread" most probably originated in the United States 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.[2]

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the demand for food was high, and labor for conventional bread making was scarce. Thus, bread was rapidly made and leavened with baking soda, instead of yeast.[3] Hence the name "quick bread". The "discovery", or "rediscovery", of chemical leavening agents and their widespread military, commercial and home utilization in the United States dates back to 1846 with the introduction of commercial baking soda (one component), in New York—Messrs. Church and Dwight of Arm & Hammer fame—and to 1856 with the introduction of commercial baking powder (two components), in Massachusetts, although perhaps the best known form of baking powder is Calumet, first introduced in West Hammond and Hammond, Indiana (later Calumet City, Illinois) in 1889. Both forms of food-grade chemical leaveners are still being produced under their original names, although not within the same corporate structure.

The unavailability of these chemical leaveners in the American South, during the Civil War, contributed to a food crisis therein. Indeed, even an essential food flavoring and food preservation agent, salt, was in short supply, and often had to be reclaimed and reused.

Leavening process

During the chemical leavening process, agents (one or more food-grade chemicals—usually a weak acid and a weak base) are added into the dough during mixing. These agents undergo a chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxide, hence increasing the baked good's volume and producing shape and texture.[4] Yeast breads often take hours to rise, and the resulting baked good's texture can vary greatly based on external factors such as temperature. However, breads made with chemical leavening agents are relatively uniform, reliable, and quick. Usually, the resulting baked good is softer and lighter.

Examples of such agents include a weak base, such as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) plus a weak 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 often 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.[4] 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 commercial process, designated chemical leavening acids and bases are used to make gas production consistent and controlled.[4] Examples of acid—base combinations include:[1]

Leavening acids Leavening bases

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.[5] 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 are thin enough to pour, and others thick enough to mold into lumps.

Mixing methods

methods for quick breads: the stirring method, the creaming method, and the shortening method. These three methods combine the rise of the chemical leavener with advantageous lift from other ingredients.

Pancake batter is made using the stirring method.
Layer cakes and shortbread cookies are made using the creaming method.
Pie crust is made using the shortening method.

Dough consistency

Quick breads also vary widely in the consistency of their dough or batter.[10] There are four main types of quick bread batter: pour batter, drop batter, soft dough and stiff dough.

The above are volumetric ratios and are not based on baker's percentages or weights.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Chemical leavening" (PDF). Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  2. "Quick Breads". Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  3. "Quick Breads" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Lai, H. M., & Lim, T. C. (2005). Bakery products. In Y. Hui (Ed.), Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering (pp. 9-11). Boca Raton: CRC Press
  5. Gillespie, Gregg R. (1998). 1001 Muffins, Biscuits, Doughnuts, Pancakes, Waffles, Popovers, Fritters, Scones, and other Quick Breads. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 1-57912-042-3.
  6. http://www.tpub.com/content/administration/14163/css/14163_188.htm
  7. Brown, A. (2011). Understanding food: Principles and preparation. (p. 408). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  8. "Baking 101 - Quick Bread - Mixing Bread Dough - QuakerOats.com". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  9. "Methods Of Mixing Quick Breads". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  10. "Quick Bread". Mahalo.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  11. "How Baking Works | CraftyBaking | Formerly Baking911" (HTML). Retrieved 2014-11-28.

Further reading

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