Abby was a French friend I knew years ago. She taught me the method of "dejourger," which means to draw out water. Using this method I developed a moist but not heavy zucchini bread. It makes other zucchini breads look like lead bombs!
My family really likes this zucchini bread. My kids 2&5 eat it up. I have a bumper crop of zucchini right now, and this great bread uses 3 whole zucchinis. However the amount does not make it too zucchini-ish. It is light in texture, and plenty of spice and flavor. It makes 2 loaves. However, this recipe takes a few extra steps...like beating the eggs and sugar an extra 5 mins alone, and extracting the zucchini liquid. That saying this bread takes a little longer to prepare than the usual quick bread. But zucchini bread always is a little more time consuming due to all the shredding (you may want a food processor!). I originally thought that it was going to take a long time to extract the liquid from the zucchini, but it really went pretty fast. I did the zucchini first, and by the time I was done with assembling the other ingredients and stuff, it was ready to put in the colander and use. That in mind, it is a really tasty zucchini bread that is worth the few extra steps. Enjoy...we sure do!
Read More This bread sounded good, but I find that my family likes a more dense zucchini bread. This recipe was time consuming, and had the texture of cake. The spices were wonderful, and the flavor was nice, I just prefer a more dense & moist snack bread.
Read MoreMy family really likes this zucchini bread. My kids 2&5 eat it up. I have a bumper crop of zucchini right now, and this great bread uses 3 whole zucchinis. However the amount does not make it too zucchini-ish. It is light in texture, and plenty of spice and flavor. It makes 2 loaves. However, this recipe takes a few extra steps...like beating the eggs and sugar an extra 5 mins alone, and extracting the zucchini liquid. That saying this bread takes a little longer to prepare than the usual quick bread. But zucchini bread always is a little more time consuming due to all the shredding (you may want a food processor!). I originally thought that it was going to take a long time to extract the liquid from the zucchini, but it really went pretty fast. I did the zucchini first, and by the time I was done with assembling the other ingredients and stuff, it was ready to put in the colander and use. That in mind, it is a really tasty zucchini bread that is worth the few extra steps. Enjoy...we sure do!
A little time consuming - but yummy - I skipped the "dejourger" partion and instead shredded the zucchini and let it sit in a colender overnight (really beacuse it got too late to bake) in the morning I had dry shreds & very light bread!
This bread sounded good, but I find that my family likes a more dense zucchini bread. This recipe was time consuming, and had the texture of cake. The spices were wonderful, and the flavor was nice, I just prefer a more dense & moist snack bread.
I have zucchini coming out my ears and have been looking for great recipes. I had friends coming over who both are in the restaurant business and I was very nervous. I saw this recipe and it looked different from the rest in that you mix the salt with the zucchini to get rid of its moisture. I was so delighted. I made it in a bundt pan and whipped up a simple sour cream, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream mixture to drizzle on top. My restauranteur friends helped themselves to 2nds and 3rds of this bread. It was moist, not too sweet, easy to make and didn't have too many preparations. I threw in some freshly ground nutmeg, but just because I love that particular spice. If you are looking for a simple, good recipe...I definitely recommend this one. It's worth the zucchini!
This is an incredible recipe! It is so moist and tasty. Everyone I have served it to has loved it, and I've been asked for the recipe. I was surprised, while reading the reviews for this bread to read that some found it to be dry or dissapointing. I think that the directions must not have been followed in those instances.
This truely is the best zucchini bread ever. Don't look any further. Though it's not the quickest recipe, it is surely worth the work. My very picky 2 year old absolutely loves it. She won't eat any vegatables so I thought I'd give this a try. It worked. It's sweet and moist.
This recipe was DELICIOUS! I had to give the other loaf away because I couldn't stop eating it! It took time to make, but I think it will be alot easier next time as now I know exactly how to prepare it. Wonderful!
This is a perfect "no-fail" recipe. Very light loaf. Will try making muffins with the recipe next time.
Without question this is the best Zucchini Bread recipe I have come across. I compared 5 different recipes, and this had both the best taste and texture. During the summer, when the zucchini is plentiful, I use the dejourger technique and then freeze the extra in 1 cup portions so that I have plenty during the winter as well.
This recipe is very time consuming for a mom on the go. It is very delicious, but too oily and has a lot of sugar.
This is the most moist zucchini bread I've ever tasted, almost cake-like. I love it, my family loves it, I'll never use another zucchini bread recipe, EVER.
seemed high in fat, so I cut the oil back to 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup applesauce. Turned out great
I've converted every zucchini-hater I've encountered with this recipe! I ALWAYS ADD: the zest of one LEMON (preferably) or orange to augment the flavor of this recipe considerably. Add it to the draining zucchini to let the flavors incorporate. This is the best zucchini bread recipe out there. No others need apply! :-)
This is the most awesome recipe I have come across. No more heavy loafs! I will make this one from now on, I will add a little more sugar because my husband likes it that way.
I love this recipe. I make mine in two 9" round pans, so it is definitely more like a cake. I also like to toss in a handful of chocolate chips for a little surprise here and there. I have printed this recipe about five times, and everytime I print it, I end up giving it away. This time, due to changes in this web site, I had a heck of a time trying to find it again!! I was almost starting to panic. Yikes!! From now on I'm going to make extra copies so I don't lose it again!
The best zucchini bread EVER!!! I mad loaves for four different people - and ALL asked me for the recipe. It was absolutely delicious.
I quartered the recipe, left out the walnuts, used apple sauce instead of oil, and baked them as muffins. GREAT!
The biggest mistake I made was halving the recipe! SO delicious--the perfect amount of spice, nice and moist, not too heavy and no bitter zucchini flavor. I didn't use the raisins and I did 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar. I also added a tiny bit of shredded carrot, and sprinkled some walnuts on top before baking. Oh, and with just one loaf, 45 min. cooking time was more than enough. GREAT recipe!
With more zucchini in my garden than I know what to do with this was a great recipe to come across. It is not that difficult to make and the bread is wonderful! It does have a more cake like texture, kind of reminds me of a carrot cake.
Terrific! Everyone loves it from my grandkids to my Mom (who's a terrific cook). Hated to share the recipe :-) C Hill
This is an awesome loaf...I did do some substitutions b/c I was low on ingredients. I replace the raisins for chopped up prunes, I did half/half walnuts/pecans, and I did half/half all purpose flour and WW flour (the sub is 1C all purpose to 1/2C WW flour)...turned out awesome, it'll go in my fav's! The outside of the loaf is a little crunchy while the inside is super moist, my 3yr old loves it!
I made this bread and OMG!! First time making it and definately will not be the last.
This is a wonderful recipe. My zucchini loaf turned out so moist and yummy!! The only change was that I made was that I put less oil in(3/4c). Thank you Kevin!!
The tip about drawing the excess water out of the bread is excellent.
Wow - - this recipe rocks!!! I had to make it over and over again! I didn't have any golden raisins, so I substituted baking raisins. I added the raisins to the dry ingredients so they didn't fall to the bottom of the pan! Thanks!!!!!
great recipe easy to follow and bread was the best I ever tasted
We all loved this recipe!!! My two year old can't get enough of it.
the method of dejourger is great -- i used it on several other recipes for zucs and it made them and this recipe light and tasty! Great idea
For all you wheat/gluten intolerant people out there, I substituted the regular all-purpose flour in this recipe with Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour, added 1 tsp xanthan gum and it was excellent! Give this recipe to any friends that have wheat sensitivity. Also, I added a 1/2 tsp of rum extract with 2 tsp vanilla instead of the 2 1/2 tsp vanilla, gave a great flavor. This one is a definite keeper!
This was the best zucchini bread ever!!!!! The kids loved it. I used regular raisins and soaked them in apple juice. We will make this one over and over again. Thanks Kevin.
Too dry; I think I prefer "lead bombs." All edges burned before the middle finished baking. I also added 14 t. of cloves and 14 t. of ginger, which I'm glad I did. Otherwise, it's pretty ho-hum.
This is the best zuchini bread recipe ever! Absolutely delicius!
You will not want to eat any other zucchini bread after trying this recipe. It is extremely moist and flavorful, and received rave reviews at work. It does take more time than the traditional Fanny Farmer recipe, but when followed properly, it is well worth it. Highly recommended.
This is the best zucchini bread that I have ever tasted. Wonderful texture. Couldn't stop eating it.
I tried this for family and friends and everyone loved it I love the recipe !
I had just gone to the Farmer's market and came back with zucchini, that I had no idea what to do with. I've never made it before but wanted to try it. My husband said of all the zucchini bread he's had over the years, this is the best. It's very moist and delish. And he said, I could enter it in a contest, it's that good. This does take some work to make, but it's worth it. If you've never had zucchini bread, or have always not liked it because of the dryness, you definetly should try this recipe.
I was not overly impressed, however pressing the zucchini was an intersting technique. I would not use 2 teaspoons of baking soda next time, as I felt I could taste the soda. I would add one teaspoon of baking powder. Using it as a cake recipe is not a bad idea. For those of you who like sweet however, don't bother.
ABsolutely amazing. The cake was soft and had just the right amount of spice. The step to remove the moisture from the zucchini was very helpful. I highly recommend this recipe.
One of the best zucchini breads I've ever made. Easy to do, moist but not heavy. Good taste.
Thanks Kevin, this is the best zucchini bread recipe I have ever tried. Now when I give away the extra zucchini from my garden, I include a copy of your recipe.
I never had zucchini bread tatse sooo good. This is a keeper.
The bread came out looking really nice, and the flavor was good. My family didn't think it was "great," so I'm not in a rush to make it again. However, if someone wants zucchini-walnut bread I would recommend this recipe.
Excellent bread, moist, but not too heavy!
Since I found this recipe last year, it has become my only zucchini bread recipe! It even beats out my mom's recipe!
This was a really yummy recipe. This was the first time that my family and I had ever tasted zuchinni bread. We were pleasantly surprised. I stongly suggest this recipe. Even the kids loved it and were begging for more. We are looking forward to making it again around the holidays.
Excellent! Tender, moist. Prepared exactly according to directions and was delighted with the result. Best zucchini bread recipe I've ever tried. Thanks!
The correct French term is 'dégorger'. In order to skip this step, I simply shred the zucchini in the food processor and strain it in a sieve or sqweeze the excess liquid with my hands. More messy but faster if you are in a rush!
This loaf is definitely the best one I've ever made. Moist and tasty. It's very light because of the extraction of all the excess liquid that would normally be in a loaf like this. Thanks for the great tip!
This was the dryest zucchini bread I ever tasted. Very dissappointed! :(
This was really good. Different from what I'm used to but I really enjoyed it just the same.
I loved this bread and so did my family. It was perfect in all aspects. Light, moist, delicious, and easy to follow recipe, need I say more?
I must add my thanks for this recipe to this long list of reviews. My variations included using half white half whole wheat flour, currents, pecans, grated orange peel. I baked it in a bundt pan , as have others, and it was beautiful. cookinkate
This was the best zucchini bread or loaf that I have made. Wish my mom was here to enjoy it. She would of liked this recipe even more than hers. Excellent texture and taste. A big hit in my family.
Perfect zucchini bread recipe! I add chocolate chips and leave out the raisins... Also, if u add chocolate chips, dont forget to decrease sugar by a bit.. unless u like it ultra sweet.
Wonderful recipe. Tasted just like my mom's recipe from 20 years ago. Thanks so much.
This recipe was great. The best I've ever baked.
Absolutely the best zucchini bread ever.
Not as good as I expected. Too sweet and white. Next time I might reduce the sugar by half and try brown sugar instead. I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts.
I was terribly disappointed with this recipe. I made it for an informal party that I was attending, and despite the fact that I followed the directions exactly, the bread came out so dry that I just threw it in the trash. The regular old Fanny Farmer zucchini bread is much better and takes a lot fewer extra steps.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! It is definitely more like a cake than a bread, but who cares. It's VERY important to follow the instructions carefully. I think the people who didn't like it and found it heavy didn't beat the eggs enough. It HAS to be three minutes. Even so, it's not a light bread, but it doesn't turn out like a brick. It is excellent.
Not that easy but worth the effort!
This was really moist.
A very tastey bread, but not really as light as I had expected. Actually not much different from my usual recipe which was rather disappointing given the extra steps.
It's a cake, not a bread... and as a cake it's very good. If and when I make it again I will bake it in a cake pan and frost it with cream cheese frosting! But as far as my search for a good zucchini bread recipe, I will keep looking.
best ever
This is the best zucchini bread by far.
This bread is yummy!! I made a single loaf, using half the ingredients with 2 eggs, adding 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves, and baking for 45 minutes. I'm tempted to bake this bread in a 9x13 pan and frost it with cream cheese frosting since it's more cake like than bready! I'll no longer have to wonder what to do with all the zucchini from my garden!! :)
After trying this zucchini bread, I threw out all my other recipes. It's a lot of work to shred and drain the zucchini, but it makes a huge difference. It's got amazing flavor, is moist, but not overly heavy due to the draining of the zucchini. I make it quite often when zucchini is in season.
I have made this on several occasions, I learned on my second time to follow the directions to the letter, using a timer to mix as directed, the difference from the first time was significant. this is a light and delicious Bread/cake. My neighbors get less zucchini now.
I have been cooking this recipe for almost 10 years and while it may be a little more time consuming than other zucchini breads it is my favorite.
I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead of Vegetable Oil; and I used Demerara Light Brown Sugar instead of White Sugar.
I cut the recipe back as I only had 1.5 zucchini, so I halved it. I also added a mashed banana into the wet mixture. I also eliminated the raisins and walnuts as I have a fussy kid. It was fantastic! Moist!!! Will definitely be doing this again, although it took awhile, due to draining the zucchini.
I made this recipe for the first time today and found it was wonderful! My kitchen looked like a bomb went off because of all the different bowls and measuring tools but the end result was worth it.
This recipe so good especially when you said add oil to eggs I also added Choco chips it is so light texture and melts in your mouth!
Fantastic recipe! I made little muffins bc we would go through a loaf of this in a day! Everyone I gave them to just loved them. I'm out of zuchini in the garden so I'm subbing yellow squash (which we are never short on). We shall see how that goes?
Before you start mixing, get everything prepared and ready. It flows together really quickly, I found the acid reaction was really quick once the flour and baking soda hit the mixer, so added 2 teaspoons of baking powder as insurance for a good rise. Really impressed by this loaf.
Best Zucchini Bread I ever made!!! Super moist but firm & not gooey. Great use for those big garden zucchinis that get away from you! My profile & all my favorites went missing and so did the hard copy I had in my cookbook. I almost cried. I'm glad they did not delete Abby's recipe as well. Such sweet relief. It's been years since I first used your recipe, but thanks again & again for submitting it!!!!
I didn't change a thing with this recipe except that I didn't add nuts and only put raisins in one of the loaves (I wasn't sure how I'd like it but it is quite tasty). Oh yeah, and I also used Thompson raisins instead of golden. If you follow the instructions this makes a very moist, very light loaf that just melts in your mouth. Definitely will be adding this to my repertoire!
This is quite possibly the best zucchini bread that I've ever tasted! I substituted 1 cup of dates instead of the golden raisins. It turned out just like Kevin Ryan said -- moist and light. It's very light compared to other zucchini bread that I've had. It's got more of a bread texture and it's not heavy at all. I plan on making this one again. UPDATE: 2016 This has become my 'go to' recipe for zucchini bead. Everyone who tries it raves about how cake-like it is. The French cooking technique that Kevin was talking about is 'dégorger' ([ http://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/d%C3%A9gorger ] & [ http://www.cheftalk.com/a/degorger ]) This is what gives this bread such excellent (light) texture. I would possibly rename this from "loaf" to "cake". It really is quite superb. The degorger takes extra time. But, it's worth the effort once you taste it.
