Zucchini Oatmeal Bread #BreadBakers

Time for the August #BreadBakers challenge! Special thanks to Pavani at Cook's Hideout for selecting this month's theme: Summer Bounty. Bakers were instructed to use fresh summer fruits, vegetables or herbs from our garden or the farmer's market to make any bread to share with the group. 

Excellent theme, Pavani! Thank you for such a great theme selection and for hosting this month's #BreadBakers!

Summer is in full swing. What better way to celebrate than a twist on Zucchini Bread? I grew up in a small Midwestern town where no one bothered to lock their car. The standard joke during zucchini season was that it was time to start locking your car. If not, your neighbors and friends would place their over abundant zucchini in your car when you weren't looking!

We adore zucchini at my house. Our favorite method of preparation is stuffing. Depending on our mood, we will opt for Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini or Meat-Rice-Tomato Stuffed Zucchini for a great summertime meal. This leaves the inside pulp of the zucchini that I really hate to waste by discarding.  Preparing Zucchini Oatmeal Bread is the perfect solution. We get a meal and a bonus sweet treat from our zucchini!

This bread is perfect for breakfast, snacking or with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea. I am always 'heavy-handed' (a nickname one of my co-workers gave me a few jobs ago) with the spice. If you aren't as keen on cinnamon as I am, you may want to cut in half.  



ZUCCHINI OATMEAL BREAD
Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 4 cups shredded zucchini (or pulp left from stuffing zucchini, chopped fine)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Prepare two 9 x 5" loaf pans with baking spray.  
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt and mix until well blended.
4. Combine eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, shredded zucchini and vanilla.
5. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and combine until just blended.  
6. Divide batter between the two loaf pans and bake 45 - 55 minutes or until wooden toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. 
7. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from loaf pans and cool completely.  

Take the time to browse through what these innovative #BreadBakers have developed to celebrate Summer Bounty. I am overly impressed with their creativity!

• Almond and Carrot Biscuits from Basic N Delicious
• Cheddar Mielie Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes from Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Bread Pudding from Bakers and Best
• Eggless Rosemary Garlic Dinner Rolls from Spill the Spices
• Garden Herb Focaccia from My Catholic Kitchen
• Herb and Cheese Biscuits from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Herb and Cheese Grissini from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Herbed Butterflaps from Sneha's Recipe
• Herbs, Spinach and Cheese Bourekas from Cooking Club
• Jalapeño Summer Squash Quick Bread from Magnolia Days
• Mango Kolache from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Peach & Blueberry Meringue Pull Apart Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Peach Pull-Apart Bread from Recipes, Food and Cooking
• Peaches and Cream Bread from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Pizza Cipolla - Onion Pizza from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rosemary and Garlic Fougasse from Spice Roots
• Rosemary Breadsticks from A Baker's House
• Spinach Semolina Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Studded Zucchini Yeast Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Sundried Tomato Focaccia with Sauteed Summer Veggies & Garden Salad from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Tomato, Onion, Parmesan Focaccia from Noshing With The Nolands
• Walnut Oat Crumble Courgette Bread from Baking in Pyjamas
• Wholewheat Onion, Spinach & Red Pepper Bread from Hostess At Heart
• Wholewheat Zucchini Bread from Cook's Hideout
• Zucchini Oatmeal Bread from Cali's Cuisine
• Zucchini/Jalapeño/Cheese Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.