Dry - Dense Zucchini Bread

The moisture that was in the zucchini was what you patted out. Freezing causes fruits and vegetables to lose moisture when thawed.
Either use fresh grated zucchini or use all the liquid from the frozen.
If you heavily buttered the pan, it shouldn't have stuck, and witrh all that cinnamon and vanilla, I don't see how it could be flavorless.
I would up the amount of baking powder to 1 teaspoon full.
Linda

I agree, do not drain the zucchini or pat it dry if it's frozen, you need that liquid.

Annie

Also, it doesn't look like you adjusted your time & temperature to allow for your convection oven. The recipe doesn't state that it's written for convection so the assumption must be that it's for a standard oven. I'd leave the 325 degrees & lessen the time to compensate for the air circulation of the fan.

/tricia

Great information, and I will follow your suggestions. but another question. If I use fresh, which I'll be able to do in the next couple of days, do I squeeze the moisture out then? Or just grate and use. Again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

kaelkriver, I never drain the zucchini, I just grate it in fresh. None of the recipes I have tell me to drain the zucchini, so I don't.

Annie

Thanks Annie, no squeezing

Now kaelkriver, don't get hasty and say "no squeezing". That could take a lot of the fun out of many activities, LOL.

Just don't squeeze the zucchini. (grin)

Annie

Jessiiicaaa!! Where are you!!????

The recipe is almost exactly the one I've been making for many years EXCEPT too much flour. Mine calls for only 2 cups. I would bet the farm that that's your problem.

If I read your post right, you also added an extra cup of vegetables. That could also be a problem.
Lisa

Dang, I missed this party.

At least I got in on this one and Sol's.

Here are a few recipes that I have in my files from friends. Some are very similar to yours with only a slight difference. The second recipe really sounds good!

Zucchini Cake

3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa

Mix eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, and vanilla together. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, raisins, baking soda, salt, and cocoa; add to wet ingredients. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

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Zucchini Loaf

1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bakins soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Stir together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, spices.

In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, oil, eggs, and zucchini. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, beating well. Add lemon peel, orange juice and nuts.

Pour into a butter loaf pan and bake 350F oven for 55 minutes.

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Zucchini Bread

2 or 3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup pineapple, small pieces (drained)
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla together; add oil and mix well. Combine all dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture. Stir in zucchini, raisins, pineapple, and nuts.

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350F for 1 hour.

I lost my DH's prizewinning zucchini recipe, in one of my many recipe files so came here. I tried Khandi's recipe with the pineapple, raisins and nuts and it came out moist and delicious. I cut the sugar down by at least a quarter cup, added extra raisins and walnuts (which I'm trying to use up). My bread also stuck to the bottom of the pan even though I oiled it well, didn't flour it. I don't recall that happening with the lost recipe so thought I would add my experience for anyone who hasn't tried the recipe yet. Next time, I'll use flour, parchment, waxed paper or something to make removing easier. My zucchini are few (but organic) but one did grow pretty large and it was the perfect size to make this bread. I used crushed pineapple, very well drained. Next time I'll chop the wedges down but I was in a hurry. Thank you everyone for posting these recipes which I've printed out.

Just an update - I tried the recipe again with fresh zucchini and upped the baking soda to 1 teaspoon, and DID NOT SQUEEZE IT - it came up great. Thanks for the help and recipes.

kaelriver, enjoy a slice of that for me, will you? Since this thread, I've been wanting zucchini bread. I like mine with pineapple, but no raisins or walnuts. Too bad my zuchcini aren't doing well at all this year....

Annie

I made zucchini bread on Sunday, Annie's recipe with pineapple, walnuts and raisins.....yum! 3C of flour and a generous 2C of zuk...it made 2 nice sized 9" loaves. Very moist.

Nancy

I'm confident that patting the squash didn't do nearly as much damage as the extra cup of rough vegetables you added- the carrots. I am assuming they were not precooked, even if they were you would have needed to add a bit of liquid to accommodate for them.

The recipe is exactly the same as mine except mine is two cups of flour and mine was dense. I used fresh zucchini two cups no draining or squeezing. I do have a new convection oven but it's supposed to adjust itself so I didn't think about changing the time. It can't adjust the time for me!! LOL!

My recipe is similar to most, but uses 3 cups of shredded zucchini and 3 cups of flour. I never squeeze out the juices. I have some dehydrated and will have to add extra liquid to the cake when I bake one this winter.

Sue

I agree with others that the frozen squash is probably the culprit. The frozen squash released a lot of water and lost it's cell structure.

I have tried freezing squash before and the only real use I found for it was to use it in a pureed soup. it releases too much water in to be good for much else.