the dry. You may add chopped fruits, nuts, grated vegetables or whatever the recipe calls for at any

time in this process. An important part is to mix lightly, just until the ingredients are combined. To

much mixing toughens the final product, and that is about the only thing you have to be careful

about. Too much mixing is beginners’ downfall and the bread turns out dense and dry. Never use a

food processor to mix a quick bread dough.

Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake. After it is done, a quick bread is ready to eat it

at once, though it is easier to slices if you let the bread cool a little.

If you overbake your quick bread, it gets too dry. If you underbake it, the center is still soft

and doughy. Set your timer 5 to 10 minutes earlier than the recipe calls for, and start testing the

bread with a toothpick or bamboo skewer at that point. As soon as the tester comes out clean, the

bread is ready. A thermometer registering 190°F (90°C) in the center is also a good testing device.

Quick breads don't have a delicate structure like cakes do, they won't collapse or fall when

disturbed. You can go ahead and dance in the kitchen while your quick bread is baking, even if your

floor is quite bouncy. The bread won't mind it (though your neighbors might).

Why do some recipes call for baking powder and baking soda? When a sour ingredient is

part of the dough—buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream or sour milk—the dough needs both leaveners.

Baking powder was designed for a neutral batter, so if it contains additional acid ingredients, you

need something to neutralize it or the chemical reactions are unbalanced. That is what the baking

soda does. The sour liquids in the recipe promote a lighter bread and are the basis for another

chemical reaction that produce bubbles. Recipes with sour ingredient always call for baking soda.

Should you change a recipe and substitute sweet milk for any of the sour products, be sure to

omit the baking soda. You can also substitute sour liquids for sweet, for example, sour milk or

yogurt for milk, sour cream for sweet cream. But make sure you add baking soda in the ratio of ½

teaspoon for every cup of the sour liquid. Because the baking soda combines with the sour liquid

and generates carbon dioxide gas bubbles, you don't need as much baking powder in the recipe—

reduce it slighlty.

The amount of chemical leavening in quick breads is critical. If you don't add enough, you

won't get the gas bubbles light breads require. If you add too much, all the chemicals don’t

completely neutralize during the mixing and baking, and your bread ends up with a chemical or

bitter soapy taste. Too little mixing, so you don’t distribute the chemicals evenly throughout the

dough produces the same effect. You remember the church potluck when that wonderful-looking

zucchini bread had such a bitter favor? That is what caused it. Hopefully it wasn't your zucchini

bread!

Quick bread shortcut

How do you get fresh-baked quick bread or muffins for breakfast without getting up at the

crack of dawn? If you bake them the night before, by morning they are no longer truly fresh. Quick

or not, their preparation and baking still take time. There is a way.

Mix the dough or batter the night before, put it in the bread pan (or muffin tins), cover and

put it in the refrigerator. As soon as you roll out of bed and even before you start your coffee or let

the dog out the next morning, turn on the oven and take the pan out of the refrigerator. When the

oven is hot, put the bread or muffin pan in. Add an extra 5 or 10 minutes to baking time since the

cold batter needs extra time to heat up, like your car engine in January. But before you have had a

chance to pour your second cup of coffee, there'll be a slice of fresh, still-warm bread or muffins to

dunk.

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