Earlier in the week we made Fennel Pepper Slaw with Buttermilk Dressing, which left us with a lot extra buttermilk. Bummer, right? Nope! It was the perfect excuse to make this zucchini bread! You might already have a favorite zucchini bread recipe, but if you have zucchini and buttermilk on hand give this a try. The bread stays moist and dense, and we cut down the sugar quite a bit. My four year old proclaimed “Oh this looks delicious!” and I think you’ll agree.
The inspiration for this recipe comes from Joy the Baker. If you’re going to bake it’s best to consult an expert! She had a recipe for a buttermilk zucchini bread sans eggs. We started with that, but added some eggs, cut the sugar way down, and also backed off a little on the oil. Hopefully she’ll forgive us, but this bread turned out perfectly. If you’re looking for a vegan version I’ll include her notes for one. If you like your bread extra sweet you can up the sugars to a full cup of granulated and 3/4 cup brown sugar, but if like me you like your baked goods just sweet enough you’ll love this as is.
On the subject of variations, I plan on giving this bread a try with gluten free flour, so I’ll include the notes on that later. Quick breads are pretty easy to work with, so I anticipate good results! We didn’t have a loaf pan hanging around the farm kitchen, so I used a small casserole. This turned out to be a good call, since the loaf rose a lot and had a delicious sweet top that shattered when you sliced it. If you’re using a loaf pan, I’d venture to say you could split it between two pans for 2 petite loafs. Or just use a smallish casserole like we did.
Buttermilk Zucchini Bread adapted from Joy the Baker
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup oil (canola or vegetable is typically used in baking)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 brown sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 eggs
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease a small casserole or 2 loaf pans with butter or oil and sprinkle with flour.
In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and sugars. Whisk thoroughly then fold in the zucchini and nuts.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until “just mixed”. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (s) and bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cool before slicing.
Vegan Variation: Use 3 tablespoons ground flax meal in place of the eggs, Use 1/2 cup non-dairy milk plus 1/8 teaspoon vinegar in place of the buttermilk.
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