This bread is one of those things that was born out of necessity and turned out to be far better than the sum of its parts. My refrigerator was bursting with half full jars and my sister and her friend were coming to town the next day. I needed to have something to feed them for breakfast (they are touring folksingers and so I like to have something yummy, healthy and homemade for them when they show up) and I really wanted to use up what I had instead of running out for ingredients.

I took my standard banana bread recipe (from the sixties edition of the Joy of Cooking) and adapted wildly. I reduced the butter by half and substituted peach butter for the missing fat. I replaced the mashed banana with two cups of chunky, homemade applesauce and I used one cup whole wheat pastry flour and one cup toasted wheat germ (again, because I happened to have an open jar of the stuff).

The resulting loaf is sweet, moist and so, so good toasted and spread with butter. If you don’t happen to have wheat germ on hand, feel free to just use the whole wheat pastry flour. You could switch out the fruit butter with anything you happen to have open (I’m curious how the blueberry butter would work in this). You can also swap out the applesauce for any gently pureed canned fruit (peaches, pears or even plums).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, this bread is calling (I have to get at least one more piece before Raina and Rebecca finish it off). And the recipe is after the jump.

Whole Wheat Spiced Applesauce Bread
Makes one large loaf or a dozen muffins

¼ cup softened butter
¼ cup peach (or any fruit) butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups chunky applesauce
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup toasted wheat germ
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter one regular loaf pan or a muffin tin with a dozen cups.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peach butter and sugar (I do this in the bowl of my stand mixer, but you can also use human power). Add the eggs and applesauce and beat to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Integrate the dry ingredients into the wet ones in several batches, until totally combined.

Scrape the batter into your buttered pan or tin and place them in a hot oven. Bake 45-50 for a loaf, 20-25 minutes for muffins, until a skewer comes out mostly clean.

Cool on the counter. If there’s anything left after 24 hours, store remainder in the fridge.

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I made my first loaf of quick bread when I was seven years old (under very close supervision from my mother). It was from the back of a children’s book called Cranberry Christmas and it quickly became a holiday tradition (I still make it, with just a few alternations to this day).

Twenty plus years later, quick breads are still one of my favorite things to bake (I have several beloved banana bread recipes, as well as that delicious yogurt loaf). This time of year, when the zucchini plants threaten to take over garden plots and summer squash can be gotten for pennies, the quick bread is most decidedly a good friend to the gardener and cook. This recipe is easy to stir together, makes quick work of a nice-sized zucchini and is amazingly moist. It’s also fairly healthy, packed with whole grains and containing just one stick of butter between the two loaves.

One thing to keep in mind when making this bread. It’s not a super sweet loaf, and I’ve made it that way by design. I like to eat it for breakfast, and at that time of the day, I don’t want to be eating cake. However, if you want a more assertively sweet flavor, I’d add another 1/2 cup of sucanat or sugar (or just spread your slice with a bit of peach or apricot jam).

Go forth and bake!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread (makes two standard loaves)

1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sucanat (an unrefined cane sugar)
1/2 cup applesauce*
3 eggs, beaten well
2 1/2 cups packed grated zucchini (about one medium or two small zucchini)**
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, but adds protein and deliciousness)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans (you can also make these as muffins, the recipe will make 24).

Cream butter and sugar together (I do this in a stand mixer, but you can use a hand mixer or just a wooden spoon). Add in applesauce, beaten eggs, grated zucchini and vanilla and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients and then stir them into the wet ingredients in three batches. Add in the nuts and stir to incorporate. Divide between the two loaf pans and bake for 45-50 minutes****, until a skewer comes out clean and the tops are nice and brown.

It is good plain, or toasted and spread with butter and jam.

*I make and freeze applesauce in 1/2 cup portions each fall. However, if you don’t think ahead like that, those little prepackaged applesauce cups that you buy for school lunches are the perfect amount for this recipe.

**When I can’t take any more zucchini during the summer, I grate them, measure out it into 2+ cup portions and freeze it in ziptop bags. That way I can make this bread into the fall and winter, when I’m not so squashed out.

***If this recipe seems slightly familiar to you, it’s because I posted it in muffin format to Slashfood two years ago.

****A reader/friend from college made these as muffins recently and reported back that they baked up perfectly in 20 minutes.

Related Posts:

• Open Jars: Whole Wheat Spiced Applesauce Bread