Zucchini Bread
Most recipes for bread like this use a cup of oil to help keep it moist but I substitute 1/2 cup of apple sauce, it not only helps keep it moist but also adds a subtle flavor. Kids love this bread and they dont even know it has so much vegetable in it, since when I make it for them I peel the zucchini before I grate it, otherwise if Im making it for friends or family I just leave the skin on before I grate it.
Most recipes for bread like this use a cup of oil to help keep it moist but I substitute 1/2 cup of apple sauce, it not only helps keep it moist but also adds a subtle flavor. Kids love this bread and they dont even know it has so much vegetable in it, since when I make it for them I peel the zucchini before I grate it, otherwise if Im making it for friends or family I just leave the skin on before I grate it.
- Carbohydrate 499.944923888906 g
- Cholesterol 1586.25 mg
- Fat 75.6412453591972 g
- Fiber 6.5700704956341 g
- Protein 67.1258388882151 g
- Saturated Fat 14.63459445697 g
- Serving Size 1 1 loave (1018g)
- Sodium 1404.26375583599 mg
- Sugar 493.374853393272 g
- Trans Fat 7.35424220075478 g
- Calories 2924 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch bread pans.
- Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
- Beat eggs, oil, apple sauce, vanilla, and sugars together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
- Bake for 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.
Grated zucchini does the heaviest lifting in this formula by releasing moisture slowly during baking to keep the crumb tender. Baking soda requires an acidic component like brown sugar to trigger proper carbon dioxide production for rising, while baking powder supplies an independent lift that guarantees the dense batter still expands evenly in the pan. Because standard quick breads often rely entirely on heavy fats, incorporating unsweetened applesauce at a one-to-one ratio for half of the oil lightens the texture without sacrificing the necessary hydration needed by the four cups of grated squash.
Sifting the all-purpose flour alongside ground cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder aerates the dry components and distributes the leavening agents uniformly before they encounter wet ingredients. Creaming the three large eggs with white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and applesauce dissolves the sugars and emulsifies the fats to build a stable structural matrix. When dividing this batter to scale the yield down to a single loaf instead of two 8-by-4-inch pans, reduce the baking time and monitor the internal temperature closely to prevent over-drying.
Bake the pans at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 70 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center emerges completely free of wet crumbs. Allow the loaves to rest inside their metal pans on a wire rack for precisely 20 minutes to complete their internal steam set before inversion.
