The appeal of quick breads isn’t merely the ease. Though you have to love any baked good that is no more complicated than mixing a bunch of things together, then baking.
But it also is the adaptability and flexibility of these recipes that have earned them such a coveted place in the home kitchen. They can be flavoured with nearly any combination of ingredients, from sweet all the way to savoury and spicy.
They also can be baked in numerous styles – loaves large or small, as muffins, even simply as muffin tops (if you have the right pan).
To help get you baking this fall, we created two basic quick bread base recipes, one savoury and one sweet. Each recipe includes suggested flavourings, easy ways to take a basic bread and make it so much more. And of course, these recipes are so versatile, feel free to play.
Savoury Quick Bread
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (15 minutes active)
500 ml (2 cups) all-purpose flour
50 ml (1/4 cup) cornmeal
12 ml (2 1/2 tsp) baking powder
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
30 ml (2 tbsp) sugar
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250 ml (1 cup) sour cream
45 ml (3 tbsp) melted butter
2 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) cooked, mashed potato (unseasoned)
Mix-ins (see below)
Heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Coat a loaf or muffin pan with cooking spray.
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In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar. In another bowl, mix together sour cream, butter, eggs, mashed potato and the mix-ins of your choice. Add potato-sour cream mixture to flour mixture and mix just until combined.
For a loaf, spread batter (it will be thick) into prepared pan. Cook until a wooden skewer inserted at the centre comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. For muffins, spoon batter into prepared tins and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Let loaf cool fully before cutting.
Makes 1 loaf or 12 muffins.
Nutrition information per serving before mix-ins (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 180 calories; 60 calories from fat (36 per cent of total calories); 7 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 55 mg cholesterol; 24 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 1 g fibre; 290 mg sodium.
Flavours:
– Southwestern: 125 ml (1/2 cup) diced cooked bacon, 50 ml (1/4 cup) cooked diced green pepper, 125 ml (1/2 cup) cooked diced onion, 15 ml (1 tbsp) diced jalapeno
– Olive-herb: 175 ml (3/4 cup) chopped olives, 125 ml (1/2 cup) grated Parmesan, 30 ml (2 tbsp) chopped capers, 15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh thyme, 15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh rosemary
– Blue cheese walnut: 50 ml (1/4 cup) diced roasted red pepper, 125 ml (1/2 cup) toasted chopped walnuts, 125 ml (1/2 cup) crumbled blue cheese, 2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground black pepper
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Sweet Quick Bread
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (15 minutes active)
125 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) sugar
2 eggs
250 ml (1 cup) applesauce (or see cinnamon-pumpkin note in mix-ins below)
125 ml (1/2 cup) water
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
500 ml (2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 ml (1/4 tsp) baking powder
5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
Mix-ins (see below)
Heat oven to 180 C (350 F). Coat a loaf or muffin pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, eggs, applesauce, water and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the mix-ins of your choice. Gently stir flour mixture into applesauce mixture just until combined.
For a loaf, spread batter into prepared pan. Cook until a wooden skewer inserted at the centre comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. For muffins, spoon batter into prepared tins and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Let loaf cool fully before cutting.
Makes 1 loaf or 12 muffins.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 230 calories; 90 calories from fat (39 per cent of total calories); 10 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 35 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 1 g fibre; 210 mg sodium.
Flavours:
– Cinnamon-pumpkin: Substitute pumpkin puree for the applesauce. Add 5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon, 2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground ginger, 1 ml (1/4 tsp) nutmeg, 125 ml (1/2 cup) crushed toffee chips and 125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped toasted pecans
– Lemon-blueberry: Zest and juice of 2 lemons and 250 ml (1 cup) frozen wild blueberries
– Chocolate cherry orange: Zest of 2 oranges, 125 ml (1/2 cup) mini chocolate chips, 175 ml (3/4 cup) dried cherries
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