Yeasted Garlic Zucchini Bread

So I didn't ask - how were everyone's Christmas and holidays? Any exciting gifts? Delicious foods? We spent time going around visiting all of our local family, which was great. I made Russian grandmothers' apple pie-cake for Christmas Eve dessert and a sticky toffee pudding cheesecake for Christmas day dessert. (And my favourite salad, which has toasted almonds, snow peas, red bell pepper, and a parsley onion dressing.) My favourite gift was a pyrrha wax seal necklace from E. Now that things are back to normal, I'm starting to catch up with your blogs and hear about your holidays!

This is the bread I used with the white bean & walnut bruschetta (highly recommend trying that too!) I doubt I would've made this recipe had I not been looking for ways to use up our CSA zucchini. But I'm really glad I was pushed into making this. You can't really tell there's zucchini in the bread, it just adds moisture. But you can definitely taste the garlic, which I love. The bread was nice and chewy, which I also loved. My dough flattened out a lot - maybe it needs even more flour (I added an extra cup) so I'd recommend trying to gather or shape the dough higher if possible. But there was also nothing wrong with this flat loaf. I'm submitting this bread to yeastspotting.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Freshly Fruited Yeast Bread
Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread
Light Brioche Burger Buns
Hot Crossed Buns

Yeasted Garlic Zucchini Bread
Adapted from The Cook's Encyclopedia of Baking, found on Sizzle N Spice

Makes 1 Loaf

1 pound zucchini, grated
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 package active dry yeast
11/4 cups lukewarm water
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (original recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups, but I found it needed more)
Olive oil, for brushing

1. In a colander, alternate layers of grated zucchini and salt. Leave for 30 minutes, then squeeze out the moisture with your hands.

2. Combine the yeast with 1/4 cup of lukewarm water, stir and leave for 15 minutes to dissolve the yeast.

3. Place the zucchini, yeast and flour in a bowl. Stir together and add just enough of the remaining water to make a rough dough.

4. Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a plastic bag, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 11/2 hours.

5. Grease a baking sheet. Punch down the risen dough with your fist and knead into a tapered cylinder. Place on the baking sheet, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 425F. Brush with olive oil and bake until golden, 40-45 minutes. Cool on a rack.