Monday, September 5, 2011

Lemon Poppyseed Summer Squash Bread

A few days ago our friend next door brought us over some extra yellow squash, which I gladly accepted, but I wasn't sure how best to put it to use. I had heard of using yellow summer squash in bread instead of its close cousin zucchini, but I just don't have a good zucchini bread recipe--or, rather, there are plenty of good-tasting recipes out there, but they are more like cake and aren't what I'm looking to feed my family on a regular basis. So I made up this recipe that is just sweet enough without overdoing it. The yellow squash gives this lemon bread a nice yellow hue and also makes it super-moist. Abiline was probably the biggest fan of this creation, actually pointing to the loaf in the fridge and grunting for more. 

Makes two loaves
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 scant tsp. salt
1/2 c. evaporated cane juice or other dry sweetener
1/4 c. poppy seeds
1 1/2 c. finely grated yellow squash
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. lemon extract

1/4 c. lemon juice
1 1/4 c. lemon-flavored non-dairy yogurt (I used home-made coconut milk yogurt)
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
1/2 c. canola or coconut oil (I used 1/4 c. of each, since coconut oil gives that extra richness, but it is just so expensive!)

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease two loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and evaporated cane juice. Stir in the poppy seeds and then the grated squash and lemon zest. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the lemon extract, lemon juice, yogurt, maple syrup, applesauce, non-dairy milk, and oil, and stir just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Divide the dough evenly between the two pans and bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 10 mins. on a wire rack, and then run a knife along the edges and turn the bread out of the pan onto the rack to cool all the way down before slicing.

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