Great Zucchini Bread

This is my go to recipe for Zucchini Bread. The great thing about it - there are a few tricks to intensifying the flavor, making this recipe unique and extra delicious.

If you haven't done it before, growing a Zucchini plant in your yard is quite easy!(If you happen to have a yard. Right now I don't.) One plant will give you all the zucchini you could ever want all summer long. The 'fruit' can grow up to 3 feet long, but I don't recommend letting them stay on the plant that long, the fruit will turn fibrous and have less flavor if it gets too big. Zucchini is usually harvested when 8 to 12 inches long, as the seeds are still immature and soft. When preparing the zucchini for this recipe, the skins need to be washed and the seeds scooped out like this:

I use a food processor with the shredding blade to shred the zucchini.
If you don't have a food processor, you can simply use a box grater or cheese grater to shred the zucchini. In this recipe, you will wring out some of the water held in the zucchini, which is over 90% water! This helps to prevent soggy bread. (Which happens often in zucchini bread.) The moisture is replaced with ingredients that have flavor, making this recipe unique.

Did you know that Zucchini flowers can also be eaten? They are often stuffed, deep fried or even cooked into quesadillas! Zucchini is low in calories and a good source of folate, potassium, and vitamin A.

Great Zucchini Bread

by The Goldilocks Kitchen

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients (1 loaf)

• A 1 pound zucchini, or two smaller zucchini equaling about a pound, seeds removed and shredded
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup of plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Instructions

Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat to 375 degrees. Generously coat a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Wrap up the shredded zucchini in a thin kitchen towel and squeeze or 'wring' the juice out of the zucchini.You'll need some 'elbow grease' for this :0) Use a towel that you don't mind getting stained. This removes the excess water and concentrates the flavor.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk sugar, yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and butter in a bowl until combined. The yogurt replaces the water lost from the zucchini and adds flavor to the batter.

Gently fold the yogurt mixture and zucchini into the flour mixture until no flour streaks remain. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown and knife or skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool for about an hour.

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