Cinnamon Zucchini Bread I Made It Ii

Cinnamon Zucchini Bread

Cosmicmother 5 years ago
~Made for October's 2020 "Cucurbit" Recipe Challenge~

Cinnamon Zucchini Bread by Debra47

I'll start off by saying how awesome the sour cream glaze is! It really is the star of this recipe. The glaze tastes just like cream cheese frosting, and I can see using it on many other types of quick breads or pound cakes etc..
The first thing that caught my eye was the amount of leavener's. For only 1-1/2 cups of flour it has a whole tsp each of baking soda and baking powder. I thought, well, it does have some orange juice in the bread so it should be fine. But, as it baked there were 3 significant signs that there was too much baking soda:
1) The smell, half way through cooking there was that tell tale baking soda smell. I can't really tell you what it smells like, but I've smelled it enough to know what it is!
2) The bread turned really, really dark in colour. This is all due to the baking soda. This darkening reaction also imparts a dark taste, which in smaller doses can lend a caramelized flavour, but too much can be salty, soapy or have a burnt/acrid taste.
3) The first pic shows where the bread sunk a little in the center. Too much leavening can cause the bread to rise too much, too fast, then it can fall in the oven causing the dreaded sink hole--and sometimes the center will never fully bake. This bread didn't sink too much, thank goodness, and it did cook all the way through!

After the bread cooled completely I topped it with the glaze, rather than cool for only 30 minutes. With fingers crossed, I hoped it tasted ok. And it surprisingly did! The extra baking soda did make the loaf a little more dense, and caused it to be a little too crispy on the outsides. But the taste was still good, especially the bites with glaze on it. You get the cinnamon and orange flavour coming through with sweet pops of raisins and a creamy, tangy sour cream glaze.
The recipe is only let down by the extra baking soda. Next time I will use at least half the soda, or even cut it down to a 1/4 tsp. I will make it again soon so I can fix the recipe--it's worth it!!
I also think this recipe would be great with dried cranberries or walnuts instead of raisins, or even lemon instead of orange with a lemon glaze. To make this extra special for company, or to impress your friends over afternoon tea, how about topping the glazed loaf with candied orange slices or orange peel! :)
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LindaLMT 5 years ago said:

Beautiful pictures Shona! I never knew that adding too much leavening causes breads to rise too much and fast and then making them fall. I just thought they would raise too much. Hmm, learned something, thanks! Glad to hear the recipe worked out in spite of the noted signs.

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eastcoaster 5 years ago said:

Lovely photo Shona, I didn’t know that either. Thanks for sharing that, and you make this sound so very good.

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Cosmicmother 5 years ago said:

Thanks ladies!
This is on my to-do list this week, so I will report back soon! :)

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mommyluvs2cook 5 years ago said:

Yup, I think your teaching us all something new Shona! I knew you could add to much baking soda, but never really knew what the consequences were. That glaze on top really makes this bread so pretty, glad it turned out good in the end :)

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Cosmicmother 5 years ago said:

I added half the amount of baking soda and baking powder, and it turned out perfectly! Added a second IMI review: Cinnamon Zucchini Bread Take 2

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