Biscuits, Fruit Breads- Yummy Quick Bread

There are several types of delicious breads, yeast bread, sour dough and quick bread. You can easily find some easily recipes for bread on the internet for any occasion.

Some types include: biscuits, muffins, pancakes, coffee bread, popovers, corn bread, scones, gingerbread, soda bread, sour dough, waffles, nut bread, fruit bread, zucchini bread or dumplings dropped on top of a stew. Country women often make quick breads for everyday meals, because they are so easy to make and so adaptable.

There are numerous types of biscuits: the basic buttermilk biscuit that many of us love, and cheese biscuits (cheddar, blue cheese, cheddar with onion, cheese and bacon). Some other more unusual types of biscuits are butterscotch, wheat germ, pumpkin, and orange cinnamon.

Fruit and Nut breads are great for making open face sandwiches by adding some cream cheese or softened butter on a slice of this moist bread. There are many simple recipes for these breads, and they are well liked by most people.

Quick bread can be made very quickly. They are nice to serve for a small crowd, at a tea or just to grab a quick snack for you. Some of the flavors are; banana bread, blueberry bread, zucchini bread, rhubarb bread, cinnamon bread and cranberry nut bread.

Cranberry Nut Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 °.

Grease a 9"X5" loaf pan

• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda
• Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with flour.
• Mix together the egg, oil, orange juice, and orange zest.
• Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack.

This is a recipe that my family has used since I was a small child, and it makes two loaves.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter (margarine)
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 cup smashed banana
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, pecans or walnuts

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°.

• Add soda to buttermilk in small container, then stir buttermilk before adding to mixture.
• Cream butter and sugar till fluffy; add eggs one at a time, beating after each.
• Add sieved bananas (I typically just smash them up which works fine).
• Add sifted dry ingredients.
• Then, add buttermilk and lemon.
• Add nuts

Bake bread in 2 5"X9" greased loaf pans for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

An old Southern recipe that is rarely used today has all purpose flour, sugar, salt, milk, water, cold butter and cold lard. They had to blend the cold butter and lard with a pastry blender until the mixture was course.

These biscuits were briefly kneaded, rolled out, then cut with a biscuit cutter and baked. A Southern man told me they were so delicious and light they could float off the plate. Obviously your doctor, being concerned with your cholesterol, would frown on this recipe.

Like yeast breads, quick breads depend on bubbles of carbon dioxide gas for their lightness. Of course, yeast breads rise more slowly.

Quick breads start forming the bubbles in the mixing bowl as soon as you combine baking powder or baking soda with liquid (such as sour milk, buttermilk, molasses or whatever liquid is called for in the recipe). When the bubbles expand tiny air pockets develop which make the dough or batter lighter.

There is another difference between yeast bread and quick bread also. When making quick bread, you mix the dough or batter as little as possible. The goal is to try to not develop gluten in the flour, while with yeast bread you mix, stir and knead for that very purpose. The minimal stirring with quick breads makes them delightfully tender.

The quick breads are great for the busy woman as they usually have a simple recipe, and they are finished in no time. Biscuits will probably always be the most popular quick bread.

I know a lot of people buy them ready made in the grocery store also. However, there are many varieties of quick breads of different types and flavors to add a new dimension to your diet. In addition, there are many alternatives for those people that need gluten free breads.