Zucchini, Date & Rye Bread
I’m sure we’re not the only ones swimming in a sea of zucchini during the month of August! And while I love a good savory zucchini recipe (like my “jammy summer squash pasta” or “zucchini butter“) a good old fashioned zucchini bread simply cannot be beat! The addition of rye flour lended a nice earthy flavor that complimented the other ingredients really well. This is a nice quick bread that I feel good about feeding my little toddler. We’ve sweetened this bread with dates (which not only add a lovely sweetness but are also a great source of fiber and won’t cause a sugar crash) and I couldn’t resist adding a handful of dark chocolate chips for good measure. I used sprouted flour from Second Spring Foods which is one of my favorite places to source my sprouted grains. I love the folks who own Second Spring and their sourcing of ingredients is top notch! Sprouted grains are easier to digest and contain more bio available nutrients than regular grains, but you can certainly make this bread with regular flour if you don’t have sprouted flour on hand. This bread tastes great toasted up and spread with some good quality butter and a pinch of fine sea salt. We love this loaf and I hope you all give it a whirl as well!
Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm!
Zucchini, Date & Rye Bread
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: 1 loaf
- 3/4 cup Medjool dates, (about 6 large dates)
- 1/3 cup melted butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt OR milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (squeeze out as much moisture in a dish towel as possible)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup sprouted spelt flour (see note)
- 3/4 cup sprouted rye flour (see note)
- handful of dark chocolate chips (optional)
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9X5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Place the dates in a bowl and cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes. Add the dates, along with the water to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture forms a smooth paste (a few lumps are fine!)
- In a large bowl combine the melted butter, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and dates and mix well. Add the zucchini and continue to mix. Add the baking soda, spices and salt. Spoon in the flours and use a wooden spoon to mix everything up, being careful to not over mix (a few lumps are okay!) Fold in the chocolate chips is using and spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
- Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the bread. About 1 hour. Cooking times will very from kitchen to kitchen so keep a close eye on the bread towards the end of baking.
Notes
If you cannot find sprouted grains regular flour will work just fine.
Thoughts about baking this recipe into muffins instead of a loaf? I find muffins much easier to bake.
Hoping all is well with your family of 4. Zucchini…love it, in all its possibilities.
Could you substitute bananas for the zucchini?
I wouldn’t do that as this would end up being way to sweet and I’m not sure what would happen to the texture. You could try another shredded veggie like carrots or parsnips in place of the zucchini.
Can I replace the dates with something else?