Great American Baking Idea–The Quick
Bread
by Nancy Baggett
Just when winter starts to seem endless, the days warm up, the
light lasts longer, and– finally!– it’s spring.
Even though strawberries can now be purchased in other seasons,
I still think of them as gifts of spring and like to feature them
this time of year.
One recipe I often turn to is the colorful, wholesome strawberry-banana
quick bread provided below. It’s a particularly nice way
to add a fresh seasonal touch to the table, whether the event
is a holiday brunch, luncheon or dinner, or simply a pleasant
family meal or snack.
As the name suggests, this and other quick breads owe their
name to being quick and easy to make, particularly in comparison
to yeast-leavened loaves. The now large, well-known quick bread
category gradually developed in America during the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries. It’s so popular today that Clabber
Girl sponsors quick bread contests at state fairs in 25 states.
Quick breads were the result of several new breakthrough kitchen
products introduced in the nineteenth century–baking soda
and, later, baking powder. Technically called chemical leavening
agents, these special ingredients finally made it possible for
bakers to produce tasty, airy breads without having to fold in
beaten egg whites or proof yeast, knead, and wait for breads to
rise. What a time-saver for busy homemakers!
As baking soda and baking powder became available and known
across the country, resourceful cooks began to come up with more
and more ways to take advantage of their convenience. Over the
next century scores of new recipes for biscuits, muffins, and
loaves appeared. Modern quick breads, like my Strawberry-Banana
Bread, tend to be sweeter, tenderer, and fancier than early versions,
but they are based on techniques that American bakers began devising
more than a 150 years ago.
Strawberry-Banana Quick Bread
Besides having a fine fruit flavor and slight sweetness, this
bread is moist, has an appealing crispy crust, and keeps well.
The mixing method is somewhat unusual in that the banana is thoroughly
beaten along with the sugar and eggs; this step helps lighten
the dough texture and eliminates any lumps of banana.
Tip: For best flavor, be sure to the bananas used are very over-ripe.
For best texture, use fresh, not frozen, strawberries; frozen
strawberries tend to release too much juice and can cause sogginess.
2 cups all-purpose white flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped over-ripe banana
½ cup corn oil or other flavorless vegetable oil
½ cup low-fat strawberry yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
Spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Preheat
oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together
flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended.
In a large mixer bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, and banana on
medium-high speed until very thick and light in color, 5 to 7
minutes. On low speed beat in oil, yogurt, and vanilla until smoothly
incorporated; raise speed to medium-high and beat 1 minute longer.
Using a large wooden spoon, gently stir the flour mixture into
batter just until thoroughly incorporated. Fold strawberries into
batter, just until evenly distributed. Immediately turn out batter
into pan, smoothing out surface to edges with a table knife.
Bake on center oven rack for 50 to 60 minutes, until bread is
nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in thickest part comes
out clean. (If bread browns too rapidly, turn heat to 325 degrees
F. for last 20 minutes of baking.) Let pan stand on a wire rack
until bread is cooled to warm, at least 20 minutes. Run a knife
around pan to loosen loaf. Transfer loaf to a wire rack and let
stand until cooled. Covered airtight, it will keep at room temperature
several days. Or, refrigerate, airtight, for up to a week; let
warm up slightly before serving.
Makes 10 to 12 servings.
AMERICAN HERITAGE RECIPE
Typically, early quick breads such as this one were simply
yeast bread recipes in which the yeast was replaced with a chemical
leaven. In contrast to most modern quick breads, they rarely contained
fruit and often lacked sugar as well. I haven’t tested this
recipe, but I suspect it would seem plain and rough-textured by
today’s standards.
Cream Tartar Bread
Three pints dried flour, measured after sifting
Two cups of milk
Half a teaspoonful of salt
One teaspoonful of soda (Super Carbonate)
Two teaspoonfuls cream tartar
Dissolve the soda in half a tea-cup of hot water, and put it with
the salt into the milk. Mix the cream tartar very thoroughly in
the flour: the whole success depends on this. Just as you are
ready to bake, pour in the milk, knead it up sufficiently to mix
it well, and then put it in the oven as quick as possible. Add
either more flour or wetting, if needed, to make dough to mould.
Work in half a cup of butter after it is wet, and it makes good
short biscuit.
Catharine E. Beecher, Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book,
1846
