Weekend baking: Buttermilk Quick Bread

Buttermilk gives the Quick Bread a tender crumb (Photo by Cynthia Nelson)

Hi Everyone,

Ever felt like eating a savoury or sweet slice of a baked treat, and then groaned at the long process it will take to be made? I have. That’s exactly what happened to me last weekend. That’s the truth, but it is not the whole truth – I had some buttermilk that I wanted to use up. Making a quick bread was my first choice, the negotiation was whether to make a sweet or savoury quick bread.

What is a Quick Bread?

A Quick Bread is a loaf or drop-style biscuit where the ingredients are quickly put together with a minimal amount of mixing so as to minimize the development of gluten; it is mixed just enough for the components to hold together. Leavening is through a combination baking soda and baking powder or one or the other.

Quick Breads are not labour-intensive or time consuming. There is no proofing, rising, kneading, blind baking or resting (except for a few minutes when it is done baking). You quickly put together the ingredients and transfer it to the oven, immediately. Making a Quick Bread is an easy way to introduce someone to baking; or it’s a good way to gain confidence in your own baking skills. The best thing about a Quick Bread, for me, is the instant gratification of making and eating it soon after it is out of the oven, while still very warm.