MORSELS & TIDBITS

Loaf Breads vs. Pound Cakes

September 8, 2010 ~ In conjunction with National Date Nut Bread Day

*Mr. Ed music in the background* A bread is a bread it’s said. Who said? And don’t try to call it a cake instead. Unless the mess is creamed instead, it’s still just plain old bread.


What makes date-nut (or zucchini, or banana nut) or any other loaf bread a, well, a bread instead of a cake or a pound cake?  I tried to find a definitive answer for this age old question by combing the internet but just found a lot of “my grandmother always said…” answers. So I decided to call King Arthur Flour to see what they had to say. Basically, their answer was ‘a cake is creamed and frosted – (quick) bread isn’t.’ Somehow, I thought there was more to it than that so I sent Food Network an e-mail asking them the same question. Should they respond to me, I’ll gladly post that info as soon as it comes in. My last stop of the day…Betty Crocker. Fred answered the phone and very politely infomed me the first determinant is the size of the pan used, and secondly, texture is next key factor: a quick bread is denser than a cake.

I'm still not sure what the official explanation is but if you know, please feel free to post a response.