Nosh: (Not another) Zucchini Bread!

(Not another) Zucchini Bread!

I know what you're thinking.

You: Greeeeeeat, just what I wanted. Another zucchini bread recipe to add to my existing pile.

I've had someone fake me out ("Look! Jamie Oliver!") and run away when I mentioned a zucchini bread recipe I was working on. Let's face it, many of us already have our trusty zucchini bread recipe and don't want to hear any more about it. It may be your great-great-great-great-grandma's recipe, hundreds of years old, a legend, with its own circle of friends and even its own birthday.

Funny enough, not many Germans know about zucchini bread. When I first made it a few years ago, it was - to my amazement - a novelty. My neighbors took the offered loaf in their hands and turned it, squinted at it, asking..."Zucchini bread? Zucchini in the bread? How do we eat it?" It was like I had introduced moving pictures to them. They ate it and liked it. The zucchini bread caught on. Soon, others, when zucchini season rolled around again, would fish around to see if I was planning on making "that bread with the zucchinis, you know, that sweet bread that you make."

But this year, as I dove back into the world of zucchini bread, I was more than a little taken aback at the thought of putting cups of oil and processed sugar into the zucchini bread. I'm not sure why it didn't bother me this much before or maybe I didn't notice that every recipe had tons of oil and sugar in it? In any case, I wanted a new, healthier zucchini bread and I set about making one that was more balanced - fresher, lighter, and a bit ... er, wholesome-er.

My main task was getting rid of all except a little oil and processed white sugar. I also added a few little touches of my own. I have to say, I really loved the way this bread came out ... and I found myself eating it, toasted and warm, in the morning. I hope you enjoy it too.

Healthier Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs;
3 cups flour;
3/4 cup sugar;
1/3 cup orange blossom honey; (thyme or any herb/flower honey would also be nice!)
4 tbsp sunflower oil;
1 cup buttermilk;
2 cups grated zucchini;
1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut;
1 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda, salt;
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg;
Zest of 1 lemon;
Handful of walnuts, chopped or left whole (up to you)

Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In another larger bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, oil, and honey. A little at a time, beating constantly, add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture. Once combined, stir in the zucchini, coconut, lemon zest, and walnuts.

Lightly spray two standard loaf pans with cooking spray and pour in the batter until about half full. Bake at 325F/165C/Gas Mark 3 for about 1 hour, checking after 45 minutes.

A few notes:

Everyone's oven varies - so what you want is a slightly underbaked loaf, as it will continue to cook for a little while after you take it out of the oven. Really try not to overbake it or you'll lose some of the moistness. For best results, let it sit for a day before slicing into it!

Also, you can substitute part of the flour with whole-wheat flour, use "Eggbeaters", or natural brown sugar -- my recipe reflects what was available to me in Germany, so use what is available to you in your country.