Bread for Speed
If you’ve been reading the FoodItYourself blog for a while, you’ve heard my opinions on the amazingness of making your own bread. Perhaps, though, you prefer instant gratification when it comes to the baked goods in your DIYet. Thankfully, there is an answer – quick breads. This family of baked goods includes loaves (like banana and pumpkin bread) muffins, and biscuits.
Measure, mix, pour. That’s just about all you need to do.
Yeast breads take time because they rise due to the carbon dioxide gas given off by the yeast. It takes a lot of yeast burps to make a fluffy loaf. The carbon dioxide leavening in a quick bread comes from baking powder or baking soda. Recipes can be mixed together in 10-15 minutes and popped right in the oven.
There is no reason for me to delve into exactly how to make a quick bread, plenty of help is out there on the internet for you to explore. [] Personally, I recommend you find a friend or relative who is a muffin master or soda bread sovereign and learn directly from them.
Quick breads can be a great way to use up foods that might otherwise go to waste.
Yes! We have old bananas, we have old bananas today. So let’s make banana bread.
Muffins are a fantastic grab-and-go breakfast. Once you get the hang of the process, you can mix up a batch, shower while it bakes, and nibble some fresh home-made goodness by the time the coffee is perked.
Making your own quick breads also gives you control over what you eat. A quick spin on a search engine will reveal recipes that are dairy free, egg free, or even gluten free if that is something you require. Compare the ingredients of your recipe to any store bought muffin or refrigerated biscuit puck- which looks better to you? You can also customize recipes- leave out the cinnamon, replace walnuts with almonds, or even cut the sugar by up to 1/3. (I do that last one a lot, but don’t tell Mr. FoodItYourself!)
Too much zucchini? There’s no such thing as too much zucchini bread in the freezer.
Have a busy, unpredictable schedule? You can still have quick bread in your DIYet. Bake extra when you have time. Fully cooled loaves or muffins can be layered in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and kept for up to 3 months. They will be there when you need them.
Are you totally excited about making quick breads now? Give it a try! You will not regret it.
