Best Sourdough Zucchini Bread
This engineered system for sourdough zucchini bread achieves a level of moisture and flavor stability that traditional methods simply cannot match by leveraging the natural acidity of sourdough and treating vegetable moisture as a critical input variable.
Equipment
- Box grater
- Hand held mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
- Large mixing bowl
- Sifter
- Measuring cups and spoons (or digital scale)
- Mini loaf pans (7 x 3 x 2 inches) or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan
- baking sheet
- wire rack
Ingredients
Pan Preparation & Produce
- Butter for coating the pan
- 2 cups grated zucchini from appx. 1 medium zucchini (no need to drain excess water)
Wet Ingredients
- 125 g banana weighed with the skin on (about 1 small banana)
- 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs one at a time until fully incorporated
- 100 g sourdough discard OR bubbly, active sourdough starter appx. 1/2 cup
- 125 ml neutral flavored oil like sunflower (mild olive oil works, too)
- 60 ml milk or unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup
Dry Ingredients
- 225 g light or dark brown sugar 1 1/4 cups lightly packed
- 250 g all-purpose flour 2 cups
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
Preparation & Mixing
- Preheat the oven to 360 F. Lightly coat (2 or 3) 7 x 3 x 2 mini loaf pans or (1) 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter. Note: Using 2 mini loaf pans instead of 3 will you get you slightly taller loaves.
- Using a box grater, grate the zucchini on an angle on the side with largest holes. No need to drain out the excess water. Set aside.
- Add the banana, sugar, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Cream with a hand held mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (some small lumps of banana are okay).
- Add the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated. Add the sourdough starter.
- Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl. Working in batches, add this to the banana mixture.
- Add the oil and milk and mix until just combined. Do not over do it; the banana bread will be tough. The texture should be thick and pourable, but not runny. Add more flour if needed.
- Fold in the grated zucchini.
Baking and Cooling
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). For 2 mini loaf pans, fill about 3/4s full. For 3 mini loaf pans, fill about 2/3s full (these loaves will not be as high). Place onto a baking sheet and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes for the 2 mini loaf pans (about 30-35 minutes if using 3 mini pans) or 60-65 minutes or more for the standard 9 x 5-inch pan. Cover with foil if the loaf browns too quickly.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If your sourdough zucchini bread has a sunken middle, it is likely due to underbaking or opening the oven door too early. Always check doneness with a toothpick or thermometer (internal temp should reach at least 200°F). If you want to reduce sugar, substitute brown sugar with a cup-for-cup sugar alternative like monk fruit, though this may result in a paler crust. Storage: Once cool, wrap tightly in parchment paper followed by foil. Loaves can be frozen for up to three months. If your zucchini is woody, remove the seeds before grating.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!