Cheddar Jalapeño Quick Bread

This super easy cheddar jalapeño spelt quick bread is best served warm straight out of the oven, slathered in butter. The flavoursome, no yeast bread is ready in under an hour and can be made with either spelt flour or plain (all-purpose) flour.

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What is referred to as quick bread?

Quick bread is an umbrella term for many different kinds of bread. As the name suggests, the bread is easy and quick to make, and often involves nothing more strenuous than throwing ingredients together in a bowl, mixing together, and then baking. Quick bread also refers to the fact that there is no yeast in the recipes, which automatically reduces the time involved in the process of making it.

When we think of quick bread, our minds usually turn to soda bread or cornbread. However, there are many other baked goods that fit under the heading of quick bread, such as pancakes and waffles. We could even go so far as to include muffins. Scones are another quick bread, and there are many similarities between this cheddar jalapeño spelt bread and my cheddar scones, for example.

Quick bread is not always savoury, either. There are many delicious sweet quick bread recipes that involve fruit, such as banana bread, that fall somewhere midway between cake and bread.

How does quick bread rise?

Due to having no yeast, quick bread relies on other leavening agents. These are usually baking powder or bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), both of which help the bread rise quickly, allowing for a moister, almost cake-like consistency.

Many quick breads contain eggs, which are another means of leavening. In fact, eggs in quick bread have a dual purpose: they also act as a binding agent. If you’d like to read up on the different kinds of leavening agents, Kitchen Aid has put together a comprehensive explanation of the types of leavening agents used in baking.

The texture of quick bread

The texture of quick bread will vary depending on its ingredients. However, I’ve noticed that unlike regular bread, quick bread has a lighter, almost fluffy texture that definitely bears more resemblance to scones. This is definitely true of my cheddar jalapeño spelt bread, and it has a springy texture with more moistness than regular bread.

As with scones, quick breads need quite delicate handling with definitely no over-mixing. As with muffins, all you need to do is stir the ingredients until they pull together. For recipes that are not made in a pan, such as soda bread, there is no need to form into a shape as you would with yeasted bread. In fact, too much handling will drastically affect the overall texture. For scones, the dough should be patted into shape rather than rolled or manipulated too much. I’ve explained this in more detail in my post the secret to making great scones.

Ways to enjoy quick bread

How and what you should eat with your quick bread also depends on the recipe. I like to enjoy my savoury quick breads straight out of the oven. This particular recipe needs nothing more than lots of butter. You could top a slice with some extra cheese, but the flavour is all there without adding anything else.

I love eating my quick bread as a hearty brunch at the weekend, and for plainer bread (without additional in-baked ingredients) like classic chia seed soda bread are great with egg, cheese, and peppers. If you eat meat, add a little ham, salami or even bacon. Just slice the bread up and top it with whatever you fancy.

However, there are some instances where I wouldn’t eat quick bread in the same way as yeasted bread. As the texture differs from a regular loaf, I wouldn’t toast my cheddar jalapeño spelt quick bread. Although I’ve actually never tried it, I would imagine the lighter, less held together texture would result in the slices falling apart if toasted. You would probably be unlikely to make a great sandwich out of quick bread, either.

Some sweeter quick breads, like my lighter lemon and blueberry loaf have a simple glaze to finish them off. Or, you could just give them a light sprinkling of icing sugar.

Adaptions to this recipe

As always, I like to offer ways to adapt my recipes to suit personal preferences. The main one is the type of flour used. This blog is all about showcasing the wonders of spelt flour, so naturally the majority of my recipes include it. Hopefully you will, if you haven’t already, get the chance to try out spelt for this recipe. If not, that’s okay. Despite being easier on our modern stomachs, spelt does include gluten, and therefore behaves in a very similar way to regular flour. This means that nothing more complicated than a straight swap is needed.

As for the cheese, just use what you like. I make a feta quick bread with red onion, which is delicious. I live in Sweden, and the only British cheese I can get here is strong, flavourful cheddar. As much as I adore pretty much everything about the country, their cheese just doesn’t cut it with me. I find it tasteless and even a little rubbery. Sorry.

Actually, talking about cheese and cutting, living in Sweden has revolutionised how I slice cheese. Before coming here, I would use a knife to cut slices for a sandwich. They were invariably irregular and chunky, and although you can never get too much cheese, now, I could never not use a cheese slicer. I remember my parents acquiring one when I was younger, but none of us had any idea to do with it. Perhaps they are more available outside of Scandinavia these days, but I certainly hadn’t used one before arriving here.

Anyway, back to the recipe. Yes, use any cheese you like. Also, omit the jalapeño if you don’t fancy it. Why not finely chop a red onion or even a bell pepper and add that instead? Chives also work wonders with cheese, as seen in my cheese and chive puff pastry swirls.

How long does this quick bread last?

As with most spelt bread, this quick bread is super soft straight out of the oven and for a few hours after. If you are not eating it right away, make sure you wrap it in cling film or foil to retain the moisture. Any bread not eaten within several hours can be frozen.

All of the spelt bread I make freezes remarkably well. Just take it out of the freezer a few hours before you want to eat it. If you’d like it warm, give it 10-20 seconds in the microwave. The loaf is enough for 10-12 slices, depending on how thick they are.

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