zucchini bread substitutes?

[bj taylor]

I made some zuc bread the other day. i'm diabetic so I wanted to substitute the white flour. I used buckwheat flour instead and used 1/3 the sugar. it turned out lousy. it was dry and crumbly. any ideas how to correct that? use less buckwheat flour or more oil, or more zucchini? it had no milk in it. maybe add milk?

I am trying to find a recipe for a bread/muffin/pastry I can eat in the mornings with my coffee that will not cause me problems.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Hmm, i'm not too familiar with buckwheat flour except as buckwheat cakes... But i like to substitute whole wheat flour for white, and i've read and had good experience with only subbing half of the white flour called for in the recipe for whole wheat. Can you have SOME white flour? It might taste better half and half.

 

[catjac1975]

Have you tried spelt flour? The best zucchini bread I have ever had was loaded with butter and oil. Not exactly health food. More zucchini might make it more moist, or undercook it a bit.

 

[Jared77]

Went looking for the proportion of sugar free apple sauce to replace for oil (which is how we make it and we all prefer it this way) when I stumbled upon this.

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Diabet...Fat-_-Food_com-142511?columns=4&position=7/36

I make no promises but its worth a try. If you scroll down it includes the nutritional information under the recipe too.

 

[bj taylor]

i'm going to work from this recipe jared77. I have never tried spelt flour. i'm going to have to look that up & check it out. I had considered using some white flour, but it really jumps the blood sugar up & so i'm on the hunt for something to substitute. the butter and oil are not the problem, so I don't object to using them in recipes. i'm going to tweak things as I go along. thanks for the ideas & input. it points me in a direction to try. if I hit across a success, i'll post it.

 

[canesisters]

Off topic.... but the title made me think of this :

My sister makes a bunch of zucchini bread to give as gifts. She called me a few months ago giggeling to tell me that a zucchini looks just like a cucumber when your shopping in a hurry and to let me know that it works just the same. Apparently she gave away several loaves of cucumber bread. At the time, no one had noticed the difference and I hadn't thought to ask her. I'll find out though.

 

[Carol Dee]

BJ does whole wheat work better than white flour? My Dad uses Sugar Twin ( sugar substitute for baking that measure cup for cup.) Just a thought.

 

[Kassaundra]

Part of the problem you are having in the substitutions you are trying to make are that you are trying to make a substitution of a high gluten flour (wheat) w/ a low / no gluten choice, buckwheat, spelt, quinoa. This isn't an easy conversion to make and requires other recipe changes. You should google gluten free or low gluten quick bread recipes to get an idea of what other changes need to be made to your recipe. I know your goal isn't gluten free, but low glycemic, but you will have more success w/ the flours you are wanting to use to try gluten free recipes

This is a copy / paste from an article about using some of these flours


Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat that was common until industrialization made it less favorable to farmers than other types of wheat. (People who cant handle wheat should avoid spelt because its part of the wheat grain family.) Spelt has a higher protein, B vitamin, potassium, and iron content than other varieties of wheat, giving it a nutritional edge. Multigrain bread made with spelt flour has a glycemic index of 54, making it a lower-glycemic bread choice.

Substitute spelt flour for wheat flour in recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes, and even bread. Spelt-flour breads dont rise as high as other wheat-flour breads because spelt has a lower gluten content, yet they can produce a delicious bread product in their own right.

Spelt flour doesnt require as much water as other types of wheat flour; start by using three-fourths of the required liquid in a recipe.


Buckwheat, familiar in the form of Japanese soba noodles and Russian kasha, actually isnt a form of wheat its really a relative of rhubarb! Yet buckwheat, which has a low glycemic index, traditionally has been used as a grain in cooking. Because its not a member of the grain family, people who cant tolerate wheat can use it without concern. Buckwheat is also available as groats, which are the light-brown or light-green soft inner seeds of buckwheat. You can add whole groats to soups, or you can boil them and eat em like rice.

Try using 50 percent buckwheat flour and 50 percent wheat flour in pancakes, muffins, biscuits, and breads for a richer flavor.


Quinoa was originally cultivated by the Inca in the Andes Mountains of South America. It looks like small kernels of rice and has a higher protein content than many other types of grains. It contains no gluten and can be safely used by people with wheat allergies. Quinoa is delicious in soups and grain salads, and it has a lower glycemic index of 53.

Try using a mixture of 25 percent quinoa and 75 percent wheat flour in breads, biscuits, and muffins for a highly nutritious bread product with a delicious taste.


Rye is historically a mainstay in northern European cultures because it grows in colder, wet climates. Include rye flakes in homemade granola or trail mix for a high-fiber, low-glycemic treat.

Rye has less gluten than wheat flour, so you need to combine it with other gluten-containing flours in order to make bread. Pumpernickel bread made with rye flour has a low glycemic index of 55