Quick bread for a holiday breakfast
Christmas morning can be an exciting time, with family members opening presents and stockings. You likely have discarded wrapping paper and gift bags strewn across the room. You do not want to miss all the fun, but if you are the host, breakfast has to be cooked. What are you going to do? The solution could be to prepare your breakfast days before by making quick breads that only need to be thawed and reheated.
Quick breads make Christmas morning breakfast easy. They are easy to mix and bake, plus are easy to clean up afterwards. Quick breads use products other than yeast as leavening, such as baking powder or soda. They may call for buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, cream of tartar or fruit juices. These are important in the mix because of their acidic nature, which helps activate the baking powder or soda.
Quick breads contain no yeast, so no time is spent kneading the dough or waiting for it to rise. Quick breads have more of a cake-like texture instead of a bread mixture. They are tested for doneness the same way you would check your cake, by inserting a cake tester or toothpick into the middle; if it comes out clean, it is done.
If you don’t have a toothpick or cake tester, look for doneness by noticing that the bread will pull away from the sides of the pan when it is done. It is best to leave the bread in the pan for 10-15 minutes, before removal to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Once completely cooled, freeze it so that it only needs to be reheated on Christmas morning. Wrap with plastic wrap, then foil. Place the bread into freezer bags and label with bread name and date baked. Frozen quick breads maintain their quality for up to three months.
Most frozen quick breads are at their best when thawed, heated and served warm. To heat frozen bread, remove from the freezer, remove all the wrapping and let sit until thawed. Rewrap in foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with fruit, coffee, juice and milk.
For more information about quick breads, contact the Miller County Extension Office, 870-779-3609 or visit us in room 215 at the Miller County Courthouse. We’re online at chadley@uaex.edu, on Facebook at UAEXMillerCountyFCS/ CarlaHaleyHadley, on Twitter @ MillerCountyFCS or on the web at uaex.edu/Miller.
There is plenty of time to prepare quick breads for your Christmas breakfast now and freeze them. I love this recipe for Hawaiian Bread. I have mine in the freezer already. Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you, it is easy to make and well worth the effort.
HAWAIIAN BREAD 1/2 cup margarine or butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs or equivalent egg substitute
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 medium) 1/4 cup skim milk 1 tablespoon grated orange peel 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup flaked coconut 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
Cream together margarine and sugar in large mixing bowl. Slowly add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Cream in bananas, milk, orange peel and extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture just until moistened. Gently fold in coconut, nuts and pineapple. Pour into a greased 9 inch by 5 inch by 3 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 -15 minutes before removing from the pan to a cooling rack.
Yield: 1 loaf.