Zucchini Honey Bread (gluten free)

Delicious as is, but especially nice with cold slices of salted butter, or drizzled with tahini.

By late August, I find myself craving zucchini bread, a craving that only strikes once a year in the thick of zucchini season. A few loaves made and enjoyed, and the craving is satisfied.

This version is mildly sweet, and the honey flavor shines through. If you want a barely sweet loaf, more of a snacking loaf, try the 1/2 cup honey in the recipe. If you want it slightly sweeter, try 2/3 cup honey!

I add dried ginger and cinnamon for warmth, and a hefty splash of vanilla. A little orange or lemon zest would be lovely for flavoring as well.

If you'd like to make a chocolate version, I recommend increasing the honey (or maple syrup!) to 2/3 cup. Add 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder alongside the dry ingredients, and fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to the batter.

I use almond meal as the main flour, and teff flour. You can substitute finely ground oat flour for the teff if desired, or even use a gluten free flour blend in place of the teff if teff is hard to come by. This is a forgiving loaf in terms of teff substitutions, but do make sure to squeeze as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible. This recipe uses a lot of zucchini, which was my intention, but the only way to pack in that much zucchini is to squeeze the liquid out!

Here's a video is you'd like to watch the process!

Ingredients:

-700 grams whole zucchini (this should yield between 460-500 grams of zucchini once grated and wrung out. Depending on the size of your zucchini, this might be about two medium zucchini)

-2 eggs

-1 stick (113 grams) butter, melted can also use olive oil

-1/2 cup honey (165 grams) can increase to 2/3 cup for a sweeter loaf

-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-1.5 cups almond meal/flour (156 grams)

-1/2 cup teff flour (75 grams) see note above for substitutions

-2 tablespoons ground flax seed

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 tablespoon ground ginger

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 9x5x3 baking tin with parchment paper, or grease well if you don't have parchment paper.

   
   

2. Start with about 700 grams of whole zucchini. Trim off ends of zucchini, then grate them using the large holes on a box grater. Gather grated zucchini into a clean tea towel, or cheesecloth, and wring out as much liquid as you can. Discard the liquid. You should end up with around 460-500 grams zucchini.

   
   

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, honey, and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the zucchini.

   
   

4. To the zucchini mixture, add the almond meal, teff flour, ground flax seed, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well, making sure the dry ingredients are well incorporated into the zucchini mixture. There is no risk of over-mixing this batter since it is gluten free, so whisk with abandon.

   
   

5. Pour batter into lined or greased baking tin, and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Peek at the loaf after 45 minutes, and gently rotate the loaf on the oven rack if it's baking unevenly. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes, then insert a toothpick or knife into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. The loaf is done when a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean, without any wet batter clinging to it. Keep baking in 5-8 minutes increments if needed. Cool on a wire rack before cutting and enjoying.

The perfect zucchini size for zucchini bread! Not so large that they become too tough/woody, and sizeable enough to yield plenty of flesh when grated.