zucchini bread

My parents were at the cottage last week, so I inherited their entire CSA share from Farmer Daizy and Farmer Johnny aka, their neighbors from Luxy Farm. It's really incredible to get fresh-from-the-farm-veggies, especially when we're used to getting so-so (if we're lucky) veggies from the grocery store. I was so excited to get a huge zucchini, among the green beans, garlic, pattypans and carrots. We had a beautiful pasta primavera for dinner that night, but I was saving that zucchini to bake with. Actually, I've been waiting an entire year to make zucchini bread again!

I usually use the classic Betty Crocker recipe to make zucchini bread, but I thought I'd try a recipe with less sugar, less fat and more fiber, so I can eat it for breakfast without feeling too guilty. Off to tastespotting to find yummy looking recipes. I was hesitating bewteen 5 of them when I decided to make this Whole-Wheat Zucchini Bread with Cinnamon, mainly because I could also use up the plain yogurt and the buttermilk that were about to expire in the fridge.

I love how simple quick breads can be. Dry ingredients in one bowl. Wet ingredients in another. Combine the two, bake, and you've got zucchini bread!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread with Cinnamon
recipe adapted from simple bites

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups finely grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil two 8×4 inch loaf pans.
In a bowl, sift together dry ingredients and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy; beat in yogurt, buttermilk, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Combine well. Stir in grated zucchini.
Fold flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spoon batter into loaf pans. Bake for approximately 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in the pan. Loosen the sides and remove from pan. Cool loaf completely before cutting. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

My daughter and I cut into that loaf while it was still warm and devoured way too much of it for an afternoon snack. Especially since she didn't want anything to do with it at first. She had two slices. It was really good. You couldn't tell it was made with whole wheat flour. Very moist. Flavorful. Tasted like zucchini bread.

After making the two initial loaves, I still had a bunch of shredded zucchini leftover, so I decided to try another one of the recipes I had originally picked. This blogger described this Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread as "only slightly sweet and not heavy". I baked it in square muffin tins and this recipe gave me 12 Zucchini Bread Squares. I was not a fan of this one. I found the bread too dense, dry and it didn't taste like anything. Oh well. Nothing a little icing couldn't fix!