Savoury breads are the new quiche! proclaims an acclaimed food magazine this month as Australia heads into autumn. But this trend is not just limited to our shores, the magazine further explains. Cafes and delis across Europe and the United States are replacing the highly overused quiche with sensational savoury breads that are packed with fruits, nuts and vegetables and baked to a rustic, brown perfection. These breads make excellent brunch ideas and are essentially like tapas, served with an array of cheese, cold meat cuts and salad. I have baked a gorgeous pistachio and raspberry cake in the past and taking inspiration from that recipe and a recipe that appears in Delicious magazine this month, I baked this beautiful loaf studded with tiny red craisins and flecks of green zucchini. It was very moist [I used Baker's flour instead of plain flour this time] and I found that it was quite sweet. So next time I might go easy on the sugar [maybe eliminate the caster sugar completely and slightly increase the quantity of brown sugar?]. Apart from the sweetness issue, this bread was easily the most delicious [yeast-free] bread I have ever tasted.
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Cranberry, Zucchini & Walnut Bread
[Preparation Time : 20 minutes/ Baking Time : 1 hour/ Serves : 8]
Ingredients
2 large zucchinis, grated
¾ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
2 2/3 cups plain flour
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
200ml olive oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp mixed spice
2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
Method
Preheat oven to 150oC. Grease and line a 2-liter loaf pan. Sift flour, soda, baking powder, spices and salt into a large bowl. Stir in sugars, then add egg, oil, vanilla, zucchini, nuts and cranberries. Stir with a wooden spoon, until well combined. Spread into the prepared pan.
Bake in the oven for 1¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve with soft cheese and proscuitto.
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Had to leave this comment. Have now made this recipe 3 times turned out AMAZING. Passed it along to my friend, unfortunately it didn't work -- couldn't understand why. She used 9 inch zuchini's (large). Her bread took over an hour and a half and was wet and soggy. I used 6 inch zuchinis and drained them in a strainer after shredding, also squeezed them to remove excess moisture. Believe it or not, got 1/2 cup of liquid from the zuchinis. A tip I got from the interenet: Choose 6 inches long, 2 inches in diameter. The skin should be shiny. No blemishes or cuts. The stem should be 1 inch long and moist to the touch.
By the way for the 3rd try I used 1/2 cup castor sugar and 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar -- thought it was sweet enough. Personally, I wouldn't go all brown sugar. Here's why: the loaf will be darker, and the red and green may not be so prominent. It's so pretty with the red and green flecks. One other comment I used an 8 inch pan, took 1 hour to bake at 350F.
Stumbled on your site by accident -- it's amazing. Loved the look of the Cranberry Zuchini Walnut Bread. Had to try it immediately. Turned out great. One query though, your cranberries are brilliant mine lost some color while baking. Fabulous recipe.
Thanks @Lydia! 🙂
Did you use fresh cranberries? I used dried ones.
Jerry, I have addressed the sugar issue in this post, just before writing up the recipe. I found it a tad cloying and sweet. I did make this a couple of weeks later with a lot less sugar and it was beautiful!
I have just baked this bread, it is in the oven right now. I copied it from a magazine at a cafe the other day. I thought the sugar sounded alot when I started preparing it this a.m. and therefore thought maybe I had made a mistake and then ended up finding your recipe and the quantities were the same!! I went slightly under on amounts but pending result may cut down sugar quite a bit next time, that is provided it is a success. Took me alot more than 20 mins preparation time though.
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That zucchini bread looks great!
I've never been a quiche fan so I say BRING IT ON!!! This looks absolutely delicious!
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by dishingup! This bread seriously brings back long forgotten flavors! A neighbor of ours from church in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario made a bread like this. I wonder if it tastes the same? I'll make it in the cafe this week and let you know! Cheers!
I like the sound of this recipe - there's a good amount of nuts and vegetable in there alongside the sugar. And it looks so pretty with the little flecks of green - your pictures are beautiful!