Zucchini Bread

Yield: 2 loaves (or, 1 loaf and 8 muffins)

This recipe comes from Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks blog. There is a lot to love about this delicious quick bread. The cinnamon and curry powder combination is surprisingly sweet and spicy. I did not use the crystallized ginger, but only because I did not have it on hand. I also substituted zephyr squash for the zucchini because I had a ton of it from my farm share. If you make muffins like I did, use the same oven temperature and bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs attached.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, plus a few to sprinkle on top
• 1/3 cup poppy seeds (optional)
• zest of two lemons (optional)
• 1/2 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fine grain natural cane sugar or brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated zucchini (about 3 medium), skins on, squeeze some of the moisture out and then fluff it up again before using
• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon curry powder (optional – but highly recommended by me!)

Procedure:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter the two loaf pans, dust them with a bit of flour and set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine the walnuts, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and ginger. Set aside.
3. In a mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until mixture comes together and is no longer crumbly. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Stir in the vanilla and then the zucchini (low speed if you are using a mixer).
4. In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and curry powder. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring between each addition.
5. By hand, fold in the walnut, poppy seed, lemon zest, and crystalized ginger mixture. Save a bit of this to sprinkle on the tops of the zucchini loaves before baking for a bit of texture. Avoid over mixing the batter, it should be thick and moist, not unlike a butter cream frosting.
6. Divide the batter equally between the two loaf pans. Make sure it is level in the pans, by running a spatula over the top of each loaf. [Sprinkle walnut mixture on top]. Bake for about 40-45 minutes on a middle oven rack. I like to under bake my zucchini bread ever so slightly to ensure it stays moist. Keep in mind it will continue to cook even after it is removed from the oven as it is cooling. Remove from the oven and cool the zucchini bread in pan for about ten minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling – if you leave them in their pans, they will get sweaty and moist (not in a good way) as they cool.

Source: 101 Cookbooks