I am by far not a writer, but my amazingly awesome friend Janet inspired me to start a blog about all of the baking that I have been doing. I wish I had thought of it a long time ago since I have been experimenting with various cupcakes, quick breads and scones for several months now. It would have been particularly nice to document my many failed attempts at something new so I could remember and learn from my mistakes.
I guess I will just have to start with today and fortunately I made something pretty good. I planted a bunch of zucchini this year and so have been baking bread. I used to have a recipe around here that I really liked, but I can't find it so a few days ago I made the recipe out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I guess I had forgotten that I tried that one before and the bread turned out way too sweet, didn't rise well, and didn't brown at all.
That had me searching the internet for something new. I finally decided to try a modified version of this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chip-Orange-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx .
I wanted a bread that wasn't so sweet so I opted out of using chocolate chips and also added more zucchini, more baking powder (the recipe didn't look like it would rise well) and substituted half the oil for applesauce. I also split the batter in two and added walnuts to only one loaf (I'm allergic but my friends like them). The bread browned wonderfully, is nice and fully, and has a great aroma! It tastes pretty good too!
I think I will try using this one again, but maybe use even more zucchini (I added 1 cup, but might add another 1/2 c.) and a little less orange. The orange is kind of overwhelming the zucchini. The semi-biased test will be when I bring the loaves to a friend's house tomorrow night when we watch True Blood!
