Sorry it's taken me so long to get started on this blog everyone! Been trying to figure out what I wanted to bake first. It finally occurred to me on what my first post should be, due the the massive zucchini that my dad picked from his garden. Also, my dad has been patiently waiting for me to make him some zucchini bread...he supplies the zucchini, I supply the bread. That's the system we got going on over here. Any-who, if ya haven't already guessed I am going to be making some oh-so-tasty zucchini bread! YAY! This recipe makes two loaves of bread. So, if ya want to, you can share it with family and friends, or you can have it all to yourselves! MWAHAHAHAHA....sorry.
When make zucchini bread, you don't have use big ones like I'm doing. Reason I use the big ones is because you can make a lot with just one big zucchini, and I hate wasting. Most people would throw away the big zucchinis in their garden because they are too tough. However, when it comes to making bread, they are the best!
(I'm gonna call it Big Bertha!)
The recipe that I will be using is from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (the recipe is at the end of the blog!). I made a little teeny weeny bit of alterations to the recipe, but not any big changes. This is one of my many favorite cookbooks. Top five, hands down. My mom has an really old edition that has put so many delicious meals on our table that I had to get my own. It has helpful pictures and step-by-steps so that you may know how to prepare these recipes right. I totally recommend this to anyone who is just starting out cooking and baking. Its a great starter cookbook.
Well, let get to baking! First off, prep time. Take your eggs out so they can get to room temperature. It usually takes about half an hour. Don't worry it's safe. Lot of baking recipes call for room temperature eggs because it disperses better in the batter, and comes together smoothly.
Before I do the usual preheat and grease the pans, I like to get the shredding out of the way. Mostly because it is my least favorite thing to do in the kitchen and it feels like it never ends. Just get it out of the way! When you shred the zucchini, I find it easier to cut it in half. You get a better grip when shredding. Specially if you are dealing with these big zucchinis. In the past I always grated the zucchini on the fine side. I thought the smaller the shred, the more moist. WRONG! According to my mom, when making zucchini bread (or carrot cake) you want it course, because it makes it more moist. Learned something new. Thanks Mom! :)
.
(I named it Shredder. After the villain from
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for those who didn't know)
Make sure you have about 2 1/2 cups of the zucchini shredded. Should look close to this:
Now, set that aside. Preheat the oven at 350. Grease bread pans with either butter, shortening, or cooking oil. Today, I'm going to go with butter. When you grease it, cover the bottom and only half of each side. Set aside.
Grab a large bowl and mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a separate bowl, add lightly beaten eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and the zucchini. Mix it well.
Should look something like this:
Now to add them all together! In the directions it says to add all at once. If you are hand mixing it, go right ahead. If you are using a electric mixture, I advise to slowly add in the flour. It tends to get messy if added all at once. If you're like me, you will be covered in flour, stuck in a flour cloud. Funny, but not fun to clean up. So I take a measuring cup, use my handy dandy cover for my mixture and dump in small amounts of flour.
Its okay if the batter looks lumpy, that's the way the batter is suppose to be! Scrape the sides and mix one more time. Should look something like this:
If you love nuts, like my family and I do, throw a cup of chopped walnuts in there. Fold the nut in there with a spatula. You could use your mixture instead, but I find folding it evenly distributes the nuts. Mixtures tend to sink the nuts to the bottom of batters.
Now evenly divide the batter into the bread pans. Place the pans in the oven and let them bake for about 55 minutes.
( Isn't it the cutest time you have ever seen?!)
When the time is up, take the loaves out of the oven and do the toothpick test to see if it's baked all the way. Stick the toothpick in through top center of the loaves. If it comes out clean when you pull it out, it's done. If not, put it back in for another 5 minutes. If you don't have any toothpicks handy its okay, use a knife. Let it cool in the pan, on cooking racks, for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, take the loaves out of the pan and let them cool completely. Wrap and store over night before slicing, it moistens up the bread!
Then TA-DA! :D Enjoy with a nice glass of milk
And that's it ladies and gentlemen! I give you simple, delicious, addicting zucchini bread. Feel free to ask me any questions. If you try this recipe, comment, let me know how it goes. Share any alterations you made. If you would like to critique me on anything that I posted (food wise or what you would like to see more in my posts) go right ahead. I'd love to know what I can improve on :). I love feedback guys, so please don't be shy! Bon Appitete!
Zucchini Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups coarsely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
2/3 cup raisins (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of two loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, sugar, shredded zucchini, oil, and vanilla. Mix flour and zucchini mixture together. If desired, fold in nuts and raisins. Spoon batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake about 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers come out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.
Print Recipe Here
Yummy!
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