Step 6: Cool Briefly Before Slicing
Transfer the bread immediately to a wire rack. Allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This is important: the interior of the bread continues to set as it cools, and slicing too soon — while the crumb is still steaming and soft — will produce a gummy, underdone-seeming texture even if the bread is fully baked. Ten minutes of patience produces a noticeably better result. After that, slice and eat as desired.
Tips for the Best Result
The most important thing to remember with this bread is to mix as little as possible once the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Quick breads become tough when overworked, because mixing develops the gluten network in the flour — beneficial for chewy yeast breads but detrimental for the tender, crumbly texture that makes quick breads good. Stir until the dough just comes together and then stop. A slightly shaggy, imperfect dough bakes into better bread than a smooth, overworked one.
Check that your baking powder is fresh before you begin. Baking powder loses potency over time and old baking powder will produce a flat, dense bread. To test it: drop half a teaspoon into a small glass of hot water. If it fizzes vigorously, it is still active. If it barely bubbles, it needs to be replaced. A standard container of baking powder that has been open for more than a year should be treated with suspicion regardless of the expiration date on the packaging.
For a richer flavor, replace two tablespoons of the milk with plain yogurt or sour cream. The acidity reacts with the baking powder to produce more lift, and the fat content adds richness to the crumb. This is a small change that produces a noticeably improved result if you want to go slightly beyond the most basic version. Adding a tablespoon of olive oil to the dough and brushing the top of the loaf with a little more olive oil just before it goes into the oven also produces a more flavorful, beautifully golden crust.
Serving and Storage
This bread is at its best on the day it is made, eaten warm from the oven with butter or olive oil. It is excellent alongside soups and stews, as a vehicle for soft cheeses, or simply toasted and topped with whatever you have on hand. Unlike yeast breads, quick breads do not keep especially well — they begin to dry out after the first day. Wrap any leftover bread tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. Slightly stale slices can be revived by toasting or briefly warming in the oven. The bread also freezes well: slice it before freezing, wrap individual slices tightly, and thaw at room temperature or in the toaster directly from frozen.
