my favorite zucchini bread yet {v.iii}

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The vegan + gluten free zucchini bread is finally here.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this loaf.

Not this one below.  This was trial 1.

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It had a two problems.

  • looked like a brick – didn’t rise enough
  • while the texture wasn’t gummy, it didn’t taste “done”

Edible + enjoyed, but not something I could serve and say “this is zucchini bread!”

(2 of 2)

This on the other hand…

IS zucchini bread.

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I decided to forego the idea of a “flax egg,” as I haven’t had too much luck with them.  They seem to make things gooier than I want.  Instead, I just added flax meal to the flour mix.  One difference between the vegan loaves was the ratio of sweeteners.  In the 2nd trial, I lowered the amount of brown rice syrup and upped the amount of sucanat, to help rid the problem of the gooey center. 

Also, in the first vegan trial, I used oat flour + buckwheat flour + sweet rice flour.  After the success of zucchini bread v.II, with the almond meal, I wondered if that could possibly work in the vegan loaf.  I lowered the amount of almond meal from 3/4c to 1/4c + 2T, and upped the other flours. 

No eggs and 3 gluten free flours?

I expected crumbs.

While this loaf is slightly delicate, as long as you have a good serrated knife, you should have no problem making a clean cut.  I’ve found the diagonal sawing method to work best, which I have tried to photograph below.  If you want to play it extra safe for removing this loaf from the pan, line it with parchment paper.  However, the oil + flour method worked great.

Clean Cut Slice -

1. Start by slicing at the top edge, on an angle, with a serrated knife.

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2.  Gently saw up + down moving through the bread, still holding the knife at an angle.

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3.  Keep the sawing motion going, and apply downward pressure to cut through the bottom of the slice.  

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And there you go.  An almost crumb-less slice of bread.

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Zucchini Bread v.III

*This loaf is vegan + gluten free, if using gluten free oat flour.  Oat flour can be ground from GF steel cut oats, or GF rolled oats.  Bob’s Red Mill and a few other brands, carry both of those products, certified GF. 

  • 1/2c raw buckwheat flour [ground from raw groats]
  • 3/4c oat flour [ground from GF steel cut oats or rolled oats]
  • 1/4c + 2T almond meal
  • 1 1/4c grated zucchini, drained
  • 4T sunflower oil [or other]
  • 2T unsweetened applesauce
  • 6T milk of choice
  • 3T ground flax meal [can be ground from raw flax seeds]
  • 4T sucanat
  • 6T brown rice syrup
  • 2t cinnamon
  • 1/2t salt
  • 1t baking powder
  • 1/2t baking soda
  • 2t vanilla extract
  • 1/2c chopped walnuts [or seeds, to make nut-free]
  1. Preheat your oven to 350* and grease + flour or line an 8x4 loaf pan with parchment paper.  To grease + flour, grease all sides of the pan and add 1-2T of flour, knocking it around so all sides are covered.  Turn the pan over your sink and tap all sides, so the excess falls out.
  2. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, except the walnuts, and mix well.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients, except the zucchini. 
  4. Mix in zucchini to the bowl of wet ingredients.
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently, until just combined.  Over-stirring will cause a gummy texture.
  6. Gently fold in the walnuts and then pour into your pan and spread to even out.
  7. Bake centered, on the middle rack for 50min-1hr.  Quickly, test with a toothpick for doneness 2-3x.  You will definitely notice when it goes from gummy/wet to done.
  8. Let sit in the pan to cool for 10min, before sliding a knife around the edge to release from the pan.  Cut into squares with a sharp knife, and carefully remove with the help of a fork or flexible spatula.

*high altitude ~5,000ft:  oven: 365* milk: 7T baking powder: 3/4t + 1/8t

*Feel free to make this in a 9×5 loaf pan, a 9x9/8×8 pan, in mini loaf pans, or even in muffin tins.  Just remember all of those options will vary the cook time.

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Out of the 3 loaves, something about this stood out from the rest.  Minus the slight dip in the top of the loaf [likely from the lack of eggs], this was my favorite of the three.  Texture, crumb factor, and flavor, were all to my liking.  I’m still in shock of the success of this loaf, with no strange starches or gums being added to the mix.  And, I would much rather eat my eggs in whole form, then hide them in a loaf of bread!

While there may be more zucchini bread baking going on in my kitchen, I think this is the last of the zucchini recipe creations.  On to something new!

*Thanks to everyone who entered the Gluten Free Living E-book giveaway!  Also, a huge thank you to Kristin, for her generosity in giving away a copy of her e-book!  I definitely recommend this book to anyone who didn’t win. 

The winner was Jill!  Congrats!

Oh, what a great book!! My husband has celiac disease and it is SO challenging to cook for him!! I would love to win the E book so that he could enjoy being healthy via gluten free …and the tasty food.

Thank you
Jill

Ashley

Just catching up on all of the zucchini madness?