Zucchini Bread
We’re coming to the end of zucchini season, I think, but we’re still getting a couple big ones in each weekly veggie box from Food Connect Sydney. Last weekend as a special treat I made them into the Snook’s favourite: Zucchini Bread. It’s actually not that well known in Australia, which is odd because it’s similar to Banana Bread and they love that here. Anyway, I thought I’d document the recipe since everyone who tastes it ends up asking for it! Here it is:

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 c. sugar
1 c. finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 c. cooking oil
1 egg
1/4 t. finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Butter the bottom and halfway up the sides of your loaf tin. (If you butter all the way up the sides, your bread will sink down when you take it out of the oven.) In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (the first six on the list) together. I never bother to sift; I just stir it really well.

2. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients (sugar, oil, zucchini, egg, lemon) together. Add the dry ingredients to this bowl and stir just until everything’s moistened. (It’ll be lumpy. That’s good.) Fold in the nuts if you’re using them.

3. Dump into your loaf pan. Bake in a 350F/180C oven for 50-55 minutes or til a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then take it out of the pan and cool as long as you can bear not to eat it.

Makes one loaf. (My photo shows two because I doubled it.) I like it warm with butter on top. You can even toast it, if you’re weird like the Snook.

Read on if you want to see photos of the preparation!Ingredients for the zucchini bread.

The dry ingredients, all mixed together.

The wet ingredients. (If you’ve got a food processor with a grating attachment, use that. Saves heaps of time!)

Mixing it all up together.

Into the loaf pans, ready for baking!

Freshly baked zucchini bread.