Quick Breads

Appears in

Published 1995

About

What distinguishes a quick bread from a loaf cake? They look the same, and if you made a random arrangement of loaf-shaped quick breads, pound cakes, and fruitcakes, it would be difficult to tell them apart on the basis of appearance. There are, however, fundamental differences:

Quick breads are not as sweet as loaf cakes. They do contain sugar, but never in as high a proportion as a cake.
Quick breads are lower in fat than cakes. Although they may contain eggs, butter, or oil, the proportion of fat is much less than in a cake batter.
Quick breads use dried fruits and nuts not only for flavor, but also for moisture, and to help make up for the low proportions of sugar and fat.
A quick bread has a somewhat drier texture than a cake. This is why many are served with a spread of some kind—date nut bread with cream cheese, for instance, is a classic.
When mixing quick breads, be careful not to overmix or the bread will be tough and heavy.
Finally, quick breads can be served as breakfast, brunch, and late-supper breads. They are perfect when something slightly sweet will be welcome, but a full-scale cake would be too rich.