One of the nicest treats to enjoy in the summer is zucchini bread. It’s like the pumpkin bread of fall in one sense, but it’s totally different. Zucchini bread makes a delicious afternoon snack or a quick breakfast bite in the morning when you have your coffee. Loaded with fresh zucchini, this quick bread recipe is easy to make and is a favorite, scrumptious zucchini bread recipe.
My zucchini bread has not garnered any prizes yet, but we’ll just have to see what happens in 2021. All I can tell you is that it is a delicious and moist bread that will have you returning to the kitchen repeatedly just to have one more little slice. Just do yourself a favor and take the whole loaf to the couch with you. It’ll be gone in minutes. To make great zucchini bread, you don’t need to have a painstakingly produced recipe, or lots of skill, or a spice rack full of fancy ingredients. All you need is some zucchini, some simple spice, and a list of common ingredients regularly used for baking.
A Quick Bread
The first thing about zucchini bread– besides the zucchini– is that it’s a quick bread. Zucchini bread uses no yeast and it doesn’t need time to rise. Instead, you just lightly mix the ingredients together and let the oven work its magic. If you mix everything too hard, then it will over-activate the gluten and throw everything way off. This is a really easy-going recipe that doesn’t call for a lot of fussing. That goes for flour, too. All-purpose flour is just fine. If you have another kind of bread flour that you want to use instead, there is nothing wrong with that. I use All-Purpose Flour because there is no need for anything else and it’s the most common. Why go to the store if you don’t have to?
Size is Important
Yes. When it comes to zucchini bread, size matters. But let’s be serious, here. The quality of zucchini changes as it grows bigger. What we are looking for here is the water content. Large zucchini tends to be dryer than small zucchini and it won’t yield the moist quality that we desire in our zucchini bread. So, small zucchini is the better choice if you are picking it out at the store or harvesting your garden. Larger zucchini just won’t get the same results and will leave you disappointed.
Zucchini Bread is Not Like Banana Bread
Another thing that is worth noting about making zucchini bread is that it’s not the same as banana bread. Of course, it wouldn’t be. Zucchini are not the same as bananas. Not even remotely. However, there is some similarity between the two breads that lead us to compare the two and may cause confusion. They are both dark breads, they are quick breads. Both use healthy produce and both incorporate nuts and other spices. While banana bread tastes terrific with walnuts, pecans are the nut of choice for great zucchini bread.
Of course, the selection of nuts to pair with the fruit or vegetable is not the only major difference. One key difference has to do with the zucchini itself and not just the fact that it’s a vegetable. You may well know that overripe bananas make the best-tasting banana bread. Most people decide to make banana bread out of old or bruised bananas in order to put them to use when they are past their prime. This is not the case for zucchini. To make great-tasting zucchini bread, start with the freshest zucchini.
How to Prepare Zucchini for a Bread Recipe?
The trick to a great zucchini bread is using the right ingredients and handling them properly. The ingredients are for the most part pretty basic and common. If you don’t have any on hand you can borrow it from your neighbor if anybody still does that, or add it to your shopping list. How you handle the ingredients is pretty simple as baking recipes go, but how you prepare the zucchini is important. The zucchini needs to melt into the bread and become virtually undetectable. You don’t achieve this by folding in chunks or slices of zucchini. The best way to prepare it is to grate it. Don’t worry about peeling the zucchini. It’s totally unnecessary and only takes more time.
Why Turn Zucchini Bread out of the Pan?
My instructions for zucchini bread like other recipes call for additional cooling on a baking rack after you take it out of the pan. You only want to let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. The pan will still be hot, which is the point. You don’t want your bread to continue cooking in the pan, which will happen if you don’t take it out. To properly cool your zucchini bread and keep it from burning or drying out, use oven mitts or a clean towel and gently turn the loaf out of the pan. The pan should be liberally coated with nonstick spray so that the loaf slides out easily.
While we are on the subject of cooling your zucchini bread, don’t try to eat it right away. It does need to cool completely before you dive in and start slicing. If you don’t let the bread cool all the way it is more difficult to slice because the bread will not provide the resistance you need to work the blade through and it will be too hot to hold in place while you cut.
Can You Freeze Zucchini Bread
Yes, you can, but you have to be careful. First, the same rule about letting the bread cool completely still applies. Otherwise, you will wind up with soggy zucchini bread. After the bread has cooled down, seal it in plastic, or aluminum foil, or both. You can freeze it for up to 6 months and simply thaw it on the counter about a day before you intend to use it.
Ingredients Needed To Make Zucchini Bread
- Fresh zucchini
- All purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk
- Pecans
(Actual measurements are in the recipe card below.)
How To Make The Best Zucchini Bread
- Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9×5 inch baking pan with non stick spray, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy.
- Add eggs and vanilla, beat on medium until combined.
- Alternate buttermilk and flour mixture until just combined then stir zucchini and pecans into mixture.
- Spoon into prepared baking pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Carefully remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool.
Try This Delicious Recipe Today
Here are a few more delicious bread recipes that can be found on the blog:
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2¼ cups zucchini, grated (about 2 medium)
- ½ cups pecans, chopped
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Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 9x5 inch baking pan with non stick spray, set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy.
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Add eggs and vanilla, beat on medium until combined.
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Alternate buttermilk and flour mixture until just combined then stir zucchini and pecans into mixture.
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Spoon into prepared baking pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Carefully remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool.
Here are a few pics that are the perfect size for pinning to Pinterest.
Enjoy, Terri
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