Quick Breads: a treat for now or a gift for later.

If you are new to baking, quick breads are a good place to start. Quick breads do not use complicated ingredients or techniques. They do not require the time that other breads do either because they use baking powder or baking soda instead of yeast. There are a wide variety of quick breads. They range from the down home goodness of cornbread to the almost dessert like sweet breads like banana bread.

These breads freeze well. Make a double batch when you are baking, and freeze the extra. To protect the bread in the freezer, wrap the bread in plastic wrap and put into a freezer bag. It will keep nicely for up to three months.

Quick breads, especially the sweet varieties, are a nice addition to holiday gift baskets or trays. If your gift is for a small family or you would like to include a variety of breads, a mini loaf pan is a great tool to have. Many recipes will also work well as muffins too. Just remember that you will need to adjust baking times for the smaller loaves. Recipes calling for an hour of baking time in a full sized loaf generally take about 40 minutes in the mini loaf pans. Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Here are a couple of my favorite sweet quick breads recipes.



If you have a Amish Friendship Bread starter, it is a great source for making gift breads. Make it in the traditional cinnamon variety or try other varieties too. If you don't have a starter, you can make your own. Not familiar with this bread or want to make your own starter? I talked more about it in this post, Chocolate Banana Amish Friendship Bread.





Quick breads are easy to make, give delicious results, and store well in the freezer. Mix up a double batch of quick bread and enjoy some now, and freeze the rest for gifts later.


Other edible gift ideas:
This Season's Bounty. Next Season's Gifts