Braided Zucchini Yeast Bread Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat in the milk, sugar, butter, orange zest and salt. Beat in the zucchini, raisins, whole wheat flour, cardamom and enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours., Punch dough down; shape into a loaf. Place in a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 8-x4-inch loaf pans with softened butter and line with parchment paper.
• Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the butter starts to brown and smell like hazelnuts, 5 to 7 minutes. Use a whisk to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot; set aside.
• Whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg in a large bowl.
• Whisk together eggs, light brown sugar, sugar and canola oil in a medium bowl until no lumps remain and eggs are well blended.
• Using your hands, squeeze out as much water as possible from the zucchini. Add zucchini and browned butter to the egg mixture, whisking to blend.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to slowly incorporate until no dry spots remain.
• Divide batter among prepared pans, smoothing the top. Sprinkle both with demerara sugar, if using, and place in oven. Bake, rotating once, until bread is golden brown on top, pulls away from the sides and springs back lightly when pressed at the top, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Let cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the loaf pan.

Steps:

• Place ingredients into the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. I added them in the following order: milk, zucchini, butter, bread flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and yeast.
• Set for Basic Bread cycle or Normal setting. You may also set for Dough setting and run until the dough cycle is complete (before it starts baking), about 90 minutes.
• Grease a 9x5-inch bread pan.
• Remove dough and place in the prepared bread pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Toss the zucchini slices with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Set aside for 15 minutes. Spread the zucchini in a single layer on a paper towel. Lay another paper towel on top of the zucchini and press down to absorb the liquid. Puree the zucchini slices in a food processor until it looks like apple sauce. Combine zucchini puree, water, yeast, salt, pepper and egg in a mixer bowl. Mix on low speed to combine. Add 2 cups of flour and mix 2 minutes to form a thick batter. Switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining flour a little at a time, until the dough gathers onto the hook and clears the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5 minutes. If working by hand, add as much flour as you can with a wooden spoon the turn the dough out onto a floured surface to finish kneading in the remaining flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl and set aside to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead a few times and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 14" long rope. Braid the three ropes, pinching each end to seal together and set the loaf onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap which has been oiled to prevent sticking. Set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has almost doubled in volume and springs back slowly when poked. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F convection or 375°F regular. Brush the loaf with egg wash Sprinkle with grated Parmesan Cheese or garnish of your choice. Bake about 30-35 minutes until golden brown. The interior temp should be about 190°F.