Zucchini breakfast bread is a spiced quick bread that leans into the morning-food category more deliberately than most zucchini loaves. The pan is greased with butter and coated in turbinado sugar before the batter goes in, which creates a caramelized crust on the bottom and sides. Orange zest goes into the batter alongside cinnamon and allspice. Toasted pecans and rolled oats add crunch through the crumb and across the top. It serves twelve slices, keeps for three days, and is good with the softened butter the recipe recommends alongside each slice.
The turbinado sugar coating on the pan is what makes this version distinct. Most quick bread recipes call for a plain greased-and-floured pan. The turbinado crystals caramelize against the hot butter during baking and produce a slightly crunchy, golden exterior that you notice before you even taste the bread. It’s the kind of finishing detail that takes thirty seconds and makes a real difference.
The pan preparation
Two tablespoons of the softened butter applied to all interior surfaces of a nine by five loaf pan. Then a spoonful of turbinado sugar rotated around the pan until the buttered surface is coated, with excess tapped out. This technique is borrowed from rum cake and bundt cake preparation and produces a better exterior than flour coating for a sweet quick bread.
The batter
Whisk two eggs in a large bowl until pale and foamy. Add one and a quarter cups of grated unpeeled zucchini, one cup of granulated sugar, half a cup of canola oil, a teaspoon and a half of vanilla, and a teaspoon of orange zest. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: one and a half cups of flour, two teaspoons of cinnamon, half a teaspoon each of salt and baking powder, a quarter teaspoon each of baking soda and allspice. Add the dry to the wet and whisk until just incorporated. Fold in the three-quarters cup of toasted chopped pecans and half a cup of rolled oats.
The orange zest is the ingredient that makes this loaf more interesting than a standard zucchini bread. A teaspoon of zest, which is the fragrant oils from one orange’s skin, adds a brightness that cuts through the warmth of the cinnamon and allspice and lifts the whole loaf. It doesn’t taste like orange cake; it tastes like spiced bread with an additional dimension in the background.
Don’t squeeze the zucchini. Most zucchini bread recipes instruct you to squeeze excess moisture from the grated zucchini, which produces a drier loaf that slices more cleanly. This recipe uses one and a quarter cups of grated zucchini without squeezing, which contributes more moisture to the batter and produces a softer, more tender crumb. The allspice and cinnamon alongside oil (rather than butter as the primary fat) help keep it moist.
Pour, sprinkle, bake
Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining one and a half tablespoons of rolled oats over the surface. The oat topping toasts during baking and adds texture and a visual element to the top of each slice. Bake at 350 degrees for fifty-five minutes to an hour until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for fifteen minutes before removing to a wire rack. The loaf needs the fifteen minutes to set enough to release cleanly; pulled from the pan immediately it can crack or compress. Then cool fully on the rack for about an hour before slicing. A warm loaf compresses under the knife and the slices don’t look as clean; a fully cooled loaf cuts in neat, distinct slices.
Serving
The recipe specifies serving with the remaining six tablespoons of softened butter alongside each slice. A quick bread slice with room-temperature butter is one of those simple combinations that makes the bread taste better than it does alone. The butter softens into the warm-from-the-pan surface and adds richness that the oil-based crumb benefits from. Makes twelve slices. Stores wrapped at room temperature for up to three days.
Toasting the pecans
If starting with raw pecans, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for three to four minutes until fragrant and lightly golden, or spread on a baking sheet and toast in the preheating oven for five to seven minutes. Toasted pecans have a deeper, more complex flavor than raw and the difference is particularly noticeable in a baked good where they’ll cook again at lower heat. Let them cool before chopping and adding to the batter.
Zucchini Breakfast Bread with Pecans and Oats
Description
Spiced zucchini quick bread with orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, toasted pecans, and oats. Pan coated in turbinado sugar for a caramelized exterior. Serves 12.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with 2 tablespoons of the softened butter. Coat the pan with turbinado sugar and tap out the excess.
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Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and allspice in a bowl. Set aside.
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Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until pale and foamy. Add the grated zucchini, granulated sugar, canola oil, vanilla, and orange zest. Whisk to combine.
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Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and whisk until just incorporated. Stir in the toasted pecans and 1/2 cup of the rolled oats.
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Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oats over the surface.
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Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve sliced with the remaining softened butter..
Note
Rest Time is 15-minute pan cool plus 1-hour rack cool before slicing. Do not squeeze the zucchini for this recipe; the moisture contributes to the tender crumb. Coat the pan with turbinado sugar, not flour. No nutrition data was provided for this recipe.
