On April 25th each year, #NationalZucchiniBreadDay encourages bakers everywhere to bake this delicious bread. And just like bananas, applesauce, and carrots, zucchini makes this baked loaf moist and a bit more nutritious. However, for those of us who use sourdough, it is a terrific excuse to use up some of our discard even though it works well with active starters too.

The zucchini historically comes from the Americas where it was cultivated as long ago as 4000 BC in Mexico and the northern native communities of South America. Native Americans told early colonizers that zucchini was to be eaten raw. But as it made its way back to Europe it was added to many heated dishes. 

For example, As it found its way into Italian cuisine, it was named zucchino, their word for squash, where it was often cooked into savory dishes. In France, it was dubbed as a “courgette,” which basically means vegetable in French, even though botanically it is a fruit. 

Harvested best while they are young, fruits have better taste and their seeds are still soft so that they are not noticeable while eating. Zucchini is a nutritious vegetable since it contains folate, potassium, as well as vitamin A. 

For the home gardener, plants often produce an overwhelming number of fruits; more than can easily be eaten raw or made into savory side dishes. For that reason, many home gardeners grate their surplus and freeze it for later baking in zucchini bread. And just like carrots, applesauce, and bananas, zucchinis give baked goods a moist texture (plus you are getting some hidden goodness from the veggies too).

Zucchini bread is quite similar to quick bread like banana bread. Zucchini and banana bread are both baked in loaf pans. When finished, they are sliced and often served with butter, cream cheese, or jam, but toasted, it is great too. 

Basic Ingredients for Quick Sourdough Bread 

  • Fat – shortening, butter, margarine, or vegetable oil are all used depending on the texture bakers want in the end. For this recipe, we suggest vegetable oil, olive, corn, coconut, etc. 
  • Sugar – white sugar, brown sugar, and some sugar substitutes may be used. For this recipe, we suggest dark, brown sugar for its molasses tone in flavor.
  • Eggs –  eggs are a binding agent and add volume and texture to quick bread.
  • Flour – many bakers use all-purpose flour for its lower protein content, but others enjoy the goodness of whole-grain flour
  • Liquid – while many quick bread recipes use milk or water to moisten the ingredients, the zucchini, eggs, and starter in this recipe will provide plenty of liquid
  • Leavening agent – most quick bread use baking powder or baking soda with something acidic added like buttermilk or yogurt, but when the sourdough starter is combined with the soda and baking powder it will give the bread plenty of leavening.
  • Flavoring ingredient – many bakers used select spices, fruits/vegetables, nuts, or extracts to compliment the flavor of the main ingredient. But nearly everyone uses vanilla to enhance the flavor. 

While you might mix and match these ingredients, we suggest following our recipe for your first attempt. And remember over-mixing your batter may prevent the bread from rising well while baking and could cause the bread to be denser.

Sliced Sourdough Zucchini Bread is a great afternoon tea treat

SOURDOUGH ZUCCHINI BREAD

Serving Size:
2 loaves, 16–24 slices
Time:
Preparation Time: 20 minutes (Optional long ferment, 8–12 hours)
Bake Time: 70 minutes
Difficulty:
Basic, moderately easy

Ingredients

  • 2¼ cup* | 282 g unbleached, all-purpose or whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp | 6g salt
  • 1 tsp | 5g   baking soda
  • 1 tsp | 4g baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp | 8.25 g ground cinnamon
  • 3 large | 170g eggs
  • 1 cup | 219g vegetable oil (avocado, canola, corn, etc)
  • 1 cup | 200g white sugar
  • 1 cup | 220g packed brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp | 13g vanilla extract
  • 1 cup | 240g sourdough discard
  • 2 cups | 300g grated zucchini, excess moisture 2¼ cup | 282 g unbleached, all-purpose or whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp | 6g salt
  • 1 tsp | 5g   baking soda
  • 1 tsp | 4g baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp | 8.25 g ground cinnamon
  • 3 large | 170g eggs
  • 1 cup | 219g vegetable oil (avocado, canola, corn, etc)
  • 1 cup | 200g white sugar
  • 1 cup | 220g packed brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp |13g vanilla extract
  • 1 cup | 240g sourdough discard
  • 2 cups |300g grated zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
  • 1 cup | 150g chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. If you are not long fermenting† the dough, preheat your oven to 325°F | 163°C and grease two bread loaf pans.
  2. Prepare the zucchini by grating it on a box grater. Then measure out 2 cups and place it in a tea towel; twist the towel as if wringing out, and then let it sit in the towel for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, begin whisking the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon) together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
  4. In a larger mixing bowl (your stand mixer bowl) cream the eggs, oil, white and brown sugar, and vanilla until whipped creamy and smooth.
  5. Then add the sourdough discard or starter to the wet ingredients in #4, whisking this in until it is completely uniform in color and texture.
  6. Next, sift in the dry ingredients, about a cup at a time, stirring to incorporate the mix after each addition of flour. Continue until all the dry ingredients are added and the mixture has no remaining dry flour.
  7. Next, fold in the grated zucchini and the walnuts into the batter, folding it in gently using a spatula.
  8. Finally, distribute your batter evenly between the two greased loaf pans.
  9. Bake them for 55–75 minutes, depending on your oven. Test the doneness of the bread with a cake tester or butter knife; f it comes out clean, your loaves are done and ready to come out. However, if any batter is stuck to it, put the loaves back info 10–20 minutes, baking until cooked through.

Notes:

* We suggest weighing ingredients, but if measuring flour, for example, scoop the flour into the measuring cup with a spatula and level it off by scraping the spatula across the top. If you scoop flour, you will pack it more densely into the measuring cup which is not as accurate as weighing it. But with care, you can match it pretty closely this way.
† For a long-fermented loaf, combine all the ingredients except for the soda and baking powder, in a covered glass or plastic mixing bowl for 8–12 hours. When you are ready to bake, add the baking powder and soda to react with the acidity of the sourdough. This will create a quick rise, so just mix to combine. Quickly spilt the mix between the baking pans. The batter will cook into fluffy, delicious loaves of quick bread.