The BEST Zucchini Bread Recipe?

[fierydrunk]

I am ready to start baking my own breads, rather than spending $2.50/slice. Looking for the best recipe for zucchini bread--one that is MOIST and sweet, please! Thanks!

[bloviatrix]

I made this recipe from Food & Wine. It was delicious! We found it to be very moist and had a nice sweetness. Best of all, it's a very easy recipe. I used the food processor to grate the zucchini, but otherwise I did everything else by hand.

[fierydrunk]

ooops! can you cut & paste the recipe? I am not a subscriber so it doesn't show up for me.

[bloviatrix]

I PM'ed it to you.

Edited December 31, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[Nana_Kat]

This recipe is my favorite for zucchini bread. It's a reciped that's stayed with me for awhile--Sunset magazine circa 1987. It is both moist and sweet, just how I like my Zucchini bread, too. Though sometimes I do cut down on the oil and or sugar to about 3/4 of what they ask for. Using the sesame seeds I feel is optional as well.

[Paula Jonvik]

This is the recipe I use for both Zucchini and Banana Bread when I do High Teas...

Yields 2 regular sized loaves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

Grease and flour your pans, set aside.

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 1/2 teaspoons Salt

2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1/2 Cup Milk (2% or Vit D)

2 Eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening, melted

1 Cup Granulated Cane Sugar

2 Cups Raw Grated Zucchini (or mashed Banana)

2 Cups Walnuts (optional) chopped

Sift all dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix all remaining ingredients, except nuts.

Add dry ingredients to wet and blend well.

Fold in the nuts.

Pour into pans and bake about 50 to 60 minutes... Check at 50 with a wooden pick. You want it to be dry when you pull it out.

Remove from oven.

Place pans on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, turn out and cool completely.

Freezes well, if it lasts that long!

I have never had a problem with this recipe and folks LOVE it!!!

Good Luck :)

P.S. Have plenty of fresh butter to hand when you sit down with these loaves...

[fierydrunk]

I did the recipe that Bioviatrix PM'ed to me and it was the perfect flavor, but for some reason even after baking it at least an hour (when 50 minutes was the time in the recipe), some of the insides, esp. on the bottom...were not thouroughly cooked.

I baked it in a stainless metal baking pan, brand new. Any tips? Lower the temp so it doesn't burn and cook longer? Hmmmmmm. Thanks in advance.

[bloviatrix]

Have you checked your oven temperature? Is it properly calibrated?

[fierydrunk]

I haven't but I have always been suspicious that it is too hot.

[bloviatrix]

Since the center was undercooked, I don't think being too hot is the problem. But get yourself an oven thermometer anyway.

I assume you did the toothpick method? Was batter still sticking to the toothpick? I ask because even when fully baked through it's still very moist because zucchini holds so much water.

[fierydrunk]

Yes, I used the toothpick method--it was undercooked in the center, and strangely near the bottom inside.

I will get an over thermometer and check it out. It was delicious bread, just needs a little tweaking!

[NulloModo]

A somewhat lowbrow, but very effective, trick for great bread of this type is to add a package of pistaschio pudding mix to the batter. Mix it in well, and when you taste the bread the pistaschio taste doesn't come to the front, but it helps retain moisture and it really adds a cool underlying flavor element.

[CaliPoutine]

I have a whole whack of zucchini. Any one want to chime in with another recipe?

Thanks!!

[Trishiad]

I always use Martha's and get rave reviews. lightly toasted with butter is my fav.

let meknow if you need the recipe

[momlovestocook]

If you want a lower fat recipe, I've made this one a lot and liked it.

Recipe here

Sandra

[CaliPoutine]

I always use Martha's and get rave reviews.  lightly toasted with butter is my fav.

let meknow if you need the recipe

←

I made the food and wine bread posted upthread. I doubled the recipe and added choc. chips to one. I took them into work and Ive gotten rave reviews.

Id like to bake Martha;s to compare. Is it on the website? Can you PM it to me.

thanks.

[Trishiad]

My lazy a** version of her recipe minus the walnuts 'cause i hate them:

oven at 350. spray 8 small or 4 large loaf pans (i use those disposable paper ones)

6 eggs

3.5 cups sugar

2 cup veg oil

5-6 cups grated zucc (i just stop at the end of a zucchini rather than measuring exactly and having half a squash in the fridge)

6 t vanilla

6 cups flour

2 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

6 t cinnamon

beat eggs, add sugar. mix. add oil, zucc and vanilla. add dry and blend.

bake 1 hour.

i'm fairly certain the real recipe calls for sifting and adding slowly but i'm just not that kind of baker.

[pissaladiere]

Hi,

I know this is not technically zucchini bread, but a delicious way to use up an overabundance of the green squash. There is a recipe on the site www.chocolateandzucchini.com for, chocolate zucchini cake, which I made the other day and it is wonderful. I added a bit of cinnamon, because I love that combination with chocolate. If you're not familiar with this site check it out. Has nothing to do with zucchini, but is just the food musings of a delightfully charming French woman named Clotilde.

[CaliPoutine]

Hi,

I know this is not technically zucchini bread, but a delicious way to use up an overabundance of the green squash.  There is a recipe on the site www.chocolateandzucchini.com for, chocolate zucchini cake, which I made the other day and it is wonderful.  I added a bit of cinnamon, because I love that combination with chocolate.  If you're not familiar with this site check it out.  Has nothing to do with zucchini, but is just the food musings of a delightfully charming French woman named Clotilde.

←

Thanks, Ill look there.

Ive been to that site many times, its great.

[Shel_B]

I though I'd bump this thread as we'll be loaded with zucchini and summer squash in short order, and I'd like to try my hand a baking some zucchini bread.  A lot of recipes I've seen are loaded with sugar, and others just don't seem right based on my limited baking experience.

 

I'd like to find a zucchini bread that's heavy on zucchini flavor, but not so much so that the bread tastes vegetal, not overly sweet, and not too airy or fluffy. Any suggestions.

 

There's one recipe I'd like to try except that it uses a large amount of sugar.  I'd like to cut the sugar back by about 20% - 25%.  Would I have to make any other adjustments to the recipe because of reducing the sugar?

 

Thanks!

Edited July 10, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[heidih]

 

I'd like to find a zucchini bread that's heavy on zucchini flavor, but not so much so that the bread tastes vegetal, not overly sweet, and not too airy or fluffy. Any suggestions.

 

 

 

I have always thought of zucchini bread as a vehicle to use up the vast quantities that seem to pop up in the garden all at once coupled with a misguided sort of self-delusion that the use of the vegetable makes it "healthy". I have never had one that really tasted of zuke.  All I can offer is the suggestion to use the youngest squash possible as they will have the most flavor, in my experience. Once you start tossing in the spices and other add-ins that most recipes include you generally further mask the super mild flavor. 

[Norm Matthews]

I see this was started quite a while ago but I think this recipe from Paula Dean makes the best zucchini bread ever.  I'd rather have it than banana nut bread.

 

OOPS forgot to post the link

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/zucchini-bread-recipe.html

Edited July 11, 2014 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Shel_B]

 I have never had one that really tasted of zuke.  All I can offer is the suggestion to use the youngest squash possible as they will have the most flavor, in my experience. Once you start tossing in the spices and other add-ins that most recipes include you generally further mask the super mild flavor. 

 

I agree - many of the recipes I've tasted and looked at are overamped with sugar and other spices making the bread taste too sweet and cloying.  The recipe Norm Matthews linked to above has more than twice the amount of sugar than a recipe I'm considering, and more sugar than the total amount of zucchini in the recipe. I'm hoping to find a line where the zucchini or similar squash is more than just a filler, and adds some real flavor (but not too much because I don't want the bread to be too vegetal) and texture.

 

I was thinking that zucchini may not be the ideal squash for zucchini bread because of the high moisture content and the way it practically dissolves when baked (that's the way it seemed when I was on my tasting quest).  Perhaps a firmer, drier squash, like a Costata Romanesco might work a little better as it has less moisture and is a firmer squash. Of course, I could also squeeze out the excess moisture from the more typical zucchini - none of the recipes I looked at mentioned doing that, but why add all that extra moisture to the bread?

Edited July 11, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[Lindacakes]

Per Garrison Keillor, if you leave your car doors unlocked at church, someone is likely to leave a bag of zucchini in there . . . 

[choux]

The zucchini bread from the latest Cook's Illustrated is fantastic. It uses 1.5 lbs of zucchini, makes for a nice tall loaf inan 8x4 pan. It looks like waaay too much to fit it pan as you are mixing it, but it works out.