There’s nothing more exciting than dropping your zucchini bread in the oven and waiting for it to come out moist and heavenly. Yet, when it turns out to be dry, we can only imagine the disappointment!
Why is my zucchini bread dry, you’ll ask yourself.
Well, zucchini bread becomes dry if you haven’t added the right amount of wet ingredients or used too much leavening agent. You might’ve also left the bread too long in the oven or turned up the heat too high.
In this post, we’ll let you know how to prevent your zucchini bread from getting too dry in the future and recommend a few ways you can reuse dry bread.
4 Simple Tips for Getting Moist Zucchini Bread Every Time
It isn’t that hard to get perfectly moist zucchini bread from the get-go. Just follow these easy steps while preparing and baking your quick bread!
1 – Make Sure You Add the Proper Amounts of Wet Ingredients
Most of the time, not sticking to your zucchini bread recipe will result in either dry or undercooked bread. So, it’s best to follow a tried-and-true recipe closely, paying special attention to the wet ingredients to ensure your bread comes out moist.
Usually, you’ll want to add three large eggs and one cup of oil for every three cups of flour. As for the zucchini, two cups is the way to go.
Any less than that, you might not have enough moisture in your batter, giving you a crumbly texture.
2 – Don’t Add Too Much Fat or Leavening Agent
Another thing you need to keep in mind is the amount of fat and leaveners that go into the mix. Combining too much of those with the rest of the ingredients will make them absorb all the moisture in the bread, leaving it dry.
For three cups of flour, you don’t need more than the aforementioned amount of oil—one cup—and a teaspoon of baking powder and baking soda each.
3 – Ensure That the Temperature Is Ideal
It goes without saying that turning the heat too high on your bread will cause any moisture inside it to evaporate in a very short time.
Therefore, by the time you take it out of the oven, it’ll have become too dry.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, maintain a consistent oven temperature of 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
4 – Know the Right Time to Take Your Bread Out of the Oven
Sure, leaving your bread in the heated oven past the recommended duration will rip it from any moisture left in it. Then, once you take it out and let it cool, it’ll be too dry and crumbly.
Typically, zucchini bread only needs to stay in the oven for around 40 to 60 minutes. At the 50-minute mark, you can poke its center with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean.
If it does, there’ll be no need to keep the bread in the oven more than that to keep it from drying up.
What to Do with Dry Zucchini Bread
If your zucchini bread isn’t too dry to be salvageable, there are a few tricks you can try to restore some of its glory despite the unfortunate events!
Here’s what to do with dry zucchini bread:
- Slice your bread loaf and spread some cheese and butter over it to neutralize its dryness.
- Make French toast by dipping each bread slice in a mixture of beaten eggs, some milk, and cinnamon, then frying it until it turns golden.
- If you’re craving something sweet, sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two slices of bread and sprinkle the ends with walnuts or almonds.
- Cut your bread slices into cubes and serve them with yogurt, assorted berries, and maple syrup.
- Give zucchini bread truffles a try.
- Consider making zucchini bread pudding.
Why Is My Zucchini Bread Crumbly?
A lot of factors contribute to a loaf of crumbly zucchini bread, but the most common one is that you probably haven’t let the bread rest before slicing. Slicing your loaf while it’s still warm will simply cause it to fall apart.
To have a better chance of experiencing moist and fluffy zucchini bread, allow it to cool down for around 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Final Thoughts
Ending up with dry zucchini bread is an unwanted scenario. However, now that you know all the causes of this occurrence and how to avoid them, your next batch should be a success!
Just make sure that all the wet ingredients are the right amount and don’t over-bake your bread or turn the heat up too high. Also, it’s important not to add too much leavening agent or vegetable oil.
Easy peasy, right?
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.