We love a good quick bread, and this decadent tasting loaf is a variation on the gluten free Pumpkin Bread that appeared on the blog last October. That recipe was adapted from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito’s uber-cool cookbook Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, and it was so good that we wanted to come up with other variations that would do it justice. While chocolate, zucchini, spice, and bread are not four words that you would imagine playing well together within the confines of a single recipe, trust us when we say that this bread is a damn fine treat.
The zucchini takes the place of the pumpkin purée, adding moisture (and a little fiber), but it basically melts into the bread, so there isn’t an out-of-place “vegetable” flavor competing with the chocolate. To create that deep, dark chocolate base flavor, a portion of the gluten free flour blend was replaced with cocoa powder. That called for a bit of water to be added to the batter, because cocoa powder has a tendency to absorb moisture from other ingredients like it’s its job, and the water content of the zucchini notwithstanding, we didn’t want to take any chances that the bread would come out dry and overly crumbly. Nobody wants that.
In an attempt to lighten to recipe, a little Greek yogurt was used in place of some of the vegetable oil, providing yet another moisture element and giving a slight tang to the bread that is reminiscent of buttermilk, but without all of the fat. Seriously, between the Greek yogurt and the zucchini, this is practically health food. (Keep repeating that sentence until it sounds true. It took us about twelve times.)
Another slight adjustment was to lose the nutmeg and ginger from the pumpkin version. The cinnamon and allspice were much more compatible with the overall flavor profile of this version because they played off of the bitter notes in the cocoa. When we made the pumpkin version, we omitted the chocolate chips called for in the original recipe, but here they seemed almost de rigueur. They add yet another chocolate element (you can never have too many), and impart an almost fudge-like quality to the center of the loaf, which is a wonderful contrast to the crisp, crackly crust.
This bread is a perfect way to satisfy your chocolate cravings, and since it’s actually laced with healthy vegetables, you don’t have to worry about feeling guilty when you devour nearly an entire loaf all by yourself – Kyle! It was like watching one of those Animal Planet “unsuspecting gazelle/lion in the grass” scenarios. Horrifying, but I couldn’t look away.
Fortunately, this recipe yields two full loaves, so all was not lost. You can either freeze the second loaf for later or SHARE it. I’m thinking there is a special food-centric episode of “Hoarders” in someone’s future…
This bread is wonderful on its own, but there isn’t any rule that says you can’t spread a little softened cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, or nut butter on it. It actually has a texture that calls to mind a really rich chocolate cake, so if you hit it with a little frosting, you might just score a few brownie points with us. See? Even the extra credit is chocolatey. Enjoy!
- 14 ounces (about 2 ¾ cups) AP GF flour blend (plus a few dashes for coating the loaf pans)
- 2.25 ounces (about ½ cup) cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp. xanthan gum
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. allspice
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups peeled and grated zucchini (from about 2 medium zucchini)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 14 ounces (about 2 cups) white sugar
- 5 ounces (about 1 cup) dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray, butter, or oil and coat with a few dashes gluten free flour.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 14 ounces gluten free flour, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together zucchini, vegetable oil and Greek yogurt. Whisk in sugars.
- Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and water.
- With a rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients until batter is fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Divide batter into two prepared loaf pans and bake for one hour fifteen minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for fifteen minutes, then remove from loaf pans and cool completely before slicing and serving.
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