Zucchini and walnut bread

A quintessential summer vegetable, Zucchini are tender and deliciously mild. Its flavor is so mild it picks up that of whatever you cook it with. It is low in calories and provides a bright green colour, moisture and nutrition to the cooked dish. Zucchini bread along with a glass of cold milk is a great way to start your day. This bread forms a thin soft outer crust and a very soft inner crumb. The presence of walnuts give a crunchy effect with every bite. Its not very sweet. Its a light bread which can be had without any extra accompaniment. This recipe is adapted from the culinary institute of America. Here goes the recipe..




Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients
flour less cooking spray for greasing
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 1/2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsps grated orange zest
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C).

Grease and flour two 8½-inch loaf pans.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a bowl and set aside.


Combine the zucchini, sugar, eggs, oil, and orange zest in a large bowl and mix by hand until evenly blended.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture. Stir by hand just until the batter is evenly moistened and blended.


Fold in the nuts.

Divided the batter between the prepared loaf pans.

Bake until the edges are browned and starting to pull away from the pan and the bread springs back when lightly pressed with your fingertip, 50-55 minutes.



Remove the loaves from the pans and let cool on wire racks before serving.