Freshly shredded zucchini melts into this moist, tender, tangy sourdough zucchini bread for a simple and delicious loaf.
Key Takeaways: Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Bake Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Servings: 8 slices
- Cook Method: Baked in a greased 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
- Flavor & Texture: Yields a sweet, tender loaf with warm cinnamon and soft, shredded zucchini.
- Difficulty: Easy. Combine ingredients and bake for one hour for a delicious, tender quick bread.
- Why this Recipe? This recipe incorporates garden zucchini and sourdough starter for a deliciously spiced, tangy loaf that can be served for breakfast or dessert.
On their own, zucchini might underwhelm with flavor and overwhelm with production. Yet their mild, unassuming profile works perfectly for adopting surrounding flavors. We love it in a savory zucchini lasagna, but when combined with cinnamon and brown sugar, shredded zucchini adds incredible moisture and a pleasant texture to a tangy sourdough quick bread.
With simple ingredients and garden-fresh produce, this sourdough zucchini bread easily serves as breakfast and dessert.
Consider serving sourdough zucchini bread lightly toasted with homemade raw butter, spread with homemade cream cheese and a sprinkle of cinnamon, or topped with a heap of homemade whipped cream and a cup of coffee.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Garden-fresh zucchini – If you grow zucchini in your summer garden, you know how prolific they are! This recipe puts fresh zucchini to good use! Double the recipe if you’re swimming in zucchini.
Delicious snack or breakfast – Zucchini adds lots of moisture, yielding a tender, moist loaf without being dense. Quick breads like sourdough zucchini bread, sourdough peach quick bread, and sourdough strawberry quick bread offer a sweet, produce-packed option for a delicious breakfast or snack.
Simple and easy – Sourdough starter mixes up quickly with pantry staples and fresh zucchini for a quick, easy bake.
Ingredients
Zucchini – For two cups of shredded zucchini, you’ll need 1-2 larger zucchini or 2-3 medium zucchini.
Vanilla extract – A high-quality or homemade vanilla extract adds the best flavor.
Sourdough starter – Active or discard will work for this recipe.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Modifications and Variations
Add up to one cup of mix-ins for a single loaf of zucchini bread.
- Chocolate chips
- Shredded coconut or chopped, dried fruit
- Chopped nuts – pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc.
Or swap the store-bought flour for freshly milled flour, like in my whole wheat zucchini bread recipe. Sourdough discard is optional, but adds some tang to the whole wheat version.
How to Make Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Step 1: Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
Step 2: In a stand mixer or large bowl, whisk melted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 3: Shred two cups of zucchini, leaving the peel on. Add the shredded zucchini, vanilla extract, eggs, and sourdough starter to the butter and sugar mixture. In this recipe, I don’t squeeze out the extra moisture from the zucchinis like I would in a zucchini lasagna.
Step 4: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until just incorporated. To keep the crumb tender after baking, it’s important not to over-mix the batter. Gently fold in any other add-ins you would like.
Step 5: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the batter into a greased or parchment-lined 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
Step 6: Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester. If the bread starts to get too dark before it is done baking, cover it with parchment paper (my preference) or foil until the center is baked through. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
How to Make Long Fermented Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Start the batter 12-24 hours before you plan to make zucchini bread. This gives the sourdough starter time to ferment the flour, making it more digestible and the nutrients more bioavailable.
Step 1: Combine sourdough starter, melted butter, eggs, and flour, stirring well. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 6 hours.
Step 2: Place the batter in the fridge and allow it to ferment for another 6-18 hours.
Step 3: The next day, add brown sugar, shredded zucchini, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to your fermented batter. Mix in any add-ins at this time. Mix on low to medium speed until combined. Don’t overmix.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the batter into a greased or parchment-lined loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester. If the bread starts to get too dark before it is done baking, cover it with parchment paper (my preference) or foil until the center is baked through. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Lisa’s Expert Tips
- If you love the dainty individuality of sourdough blueberry muffins or sourdough lemon poppy seed muffins, divide this batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes for sourdough zucchini muffins. These are great for breakfast or a portable snack. For a chocolate spin, try these sourdough chocolate zucchini muffins.
- Sourdough discard or active sourdough starter can be used for this recipe. The rise doesn’t come from the starter, but from baking soda and baking powder.
- This recipe is a basic zucchini bread recipe. You can easily mix it up by adding other delicious add-ins and variations.
- You don’t need to squeeze or pat the zucchini dry. The moisture works perfectly in this bread!
- No need to peel. The skin of the zucchini softens when it bakes, adding nutrition and a little color to the loaf.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until combined to keep the crumb tender.
- Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
- Convert to freshly milled flour for more nutrition, texture, and flavor.
Sourdough Zucchini Bread FAQs
This bread stores well for 4-5 days at room temperature in an airtight container. For longer storage, wrap well and keep in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for up to 3 months. Quick breads freeze well! For other bakes that freeze beautifully, stock your freezer with sourdough brioche, unfrosted whole wheat cinnamon rolls, sourdough croissant bread, sourdough baguettes, or sourdough banana bread.
It is a wonderful way to use up all those garden zucchinis during the summer, add moisture to the bread, and sneak in some veggies.
This is purely dependent on the recipe. Some recipes may call for more moisture, whereas some may not need the extra moisture and require squeezing out the water. For this recipe, I like the extra moisture and don’t squeeze the zucchini.
Most likely this is due to not being cooked all the way through the middle. As a higher-moisture bread recipe, it takes a while to bake. If the outside is getting too dark and the inside isn’t cooked through yet, I suggest covering the bread with parchment paper or foil until the center is baked through.
A loaf may sink in the center if it is underbaked, overmixed, or if the batter is too wet. Frozen zucchini that is thawed for this recipe may add too much moisture to the batter unless drained or patted with a towel.
More Sweet Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Healthy Apple and Banana Muffins
- Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Sourdough Monkey Bread
- Brioche French Toast
- Blueberry Sourdough Bagels
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup sourdough starter
Instructions
- Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl, whisk melted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Shred two cups of zucchini, leaving the peel on. Add the shredded zucchini, vanilla extract, eggs, and sourdough starter to the butter and sugar mixture.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until just incorporated. To keep the crumb tender after baking, it’s important not to over-mix the batter. Gently fold in any other add-ins you would like.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the batter into a greased or parchment-lined 9×5 loaf pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test bread at 50 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Long Fermented Version
- Start 12-24 hours before you plan to bake the zucchini bread. Combine sourdough starter, melted butter, eggs, and flour, stirring well. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 6 hours.
- Place the batter in the fridge and allow it to ferment for another 6-18 hours.
- The next day, add brown sugar, shredded zucchini, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to your fermented batter. Mix in any add-ins at this time. Mix on low to medium speed until combined. Don’t overmix.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the batter into a greased or parchment-lined loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
- If you love the dainty individuality of sourdough blueberry muffins or sourdough lemon poppy seed muffins, divide this batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes for sourdough zucchini muffins. These are great for breakfast or a portable snack. For a chocolate spin, try these sourdough chocolate zucchini muffins.
- Sourdough discard or active sourdough starter can be used for this recipe. The rise doesn’t come from the starter, but from baking soda and baking powder.
- This recipe is a basic zucchini bread recipe. You can easily mix it up by adding other delicious add-ins and variations.
- You don’t need to squeeze or pat the zucchini dry. The moisture works perfectly in this bread!
- No need to peel. The skin of the zucchini softens when it bakes, adding nutrition and a little color to the loaf.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until combined to keep the crumb tender.
- Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
- Convert to freshly milled flour for more nutrition, texture, and flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you ever measure your ingredients? It would be helpful to list the weights for those of us who use scales when we bake. Thanks. Looking forward to trying this.
On occasion ha. You can check out this conversion chart for weights.
Hi there, I wanted to do the long fermentation process. Is the batter that sits out for 6 hours supposed to be so thick? Almost like play doh consistency? I double check the ingredients to make sure I didn’t do too much or too little of something, but it just turned into a big dough ball.
Thank you for this recipe! I am wondering if this is meant to be split into two loaf pans. Mine poured out all over the sides. Still wonderful, but did anyone else have this problem?
Mine also spilled out over my 9×5 loaf pan. I followed the long fermented version and used Einkorn flour, I wonder if the amount of baking powder and baking soda is too much for the long fermented times, it seemed pretty risen from the sourdough already.
Thank you for this recipe. Is there a way I could use honey instead of brown sugar? Is it a one for one swap?
For the long-ferment, is it correct to allow it to ferment on the counter for 6 hours with raw egg in the batter?
This is how I do it.
I omit the eggs until just before baking, that way I can leave sourdough mixture at room temp for up to 2 days because sometimes life doesn’t go as planned…then I continue with recipe adding in the eggs mixed together with the sugar, vanilla and (bananas or) zucchini. (Depending on which you’re making)
Thank you for responding! I was just reading comments to see if anyone asked about eggs on the counter that long, but also wondering if holding off on the eggs would allow a full ferment on the counter which would be quicker with the higher temperature. Or at minimum I wouldn’t have to time my day around getting it into the fridge on time.
You could definitely leave out the eggs and add them right before baking.
Wonderful and delicious! Most recipes I’ve tried require a TON of sugar and although this one has a significant amount not nearly as much as what I’ve seen elsewhere. also looking on clarification for the quantity of Sourdough Starter. It’s written “1/2” so I just assumed it mean 1/2 cup.
Need a answer? I would like to know also???
Hi Natalea, I had the same question. I am guessing it is 1/2 cup because I checked the links at the bottom of this post and it lists other versions of this bread like Sourdough Banana Bread. And that recipe ingredient list says 1/2 cup sourdough starter.
I would like to be using sourdough starter, so what does “1/2 sourdough starter” mean? 1/2 cup? – AG
I can defiantly relate with the monster zucchini finds! I just planted way more than I know I’ll need haha. I have just started learning all about how to use sourdough so I can’t wait to use this recipe during the zucchini ambush, thank you much!
Just an fyi you can use zucchini blended with water in doughs. Pancake batter, pizza dough …
So give me an example of a recipe of doing this ?
Loved this bread! Super easy and quick to make and it tastes amazing.
I left the batter out on the counter over night to long ferment. Is it still ok to use with the eggs and milk being in it?
That is up to your own comfort zone. I make bread with our farm fresh milk and eggs and leave it out on the counter. This doesn’t include zucchini though, so not sure if that changes anything.
Turned out amazing! I used cold starter and 1/2 wheat 1/2 white flour for the recipe. Still delicious and only let it cool for about 30 minutes before I could wait no longer. Butter on top is perfection! Will make again.