Favorite Zucchini Bread

2010 May 16

by Sarah

I’m a sucker for bread. Quick breads, yeast breads, savory breads, sweet breads—I like them all.

(I have a particular fondness for the parts of Wives and Daughters where Molly Gibson talks of eating bread and cheese for dinner.)

The following is my current favorite zucchini bread recipe. It’s a little unusual, and I admit, I do add cinnamon because it’s inconceivable to me that one could think of making zucchini bread without cinnamon. I mean, c’mon.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread
(from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking)

Yield: One 9×5-inch loaf
Baking temperature: 350°F
Baking time: 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours

This classic is made all the better because the moisture from the grated zucchini softens the bran in the whole wheat, resulting in an eminently appetizing quick bread. We’ve used a bit of lemon zest and a smidgen of nutmeg to show off the zucchini, and when made with white whole wheat flour, the bread is a beautiful light golden color.

2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
1 cup unbleached bread flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (sometimes I substitute unsweetened applesauce)
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, milk, and oil in a small bowl or large mixing cup. Stir into the dry ingredients until everything is evenly moistened; stir in zucchini, raisins, walnuts, and lemon zest.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Check the top; if it’s wet looking and wobbles when you touch it, tent the bread loosely with foil and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more.

Remove the bread from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes before taking it out of the pan and putting it on a rack to finish cooling completely.