Zucchini Oat Bread

Yes, that's right. I'm pulling out a zucchini bread recipe in January. I wanted to bake something to have for breakfast last week and just couldn't seem to decide what I wanted to bake. Then I remembered the bag I had seen stuffed at the back of my fridge a day or two previously; a bag of already shredded and measured zucchini leftover from the summer. This was too good to pass up, so I pulled it out of the freezer and decided on this recipe as it thawed. 

It was just the right choice for my baking indecision. This recipe turned out a deliciously dense and hearty zucchini bread that, sliced up nice and thick, was the perfect snacking loaf to accompany my morning cup of coffee. Just the right amount of sweetness to make it special without turning it into dessert combined with warm cinnamon and buttery walnuts. 

This loaf didn't end up rising as much as I was expecting, and the batter was quite thick, so I'm thinking it didn't have quite enough liquid in it after squeezing a lot of water out of the frozen zucchini. This did not however seem to affect the deliciousness of the recipe, it still turned out a hearty loaf of breakfast bread. Just be sure to not over-bake it, it will be too dry then and that's never good! 

I may try adding a little extra liquid next time, some milk maybe, or yogurt, to just see how that changes the texture and look of the bread. Or maybe not. It was so good as you see, why mess with a winner!

Zucchini Oat Bread
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, optional
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounce) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounce) brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 cup (approximately 8 ounces) grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup (40 grams) old fashioned oats
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 8 1/2x4 1/2" loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. If using, spread walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until slightly darkened and fragrant, 8–10 minutes; let cool, then coarsely chop.

Whisk egg, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk flours, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg in another large bowl just to combine. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients, add egg mixture, and slowly incorporate dry ingredients with a fork (batter will look dry). Fold in zucchini, walnuts (if using), and 1 cup oats. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Sprinkle turbinado sugar over batter and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let bread cool in pans 30 minutes; turn out bread onto rack and let cool completely.