zucchini bread

Here is my mother's zucchini bread recipe, well-used and much loved. It's fun to look at her handwriting each time I make this bread and remember a childhood full of baking. Even though I love this bread, I'm pretty sure it could use some updating. The 3TB vanilla seems excessive and other spices like nutmeg might add some flavor complexity. But there's something comforting about making the same, old thing over and over.

Zucchini Bread

Yield: 2 loaves or 4 mini loaves

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. Grease and flour two loaf pans (or four mini loaf pans).
3. Mix: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup canola oil, 3 eggs
4. Add: 3 TB vanilla, 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
5. In a separate bowl, combine: 3 cups flour, 1 tsp soda, ¼ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3 tsp cinnamon
6. Add above dry mixture to wet mixture and mix just until combined – do not overmix!
7. Bake for 1 hour.
8. Cool in pans for 10 mins. Then remove from pans and cool on wire racks until room temp.

Notes:

• When adding dry mixture, I run it through a sifter to remove any lumps. The most common mistake with this recipe is lumps of baking powder or soda in the final product.
• Use dark metal pans for best results.
• You can make brown sugar by adding 1-2 TB molasses to 1 cup granulated sugar.