This Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread is a perfect way to use fresh zucchini and some of your sourdough discard! Zucchini adds great flavor and moisture to this bread. It is delicious to serve as a lightly sweet snack or dessert spread with a little bit of butter.
If you're looking for other sourdough discard recipes, check out these Sourdough Discard Bagel Bites, Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls, and Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins.
And if you're interested in other zucchini recipes, try these Baked Zucchini Slices with Garlic Aioli and these Zucchini (Courgette) and Sweetcorn Fritters.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's a lightly sweet bread that is delicious with a spread of butter. Serve for brunch or as a lightly sweet snack!
- The batter for this quick bread comes together in just 15 minutes, so you'll be enjoying Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread in no time!
- This recipe is a great way to use up some of your sourdough discard and fresh zucchini (if you have an abundance of summer zucchini!).
- You can easily adapt this recipe to add chocolate chips, walnuts, or bananas.
Ingredients
As long as you have sourdough discard and fresh zucchini, you're well on your way to making this zucchini bread!
- Vegetable oil: A little bit of vegetable oil adds some much-needed fat to this recipe (in a good way!).
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and deep flavor to the bread.
- Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness, but also helps the bread rise so it's not dense.
- All-purpose flour: I recommend using all-purpose flour for this recipe. If you use another type of flour (for example, bread flour), you'll end up with a chewier, crustier bread.
- Shredded zucchini: Fresh zucchini is the star of this show! Shred the zucchini and then make sure to press or squeeze out as much water as possible. Zucchini has a high water content, which can really change the recipe if you forget to drain the water.
- Sourdough discard: The sourdough discard should be unfed and at room temperature for this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough starter with a 1:1:1 ratio (when you feed your starter, it's with 1 part starter, 1 part water, 1 part flour). If your starter uses a different ratio, you may need to adjust some of the ingredients in this recipe.
- Turbinado sugar: A sprinkling of turbinado sugar adds a little sweetness, and great crunch to the top of the zucchini bread. I like to use Sugar in the Raw.
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe and below are a few easy substitutions and variations you can try.
- Add chopped walnuts - Modify this recipe by adding up to ½ cup of coarsely chopped walnuts (or another nut of your choice) to the batter when you add the shredded zucchini.
- Add banana - To make Zucchini Banana Bread, reduce the zucchini to 1 cup and add ½ cup of mashed ripe bananas to the batter when you add the shredded zucchini.
- Add chocolate chips - To make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread, add ½ cup of chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate to the batter when you add the shredded zucchini.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you'd rather use active sourdough starter rather than sourdough discard, you can! Omit the baking powder and baking soda. The active yeast in the active starter will cause the bread to rise.
I have not tested this recipe with other variations, but if you do, let us know how it turns out in the comments! I always love to hear how you're adapting these recipes and use those as ideas for future recipes as well!
How to make Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread
The key to this recipe is not over-mixing the dough. With that in mind, there are only a few simple steps to making this Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread!
Combine oil, brown and granulated sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and stir until smooth. Use a spoon or whisk, rather than an electric mixer.
Add sourdough discard and stir until smooth.
Add cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour to the mixture and stir to combine.
Shred the zucchini on a piece of paper towel.
Press the shredded zucchini between two layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
Add the zucchini to the batter and fold until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully (about an hour) before slicing.
Expert Baking Tips
- I highly recommend you sift the flour before adding to the batter. This makes it easier to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and helps prevent over-mixing.
- You want to avoid over-mixing the batter. Stir the ingredients together until just combined (or until no dry spots remain). The less mixing, the better!
- To help with this, I recommend using a whisk or spatula to mix the ingredients, rather than an electric mixer.
- Remove excess moisture from the zucchini before adding to the batter. Zucchini has very high water content, and this can dramatically change the texture of your batter.
- I find this is easiest to do by shredding the zucchini on a paper towel. Then use another paper towel on top of the shredded zucchini to press out as much moisture as possible.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Zucchini bread has a tendency to look finished on the outside crust, but be undercooked on the inside. Make sure to test with a toothpick!
How to remove moisture from shredded zucchini
Zucchini has a very high water content. Make sure to remove some of that excess moisture before adding to the batter. I recommend doing this by pressing between two layers of paper towels.
Shred the zucchini onto a paper towel using a box grater. You can also shred with a shredding attachment on a food processor, if you prefer.
Spread and cover the shredded zucchini with a second layer of paper towels.
Use your hands to press to remove as much moisture as possible. If needed, repeat with a fresh paper towel on top.
Add the pressed zucchini to the batter, as directed. Discard the paper towels.
You will not be able to remove all moisture, and that's ok! You just want to remove the majority of it so the zucchini isn't adding too much liquid to the recipe.
Can you use this recipe to make muffins?
You could use this same recipe and pour the batter in a muffin tin. Keep in mind the final product will have a zucchini bread texture rather than a muffin texture. Zucchini bread tends to be a bit more dense than muffins
What is sourdough discard?
Sourdough discard is what is leftover after you feed your sourdough starter. This can either be literally discarded - in the compost or trash - or it can be used in sourdough discard recipes like this one!
The yeast in sourdough discard is not as active as active sourdough starter. Therefore, sourdough discard recipes often use added yeast or another leavening agent (in this case, baking powder and baking soda) to make sure that the dough rises predictably.
If you're new to working with sourdough starter, check out these in-depth posts on how to feed sourdough starter and how to use sourdough discard.
Equipment
You only need a few items to make this Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread. You'll need a box grater to shred the zucchini. This can also be done with a shredding attachment on a food processor if you prefer). I recommend mixing the batter in a large mixing bowl with a spatula, rather than an electric mixer. This helps prevent over-mixing.
You'll also need an approximately 9x5-inch loaf pan. Make sure you also have a little turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of the batter before baking!
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: This Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread is best fresh (and even still a little warm, right out of the oven). Store in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can reheat the bread in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it soft and warm again.
Freezer Storage: You can also freeze this bread. Once the bread is fully cooled, transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, let the bread thaw on the counter until it comes to room temperature. You can reheat the bread in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it warm and soft again.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! To make this with active sourdough starter rather than sourdough discard, omit the baking powder and baking soda. The active yeast in the active starter will help the loaf to rise.
You can, but keep in mind zucchini bread has a slightly different (more dense) texture than muffins typically. It will work, but they will be more like little mini zucchini breads rather than fluffy muffins. I also would definitely recommend using muffin liners.
The eggs add much-needed liquid and fat content to this recipe. If you are not baking with eggs, I recommend using a vegan egg substitute.
Yes! There are a few easy variations you can make. Check out the variations section above for more details and directions.
Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour sifted
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups shredded zucchini pressed to remove excess moisture
- turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add oil, brown and granulated sugars, eggs and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and stir until smooth (use a whisk or spoon rather than an electric mixer to prevent over-mixing). Add sourdough discard and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix until just combined and no dry spots remain.
- Shred the zucchini and press between paper towels to remove excess moisture. Add the shredded zucchini to the batter and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully (about one hour) before slicing.
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