Zesty Zucchini Bread

It just wouldn’t be right to go an entire zucchini season without a round or two of zucchini bread! This recipe is adapted from Betty Crocker’s tried and true little number to be Gluten Free and fabulous. If you don’t lead a GF lifestyle you can sub in white flour for the almond and rice. The original recipe called for ground cinnamon and cloves (1 tsp each) but I like the extra exotic flavors in Five Spice Powder and the flair of the fresh ginger. Adding the sugar at the end gives it a nice look and a little extra crunchy texture. I use half applesauce instead of oil because I have applesauce coming out my ears, but you can skip that and do just 2/3 cup oil, like Betty Crocker does.

***Note: Do not be tempted to add extra zucchini if you have a bucket-load – your bread will turn out like a wet sponge . . . unless you happen to like wet sponges.

 Gluten Free Zesty Zucchini Bread

3 cups shredded zucchini (pithy part and seeds removed)

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup applesauce or pear sauce

1/3 cup oil

2 tsp vanilla

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups almond flour

1 ½ cups rice flour

½ tsp xanthum gum

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground Five Spice Powder

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

½ cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Turbinado sugar mixed with cinnamon for sprinkling.

Adjust oven rack so that the tops of your pans will be in the center of the oven. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray the bottoms only of 2 large loaf pans or 4 small loaf pans.

Mix the zucchini, sugars, oil, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients just until mixed. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and twenty minutes for large loaf pans and 45 minutes for small pans. Rotate pans half way through baking and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mix. 

Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for ten minutes, then use a butter knife to loosen the sides. Remove from pans and leave topside up on the rack. Allow to cool completely for best slicing.