The Perfect Zucchini Bread (made with fresh flour)
Eureka!
A dear friend of mine was shocked to learn that I didn’t like zucchini bread. It became a sort of challenge for me to find a zucchini bread that I loved.
I have made more loaves of zucchini bread in the past week than I have ever made in my life.
I learned a few things about zucchini bread in general:
- Most zucchini breads are too sweet (for my taste)
- The grated zucchini needs to be properly handled (squeezed to death) before adding to the batter.
Most of the zucchini bread recipes I tried were not for me, but I did manage to tweak one recipe and I think it is now perfect.
This is made with freshly milled flour, not too sweet, perfectly moist and filled with veggies (3 cups!!).
To end up with a nice loaf begins with the grating. First, peel the zucchini and scoop out the seeds (I used one massive gourd that was 1 1/2 feet long).
Use a food processor to grate the flesh super fine.
Next, let’s make the batter. Grab a large bowl.
Melt the coconut oil (if your kitchen is as warm as mine, the coconut oil is already liquid). Add the eggs to the oil and give them a whisk.
Time to add the grated zucchini.
This is important. You must squeeze all the liquid you can out of the grated zucchini before measuring it and adding it to the batter. If you were to just scoop out the grated squash, juice and all, it will water down the batter and it will be horrible.
- Adding too much liquid to the batter will produce a bread that is too watery.
- It will probably fall in the center.
- And it will lack flavor.
You must get the liquids out. Squish, squeeze, knead. You want mostly pulp.
Once you have squeezed the pulp almost dry, measure 3 cups of it and add them to the batter.
Stir it all together.
Next add the vanilla, cane sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Time for the flour and leavening.
Before you scoop up the flour and add it to the bowl – listen to me.
Sorry to be bossy, this is an important fact to know for all baking with freshly milled flour.
I always use fresh flour. It is not the same as store-bought. It is super healthy and filled with vitamins and minerals. (Benefits of Fresh-milled flour here).
Another difference between fresh flour and storebought is that it IS NOT PACKED.
Storebought flour is already ‘packed.’
WHY? Because it was milled very fine in a commercial mill. The bran and germ have been mostly removed leaving only the endosperm (the white fluffy stuff). Then the commercial flour is bagged and possibly stored in a warehouse. Then it travels on a truck. Then it probably sat on a grocery store shelf. All of this sitting, storing and moving naturally packs the flour into the bag.
Freshly milled flour is incredibly fluffy and aerated. Because of this, in order to get the exact measurement, fresh-milled flour must be ‘packed’ into the measuring cup. Tightly.
Measure 3 (tightly packed) cups of flour and dump them into the bowl with the liquids. Before mixing, add the baking soda and baking powder on top of the flour.
Whisk it all together.
Add a cup of nuts. Walnuts or pecans are both great. You could also add a cup of chocolate chips if you are feeling naughty.
Pour into 2 greased 10-inch loaf pans and sprinkle with a little more cane sugar.
Bake 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
This stuff is great. I am officially converted.
Enjoy!
Psst. Have you joined the Membership Community yet? It’s for people like us. The normal ones.
- Do you struggle to figure out what to cook?
- Do you want to feel good about what your family is eating?
- Do you want more time to enjoy your life?
You should join!
We’ve taken the guesswork out of clean eating.
Menu plans, recipes, unpacked, unpackaged, unprocessed. Real food your family will love. We’ve even made the shopping list for you! Just grab the groceries and start enjoying clean, real-food meals!
I know how hard it is to get a healthy meal on the table every night. With a farm, a business and 4 children I am often short on time, but I’m also not willing to open a box of processed junk.
I want my family to eat real food and I also want it to be easy. If I can do it – You can too!
XO,
CJ
| Servings |
10-inch loaves
|
- 3 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 3 cups zucchini fresh, grated (squeeze out the juice, pack in cup)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups Flour soft white or hard white (packed into the measuring cup)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup walnuts chopped (optional)
- 1 cup chocolate chips optional
Ingredients
|
|
First, peel the zucchini and scoop out the seeds. Use a food processor to grate the flesh super fine.
Grab a large bowl. Melt the coconut oil. Add the eggs to the oil and give them a whisk. Squeeze all the liquid you can out of the grated zucchini before measuring it. You want mostly pulp.
Once you have squeezed the pulp almost dry, measure 3 cups of it and add them to the batter. Next add the vanilla, cane sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Measure 3 (tightly packed) cups of fresh milled flour and dump them into the bowl with the liquids. Before mixing, add the baking soda and baking powder on top of the flour.
Whisk it all together.
Add a cup of nuts (if desired). You could also add a cup of chocolate chips if you are feeling naughty. Pour into 2 greased 10-inch loaf pans and sprinkle with a little more cane sugar.
Bake 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour. (Until toothpick comes out clean)
