Quick bread

Quick bread is any bread leavened with leavening agents other than yeast. Quick breads include many cakes, brownies and
cookiesas well as banana bread, beer bread, biscuits, cornbread, muffins, pancakes, scones, and soda bread.
Leavening process
During the chemical leavening process, agents (one or more food-grade chemicalsusually a weak acid and a
weak base) are added into the dough during mixing. These agents undergo a chemical reaction to produce carbon
dioxide, hence increasing the baked good's volume and producing shape and texture.
[4]
Yeast breads often take hours to
rise. The baked good's outcome texture can vary greatly based on external factors such as temperature. However, breads
made with chemical leavening agents are relatively uniform, reliable, and quick. Usually, the resulting baked good is softer
and lighter.
Examples of such agents include a weak base, such as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) plus a weak acid, such
as cream of tartar, lemon juice or cultured buttermilk, to elicit anacidbase reaction that releases carbon dioxide. (Quick
Bread leavened specifically with sodium bicarbonate is often called soda bread). Baking powder can also be used as it
contains an acid and a base and simply needs a liquid medium in which to react.
[4]
Other leavening agents are egg whites
beaten to form stiff peaks as in the case of many waffle recipes, and steam, in the case of cream puffs. Nevertheless, in a
commercial process, designated chemical leavening acids and bases are used to make gas production consistent and
controlled.
[4]
Examples of acidbase combinations include:
[1]

Leavening acids Leavening bases
Citric acid
Tartaric acid
Glucono delta-lactone (GDL)
Potassium bicarbonate
Ammonium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate
Almost all quick breads have the same basic ingredients: flour, leavening, eggs, fat (butter, margarine, shortening, or oil),
and liquid such as milk. Ingredients beyond these basic ingredients are included for variation in flavor and texture.
[5]
The
type of bread produced is variable based predominantly on the method of mixing, the major flavoring, and the ratio of
liquid in the batter. Some batters are thin enough to pour, and others thick enough to mold into lumps.

Dough consistency
Quick breads also vary widely in the consistency of their dough or batter.[10] There are four main types of quick bread
batter: pour batter, drop batter, soft dough and stiff dough.
Pour batters, such as pancake batter, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:1 and so pours in a steady stream. Also called a
"low-ratio" baked good.
Drop batters, such as cornbread and muffin batters, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:2.
Soft doughs, such as many chocolate chip cookie doughs, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:3. Soft doughs stick
significantly to work surfaces.
Stiff doughs, such as pie crust and sugar cookie doughs, have a liquid to dry ratio of about 1:8. Stiff doughs are easy to
work in that they only minimally stick to work surfaces, including tools and hands. Also called "high-ratio" baked good.