Zucchini Bread
- Shevanty R
- Aug 6, 2018
- 4 min read
Truth be told, the only reason I stumbled across this recipe was because our neighbor grew fresh zucchinis in his backyard and shared some of his extra yield with us. Before discovering this recipe, the only time I had ever ate zucchini was when it was grilled on a BBQ. I had never even heard of zucchini bread or even baking with zucchini until I was given the gift of this recipe.
For those of you who have never tasted or even heard of Zucchini bread, this recipe was a total game changer. Not only is this bread amazing when it is fresh out of the oven, but is just as delicious after a few weeks in the freezer. Not all breads taste fresh after being in the freezer for a while but this is one of the exceptions. To learn how to properly freeze and thaw breads, read this!
I actually came across the recipe from a friend who found it on an online recipe site. The thing about trying recipes from an online recipe sites such as Allrecipes or Recipefy is that sometimes they turn out amazing like this zucchini bread and sometimes they don't. This recipe came from here!
For those of you who have never baked with zucchini before, don't worry it is not as hard as you think. This recipe works best with large juicy zucchini because it adds to the moisture and flavor of the bread. From what I have seen, most zucchini recipes require you to discard the extra zucchini "juice/water" but for this recipe the more "juice/zucchini water" you have the better. When grating the zucchini , I would recommend doing it over a measuring cup and using everything (water-juice included) in the batter. The 2 cups of zucchini is more like a suggestion than a requirement, if you would like a more zucchini prominent taste in the bread then add more. After making this bread many times, I have come to the conclusion that 2 cups is just about enough.
Start making the batter by gently whisking all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. I would recommend sifting all the dry ingredients, especially the flour, for this recipe. Sifted ingredients are a lot easier to mix and ensures that all the different ingredients are well combined. Gently mix the sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the sugar and eggs for a few minutes and until it turns into a yellow cream. Carefully pour the vegetable oil and vanilla extract and continue beating until it is all creamy. Make sure to remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all of the batter is mixed. Then very slowly spoon in the dry ingredients to the creamy batter, making sure to beat for a few moments before spooning in more. Only after all the dry ingredients are well mixed in the batter should you add in the zucchini gratings. The batter should look a bit watery (as seen below) but do not worry as the more watery the more moist the bread! (Note: this does not mean to add water to the batter)
The last thing to add before baking this bread is the chopped walnuts (or any kind of nut of your choice). This part is completely optional, depends if you want that extra crunch in the bread but the bread is just as amazing without them. To be honest I do not always add the walnuts because some people just don't like the extra nuts in the bread. There is also the option of sprinkling the walnuts (or other nuts) over the top of the bread, right before making. The choice is all yours.
Pour the batter into a greased bread pan or any pan of your choice (sometimes I use a bundt pan because I love the shape) and bake in the oven at 325° F for about 40 - 60 minutes. Make sure to test the bread by sticking a toothpick or tester in the middle. When the tester comes out clean, the bread is ready! This is one of my favorite summer time recipes and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
MATERIALS:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 and 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven 325° F
In a medium size bowl, sift the all purpose flour,baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Gently blend together with a spoon ingredients
Using an electrical mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together in a larger bowl.
After a few minutes add in the oil and the vanilla extract, beat until mixture is creamy
Slowly add in the shifted dry ingredients, little by little, thoroughly mixing the batter
Lastly, stir in the zucchini gratings and chopped walnuts
Pour batter into greased bread pan and bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean
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