Sourdough Discard Recipes

The Best Zucchini Bread with Sourdough Discard

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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 zucchini bread with sourdough discard. 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.

Sourdough Discard in Zucchini Bread

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make zucchini bread into zucchini muffins?

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).

How do I store leftover zucchini bread?

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!

I don’t have allspice. Can I substitute something else?

You can add another teaspoon of cinnamon or substitute with cloves.

The batter for this zucchini bread is thick. Is that normal?

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

Amy
Light, fluffy, tender and absolutely delicious, this zucchini bread recipe is perfect for using up garden zucchini and sourdough discard.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Bread, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 1 loaf of zucchini bread

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb zucchini 460 grams (pre-squeezed)
  • 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
  • cup vegetable oil 63 grams
  • cup Greek Yogurt 88 grams (sour cream can be substituted in a pinch)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8.5 by 4.5 loaf pan (you can also use a 9 by 5 loaf pan and reduce the baking time a bit) with parchment paper.
  • Wash 1 lb of zucchini and chop off the ends. Use a box grater (affiliate link) 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. Continue this process until you have 1 ½ cups of shredded 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.
  • In a liquid measuring cup, measure out ½ cup of sourdough starter. Add the eggs, vegetable oil and greek yogurt. Stir well to combine.
  • Add the liquids to the dry ingredients. Mix together with a fork or spoon until just combined (over-mixing will result in tough zucchini bread and nobody wants that).
  • Pour the zucchini bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. This helps ensure a nicely domed loaf of bread.
  • After 10 minutes reduce the temperature to 350 degree Fahrenheit. 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!

Notes

To make an absolutely amazing loaf of zucchini bread without the sourdough discard, omit the sourdough discard. Increase the all purpose flour to 2 cups. Add ¼ of milk  to the liquid ingredients before mixing with the batter.
Zucchini: This recipe works well with 1 large zucchini that is about 1lb or 460 grams, before wringing out the water. A little more or a little less depending on the size is okay too. 
Sourdough Discard: Choose discard not more than a few days old for little to no “sour” flavor. The longer the discard sits in the refrigerator, the more “sour” flavor can result in the bread. I always use 100% hydration discard. If your discard is higher or lower hydration, you will need to add a little more flour or add a little milk to the batter.
 
Keyword beginner sourdough, quickbread, sourdough discard, sourdough discard bread, sourdough discard recipe, sourdough zucchini bread, zucchini bread
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Rating: 1 out of 5.

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7 responses to “The Best Zucchini Bread with Sourdough Discard”

  1. Kris Larsen Avatar
    Kris Larsen

    Would love to try this zucchini bread! Looks moist and delicious!! 🥒🍞😋

  2. […] up my extra sourdough discard (check out a few of my other favorite discard recipes, here, here and here). It’s one of the “hazards” of baking with sourdough I guess…always being on the […]

  3. […] I use one bowl for this gingerbread snack cake. I add my spices directly to the center of the bowl and mix them in before adding in the sourdough discard and flour. I like to go with “less cleanup”, and with four kids, we always have a lot of dishes. You can find some of my other favorite one-bowl recipes: here, here and here. […]

  4. […] I’ve used this technique with great results in these amazing chocolate chip muffins, this sourdough zucchini bread and our favorite applesauce […]

  5. […] pull out my pans and whip up a loaf of quick bread. I have some delicious recipes on my site; this sourdough zucchini bread, gingerbread snack cake and this delicious applesauce bread, not to mention some favorite muffin […]

  6. […] here. Applesauce bread using one bowl is here. This favorite sourdough discard zucchini bread here. Perfect peach cobbler is no different! The less dishes, the better. I mix together the peaches […]

  7. […] more favorite sourdough discard recipes, check out these favorites: The Best Zucchini Bread with Sourdough Discard, Brown Butter Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Cake and so many […]

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7 Comments

  1. Kris Larsen

    Would love to try this zucchini bread! Looks moist and delicious!! 🥒🍞😋

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