The best sourdough zucchini bread is deliciously spiced, moist and packed with shredded zucchini. It’s also one of the sweetest ways to use up all those summer zucchini you don’t know what to do with.
Every summer I have the tendency to plant too many zucchini, clearly forgetting that at the peak of the summer zucchini produces ridiculous amounts.
Then you are stuck with mountains of zucchini and every person that comes over leaves with a sackful of zucchinis– and you still have too many. Also, please don’t tell me I’m the only one that finds hidden monster zucchinis among those massive leaves?
It tends to be the best kind of problem. I love being able to incorporate this tasty and versatile vegetable into our meals.
When you put it in a sweet sourdough quick bread, I promise there will be no complaints about eating vegetables.
How can anyone resist delightfully sweet zucchini bread with the warm flavor of cinnamon, and tanginess of the sourdough (especially if you long ferment it).
Bonus tip: Toast it a little on a cast iron skillet to carmelize the outside and put a generous pat of butter on top– you won’t regret it.
Tips:
- Turn these into muffins. Place in paper lined muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. These are great for breakfast or a portable snack. You can also find a chocolate version here.
- Sourdough discard or active sourdough starter can be used for this recipe. The rise doesn’t come from the starter, but rather chemical leaveners: baking soda and baking powder.
- This recipe is a basic zucchini bread recipe. You can easily mix it up by adding other delicious add-ins and variations, like dried or fresh fruit, nuts, or chocolate.
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Tools you may need:
Stand mixer (this makes it way easier, especially if you are making the long-fermented version)
Measuring cups and spoons
Grater or food processor with a grater attachment
FAQ:
What is the point of zucchini in zucchini bread?
It is a wonderful way to use up all those garden zucchinis during the summer, add moisture to the bread, and is a great way to sneak in some veggies.
Should you squeeze water out of zucchini for bread?
This is purely dependent on the recipe. Some recipes may call for more moisture, whereas some may not need the extra moisture and require squeezing out the water. For this recipe, I like the extra moisture and don’t squeeze the zucchini.
Why is my zucchini bread gooey in the middle?
Most likely this is due to not being cooked all the way through the middle. Since this is a higher moisture bread recipe, it takes awhile for it to bake. If the outside is getting too dark and the inside isn’t cooked through yet, I suggest covering the bread with parchment paper or tin foil until the center is baked through.
How To Make Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Quick Version:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt well in a medium bowl.
In a stand mixer or bowl, mix melted butter (or melted coconut oil) and brown sugar for about five minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs, vanilla, sourdough starter, and grated zucchini. For this recipe, I don’t squeeze out the extra moisture from the zucchinis.
Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until just incorporated. It is important not to over-mix. The bread will be tough and flat if over-mixed.
Gently fold in any other add-ins you would like. Pecans, walnuts, and chocolate chips for example.
Pour into a greased pan. You could also line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester. If the bread starts to get too dark before it is done baking, cover it with parchment paper (my preference) or tin foil.
Allow to cool in the pan for one hour.
How To Make Long Fermented Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Start batter 12-24 hours before you plan to make zucchini bread. This gives the sourdough starter time to ferment the flour to make it more digestible and the nutrients more bioavailable.
Combine sourdough starter, melted butter, eggs, and flour well.
Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 6 hours.
Place the batter in the fridge and allow it to ferment for another 6-18 hours.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (you could also use a hand mixer), add shredded zucchini, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda to the stand mixer bowl. You can also mix in any add ins at this time.
Set on low to medium speed until completely combined.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Allow to cool in the pan for one hour.
How to store:
Store in an air-tight container for up to 4-5 days. You can also freeze in slices or the whole loaf in a freezer bag for up to 3 months (for best results).
Variations:
- Chocolate chips
- Coconut
- Sourdough Zucchini Muffins
- Nuts – pecans, walnuts, or sliced almonds would be delicious.
Find More Of My Favorite Sourdough Recipe:
- Sourdough Cranberry Bread
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- Blueberry Sourdough Muffins
- Sourdough Strawberry Shortcake
- Lemon Sourdough Pound Cake
- Sourdough Coffee Cake
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan with butter.
- Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt well in a medium bowl.
- In a stand mixer or bowl, mix melted butter (or melted coconut oil) and brown sugar for about five minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs, vanilla, sourdough starter, and grated zucchini.
- Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until just incorporated.
- Gently fold in any other add-ins you would like. Pecans, walnuts, and chocolate chips for example.
- Pour into a greased pan. You could also line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester.
- Allow to cool in the pan for one hour before slicing.
Notes
Long Fermented Version:
- Start batter 12-24 hours before you plan to make zucchini bread. This gives the sourdough starter time to ferment the flour to make it more digestible and the nutrients more bioavailable.
- Combine sourdough starter, melted butter, eggs, and flour well.
- Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 6 hours.
- Place the batter in the fridge and allow it to ferment for another 6-18 hours.
- The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (you could also use a hand mixer), add shredded zucchini, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda to the stand mixer bowl. You can also mix in any add ins at this time.
- Set on low to medium speed until completely combined.
- Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the pan for one hour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I did a slow fermenting method. Great recipe because allows for mistakes. I left the batter at room temperature for like 12 hours and then refrigerated for 2. I wish I never put it in the fridge as it made it real hard. I also substituted for part whole wheat flour – did 1 cup all purpose and just under a cup whole wheat. My hard batter wasn’t mixing well and was very clumpy so I decided to throw it all in my vitamix and turned on the lowest setting for a couple minutes. It turned out nice and fluffy and moist. It didn’t rise well in the middle but tastes so good that I don’t care ! Very forging recipe
Delicious!!! I long fermented this and also had to substitute the eggs for allergy reasons.. I used a couple spoonfuls of yogurt in the dough that long fermented, then I added some vinegar and extra baking soda before the bake. I also substituted the sugar for coconut sugar and it still turned out great for me! This is a new favorite recipe!
Love this recipe. A family favorite in our house.
One question. Could you freeze the bread after baking? If so, any recommendations for this?
Yes. I like to slice the bread first and then freeze it. It defrosts really fast. Sometimes I even just take a piece or two out!
What texture should the batter be when long fermenting it? Mine is more like a dough than a batter. I did make some substitutions, so I’m not sure if that’s why. I doubled, did half white whole wheat and avocado oil…
Yum! I did the long fermented option and replaced brown sugar with coconut sugar. As others mentioned, it makes the house smell amazing! Only challenge I have is that after refrigerating the dough, it doesn’t completely breakdown when I mix it with the remaining ingredients. Once the bread is baked, it has little light colored bits of dough distributed through it. Any suggestion on how to avoid that? Maybe bring it to room temperature first?
I left mine out overnight in a coolish house this September. I then put oven about with light on 6 am to warm dough up as it was still fairly cool. The dough was pliable and I whipped it with a dough hook. Then stirred in the zucchini and leavening mixture with the dough hook. I still had some white patches where the leavening didn’t get fully incorporated. If someone has the winning combination, I too would like to know. V– #SafeHavens4All
I did the same exact thing and had the same result! I tried another without doing the long fermentation and there was much more rise in the bread. Maybe because of this distribution issue with the rising agents? Would love to hear thoughts on this!
Yum! I did the long fermented option and replaced brown sugar with coconut sugar. As others mentioned, it makes the house smell amazing! Only challenge I have is that after refrigerating the dough, it doesn’t completely breakdown when I mix it with the remaining ingredients. Once the bread is baked, it has little light colored bits of dough distributed through it. Any suggestion on how to avoid that? Maybe bring it to room temperature first?
Yes, I would try bringing it to room temperature again. That may help!
I did the long fermented option for this recipe and it is AMAZING! Also it makes your home smell awesome. My little boys were reluctant to try it, but now they’re believers. This will definitely be a recipe I go to when we have extra zucchini. I can’t wait to share some with my mom as she is a big fan of zucchini breads. Thank you for sharing this recipe
I may have forgotten to put this in the fridge and it ended up fermenting closer to 14 hrs overnight. Is this still worth doing the next steps?
This bread is delicious! I added 1/2 cup raisins. I also topped it, after it cooled, with the cream cheese sauce from the cinnamon roll recipe. It was a hit! I also sprinkled nutmeg and cinnamon on the sauce and it tasted like Christmas! It felt like a warm hug. Thank you for sharing your gift of many recipes. I look forward to your cookbook!
I made muffins with this recipe over the weekend. I added some chocolate chips for a not so healthy twist. It made about 18 muffins and at 350 degrees it took a bit longer to bake than my normal muffin recipes, but it was worth the wait. Had some for our Sunday breakfast and the rest are in the freezer.
Sounds yummy!