Baked bread

Ahh, yes. The final installment on how to freeze zucchini has finally made its way to the blogosphere! If you’ve been reading this string of posts, you now know how to freeze shredded zucchini (how to freeze zucchini, part 1) and how to freeze sliced zucchini (how to freeze zucchini, part 2). Today, I’m sharing how to freeze zucchini bread (how to freeze zucchini, part 3). There will be no more posts on how to freeze zucchini, I promise!

award-winning zucchini bread

Normally, I love zucchini bread fresh from the oven. I serve it warm…sometimes with butter, which melts deliciously into the soft, warm slice. As it bakes in the oven, the zucchini bread makes your house smell so heavenly, too. No need for scented candles or plug-ins here (although if they made one that smelled like baking zucchini bread, I might have to give it a try!). Fresh-baked zucchini bread is great to serve guests for a quick breakfast or snack, too.

award-winning zucchini bread

In fact, that’s exactly why I’ve learned how to freeze it. Because apparently, I’ve established a reputation for serving my guests fresh-baked bread whenever they visit. Sometimes, however, life gets a little busy, and I just don’t have time to whip up a fresh batch of bread. (On a recent visit, my mother-in-law not so subtly informed me that she really misses my homemade bread. I also occasionally make Amish Friendship Bread and soft white yeast bread, none of which were available for her latest visit.)

Enter frozen zucchini bread. My sister has been making and freezing zucchini bread for some time now, and she tells me her kids gobble it down just as if it came right from the oven, so I decided to give it a try. That way, the next time my mother-in-law visits, I’ll have something to serve her, no matter how busy I’ve been!

mini loaves

Step 1 – Bake the Bread. Of course, the first step in freezing zucchini bread is to make some in the first place. I highly recommend my award-winning zucchini bread recipe, but if you have a recipe you love, by all means, get busy and bake it! For this batch, I decided to bake mini-loaves, which I like to give as gifts during the holidays.

Cooling bread

Step 2 – Cool the Bread Completely. This step is very important, and if overlooked will ruin your efforts, since any remaining heat will work its way out as steam when you wrap the bread for freezing, creating ice crystals in the freezer. You will either end up with soggy zucchini bread or freezer-burned zucchini bread, neither of which you will want to serve guests or give as gifts. So no matter how busy you are, take the time to let the bread cool completely. Your guests will thank you later. (Or maybe not, since you can take the bread from the freezer a couple of days before serving. They don’t need to know you used this short cut, right?)

bread in plastic wrap

Step 3 – Wrap and Freeze the Bread. You have a couple of options here. I’ve read about people wrapping the bread in freezer bags, in aluminum foil only, or in plastic wrap then aluminum foil, all with varying degrees of success. I opted for the plastic wrap and aluminum foil, hoping to keep the bread as fresh as possible.

Bread in aluminum foil

Step 4 – Thaw the Bread. Apparently, the consensus is that the bread will keep well for 3 to 4 months, although some people reported they kept their bread frozen for over a year with no problems. Whenever you choose to serve it, be sure to take the bread out of the freezer a day ahead, although it should thaw on the counter within three hours.

That’s all there is to it. Your final step, of course, is eating the bread, but I don’t think you need any instructions in how to do that! And Sue, don’t worry. The next time you come for a visit, I’ll serve some bread. I promise!

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