Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread
I had big dreams this year of planting a large beautiful garden and watching it grow all summer long. This did not happen. My big beautiful garden did not grow very well this summer (thank you bunnies, weird weather and a somewhat last-minute long-distance road trip that kept me from tending to the garden much throughout the summer). I was hoping for big, beautiful zucchini to sauté as a side to any meal, turn into our favorite zucchini boats, bake this chocolate sourdough zucchini cake or make many loaves of this amazing zucchini bread. This is the best sourdough discard zucchini bread. It is light, tender, fluffy and uses up some of the sourdough discard that I always seem to have lurking in the back of my fridge. Lucky for me, my local farmers market and grocery store carry lots of zucchini this time of year.
Why you’ll love Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread
You will love this zucchini bread because it comes together quick. It tastes soft, sweet and delicious. You will love having it on hand for quick breakfasts or afternoon snacks and it will quickly become a family favorite recipe! I can’t wait for you try it and let me know what you think.
Important Ingredients in Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini: Shredded and wringed out
- Sourdough Discard: 100% hydration discard (fed equal weights flour and water)
- Eggs
- Oil: Any neutral flavored oil works
- Greek Yogurt: Can be substituted with sour cream
- Flour: All purpose or freshly milled
- Sugar: Granulated white sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Allspice
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
How to Make Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Start with the Sourdough Discard
If you have zucchini coming out your ears and sourdough discard taking over your fridge, this recipe is for you! I love using sourdough discard in recipes, not only for the little tang it gives but also because I’m not a fan of wasting food. This recipe uses ½ cup of sourdough discard directly from your fridge (you can also use bubbly sourdough starter) and it enhances the flavor of this delicious zucchini bread. If you don’t have sourdough starter, don’t worry. You can still make an awesome loaf of zucchini bread: Omit the sourdough starter. Add 2 cups of flour instead of 1 2/3 cups and 1/4 cup of milk to the batter. That’s it. I made both recipes side by side (pictured above) and both were delicious. You don’t need sourdough starter to make this delicious loaf, but if you have it on hand, it is the perfect way to use up some of your sourdough discard.
Wring Out the Zucchini
Did you know that 1 cup of chopped zucchini is made up of 90% water? Because of this high water content, it’s important to wring out the zucchini a bit before adding it to the recipe. The pictures below show the easy way I do this. Take a box grater, shred the zucchini and then use a paper towel to wring the zucchini. I give it about three squeezes over my sink and call it good. This little extra step will help your zucchini bread to turn out perfectly moist and delicious.
Baking Temperature and Time
One of the tricks I’ve learned over the years I’ve been baking is to bake quickbread, like zucchini bread, at a high temperature for the first 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to finish the longer bake time. The high heat helps activate the baking powder giving a nice lift and rounded dome shape to your loaf of zucchini bread. This zucchini bread takes about an hour to bake. I like to stick a knife or toothpick in the center to see if it’s completely baked all the way through. Depending on the temperature of your oven it may need more or less time.
Quick Mix. Long Bake. Delicious Zucchini Bread
Whatever way you slice it, this zucchini bread is delicious. It is tender, moist and perfect to gift this time of year. It is my kids’ favorite way to eat zucchini. They do eat other preparations of zucchini, though maybe not as willingly. If I only had to make one zucchini bread recipe for the rest of my life, this would be the one. It is that good! I hope you enjoy it too.
Amy’s Recipe Tips
- The key to tender zucchini bread is in not over-mixing the batter. Mix the zucchini in with the flour mixture before adding in the liquid ingredients. Stir a few times until the batter is just combined and bake.
- To long-ferment this recipe, mix up the batter and stick it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 48 hours. Bake according to recipe directions.
Substitutions
- Greek Yogurt: Sour cream can be substituted for greek yogurt
- Vegetable Oil: Any neutral-flavored oil can be substituted for vegetable oil. Melted butter works too.
How to Store Leftovers
Slice the zucchini bread. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Then freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to eat, thaw a slice of bread and enjoy!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This recipe makes a little over a dozen zucchini muffins. Spray a muffin tin. Bake for the muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees. Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 15-18 more minutes until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean, with no wet batter. You can also make mini muffins with this recipe. Bake mini muffins for about 15-18 minutes total time (5 minutes at 425 and 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees).
You can add another teaspoon of cinnamon or substitute with cloves.
Yes. This batter is thick. If you think it’s took thick, you can add a few splashes of milk to the batter. However, the zucchini in the batter will release more of the liquid (even though you squeezed some out) as it bakes and make a very moist and delicious bread.
The Best Zucchini Bread with Sourdough Discard
Equipment
Ingredients
- 460 grams zucchini about 1 lb
- 1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour 235 grams
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar 290 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 7 grams
- 1 teaspoon salt 7 grams
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1-2 grams
- 1 teaspoon allspice 1-2 grams
- ½ cup sourdough discard 100% hydration, 133 grams
- 2 large eggs about 100 grams
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil 63 grams
- ⅓ cup Greek Yogurt 88 grams (sour cream can be substituted in a pinch)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºFahrenheit and line an 8.5 by 4.5 loaf pan with parchment paper. You can also use a 9 by 5 loaf pan and reduce the baking time a bit.
- Wash zucchini and chop off the ends. Use a box grater to shred the zucchini. Grab a sheet or two of paper towel. Add the shredded zucchini to the middle of the paper towel and wrap the zucchini up to form a ball. Squeeze the paper-towel ball of zucchini over the sink 2-3 times to wring most of the water out of the zucchini.
- To a bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Stir together with a fork until fluffy and combined. Add the zucchini and stir until the zucchini is spread throughout the dry mixture and thoroughly combined.
- To a liquid measuring cup, add sourdough discard, eggs, oil and greek yogurt. Whisk together until completely combined. Discard can be used straight from the fridge cold or room temperature.
- Pour the discard mixture into the flour mixture and mix together with a fork or spoon until just combined. Scoop the zucchini bread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. After 10 minutes reduce the temperature to 350ºFahrenheit. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Insert a toothpick or sharp knife into the center of the bread to check if it is ready. If it comes out clean with no streaks of batter, it is ready! If it has streaks of wet batter, bake it a little longer and check again.
- Allow the zucchini loaf to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pans. Move the loaf to a cooling rack and cool completely before digging in. Enjoy!
Would love to try this zucchini bread! Looks moist and delicious!! 🥒🍞😋