Quick breads are made from all kinds of ingredients. Banana bread and pumpkin bread are popular, but for the gardener with too much zucchini, a good zucchini bread recipe is a great way to use up some of that surplus squash. Zucchini is a green striped squash with a sweet flavor. It lends itself well for use in a quick bread like zucchini bread.
The baker starts with 2 cups (about half a kilogram) of shredded raw zucchini, which may equal two to five squash, depending on their size. The baker then presses the squash through a strainer to get rid of the excess liquid and sets the squash aside. The baker then beats together 3 eggs, 1 cup (237 milliliters) vegetable oil and 1 3/4 cups (397 grams) sugar until well blended. The baker then adds 2 cups (454 grams) flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons vanilla and stirs in 1 cup (227 grams) chopped nuts. The dry zucchini is then added and stirred in.
The zucchini bread is poured into two greased and floured loaf pans and baked in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) oven. The zucchini bread is baked for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The bread should be cooled in the pans for about 15 minutes before turning out on to a serving plate.
Zucchini bread came about from the homes of farm women who wanted to use their abundant squash harvest without waste. The zucchini bread allowed them to feed squash to the picky eaters in the household, provide something sweet and give baked gifts to friends and neighbors.
Zucchini bread is a good recipe for beginning cooks. It usually produces a good result and allows budding chefs to use their food preparation and measuring skills. This sweet, spicy, moist bread is a universal favorite wherever zucchini squash is grown.
