Zucchini and apples bread
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 eggs
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups unpeeled zucchini shredded
- 1 cup apples shredded & peeled
- 1-1/2 cups pecans chopped
- Carbohydrate 21.7146729166667 g
- Cholesterol 22.03125 mg
- Fat 9.90594625 g
- Fiber 0.775493770261606 g
- Protein 2.0773 g
- Saturated Fat 0.898587604166667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (47g)
- Sodium 232.397208333333 mg
- Sugar 20.9391791464051 g
- Trans Fat 0.325079041666666 g
- Calories 181 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- In another bowl, beat eggs.
- Add oil, sugars and vanilla.
- Pour over dry ingredients; mix well.
- Stir in zucchini, apples and pecans (batter will be stiff).
- Spoon into three greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans.
- Bake at 350degrees for 50-55 minutes or until done.
- Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Baking three loaves simultaneously requires precise equipment management to ensure even heat circulation in a standard oven. Standard home ovens often develop hot spots, meaning pans should be rotated halfway through the baking cycle at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shredded zucchini and peeled apples release moisture continuously during mixing, resulting in a dense batter that demands thorough incorporation of the dry ingredients to prevent pockets of unhydrated flour.
Determining Doneness Without a Probe
Visual and tactile cues remain the most reliable methods for evaluating dense quick breads without a thermometer. A finished loaf pulls slightly away from the edges of an 8-inch by 4-inch pan, creating a millimeter-wide gap. Pressing the center top yields firm resistance rather than leaving an indentation or producing a wet, spongy rebound. Inserting a wooden skewer into the deepest part of the loaf should yield zero wet batter crumbs upon extraction; a few moist crumbs are acceptable, but wet streaks indicate further baking time is required. Allowing the loaves to rest in their pans for exactly 10 minutes lets internal steam stabilize the crumb structure before inversion onto wire racks.
Adjusting Yields and Proportions
Scaling this formula downward requires recalculating egg quantities since whole eggs cannot be split cleanly; whisking five eggs together in a bowl allows a cook to measure by volume if halving the batch. Chopped pecans add structural weight, so folding them in last prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the batter during the transfer to loaf pans.
