"Ben" > wrote in message
m...
> Hi. My wife and I got into a discussion last night about the
> difference between bread and cake. She's European and says 1/2 of the
> stuff Americans call bread is cake (eg. Banana Bread). Is there a
> definative difference between bread and cake like ingredients, baking,
> etc?
>
> Thanks for the help.

Banana Bread is considered a quick bread. It is essentially a cake or
muffin. Traditional bread uses yeast for leavening and has a well developed
gluten structure. Cakes and quick bread have minimal gluten development and
use chemical leaveners like baking powder.