Simple Zucchini Bread
A delicious, easy quick bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons boiled cider apple juice, orange juice, milk, water, or the liquid of your choice
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon optional
- 1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 cups grated or shredded zucchini somewhere between firmly and lightly packed
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts toasted until golden
- 3/4 cup raisins or currants golden raisins preferred
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar for sprinkling on top optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the brown sugar, boiled cider or other liquid, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Whisk the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into the flour, then add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients in the bowl, stirring or beating gently until smooth.
- Stir in the zucchini, walnuts, and raisins or currants.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it if necessary. Sprinkle with brown sugar, if desired.
- Bake the bread for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The top (just under the crust) may seem a bit sticky; but so long as the toothpick doesn't reveal wet batter, it's done.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. For best results, don't slice until it's cool.
- Store the bread at cool room temperature, well wrapped, for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Notes
- Shredded zucchini varies a lot in weight, depending on the season, the freshness of the vegetable, the fineness of the shred, and how firmly you pack it into the cup. Measure your zucchini by volume in this recipe, not weight; don't fret if your weight doesn't match the weight in the recipe.
- To toast chopped walnuts, spread them in a single layer in a baking pan, and toast in a preheated 350°F oven for about 6 minutes, or until they're golden brown and smell "toasty.