Green Tomato Quick Bread is a great bread to make when green tomatoes are plentiful. This bread is one I like to make in the autumn when my garden is overflowing with green tomatoes, more than what I can reasonably use either in their green or ripened form.
San Marzano tomatoes are ideal for this quick bread as they do not have as many seeds or the significant gelatinous watery sacks that many other varieties of tomatoes have. They have nice, thick, firm flesh that shreds quite easily. That said, other varieties of green tomatoes can be used for this bread but the more watery varieties of tomatoes will likely need more blotting after being shredded to remove the excess water from them before incorporating them into the bread batter.
I use a medium hole-sized grater for the tomatoes. As you can see from the photo below, shredded tomatoes (depending on the variety) can have a lot of water in them, far too much to simply put into the bread. The tomatoes in the photo below were the Early Girl variety.
I recommend taking an old clean tea towel that you don’t care about if it gets stained and rolling the shredded tomato up in the towel. This will remove a lot of the excess moisture but not so much that it will result in a dry bread.
While, certainly, some moisture from the tomatoes is needed for a moist loaf, there is a line between ‘enough’ and so much that it makes a very soggy loaf. The tomatoes do not need to stay rolled up in the tea towel for long. I usually leave them while I am measuring out the rest of the bread ingredients.
This is a quick bread meaning it is leavened with baking powder and baking soda, rather than yeast, making it a much quicker bread to make. Depending on the recipe, some quick breads are made with the creaming method and others by the muffin mixing (or stirring) method. For an explanation of the difference between the two methods, check out the posting I wrote when I published my recipe for Cherry Bread (click here).
For this Green Tomato Quick Bread, I have developed the recipe using the muffin mixing method. This method will often yield a slightly drier texture (than the creaming method does) with a larger, coarser crumb in the loaf, closely resembling the texture of muffins, hence the name “muffin method”.
With the muffin method, the dry ingredients (flour, leavening agent(s), salt, and spices) are mixed in one bowl and the liquid ingredients (eggs, liquid fat, orange juice, and vanilla), along with the sugars, shredded green tomato and orange rind are mixed in a separate bowl. I recommend sieving the dry ingredients together to ensure optimal dispersal of ingredients (especially the leavening agents) throughout the flour.
The liquid ingredients are added, all at once, to the dry ingredients and mixed manually (not by mixer) just until they are combined and the dry ingredients are little more than moistened by the liquid ingredients. This forms the batter and it will be lumpy which is the way it is supposed to be – it’s not intended to be a smooth batter. If overmixed, it will over stimulate the gluten in the flour which would create a tough texture in the loaf. The add-ins (raisins, nuts, and candied peel or citron) are quickly stirred in last, again without overmixing.
My recipe calls for 1/3 cup of candied peel or citron. Either is lovely in the loaf and contributes to the citrus notes found in the bread. However, if this is not a product you care for or can’t find in your area, simply add either 1/3 cup more raisins or nuts to the batter to maintain the total “add-in” quantity amount.
The loaf is best if cooled completely at room temperature then stored overnight in an airtight bag in the refrigerator before slicing the following day.
This loaf freezes very well. In fact, I will often make a couple of these loaves when the green tomatoes are readily available and freeze the loaves for enjoyment over the coming months. The loaves can be frozen whole by wrapping them individually in tin foil and placing in an airtight freezer bag. When needed, let a loaf thaw at room temperature before cutting and serving. Alternatively, the loaf can be sliced and frozen with pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper in between the slices to prevent them from sticking/freezing together. Again, freeze the loaf slices in an airtight freezer bag. This method is ideal if you want to have individual slices ready to go when the notion strikes as slices thaw very quickly.
This loaf may be served plain as is, with butter (either plain or flavored), or with a flavored cream cheese spread.
[Printable recipe follows at end of post]
Green Tomato Quick Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup green tomatoes, shredded (apx. 7 oz pre-blotted) (San Marzano tomatoes work best)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp orange juice, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp finely grated orange rind
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/3 cup candied peel or citron
Method:
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9”x5”3” loaf pan with strips of parchment paper (one strip horizontally across the pan and one strip vertically down the length of the pan), leaving enough paper overhang with which to grasp and lift the loaf to remove it from the pan. Spritz parchment-lined pan very lightly with cooking oil.
Shred the green tomatoes using a medium hole-sized grater. Place shredded tomatoes on a clean tea towel and roll up the towel to remove/blot some of the excess moisture from the tomatoes. It is not necessary to completely dry the tomatoes but blotting out some of the moisture will ensure the loaf is not soggy wet.
In a large bowl, sieve all the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk the eggs at medium speed until frothy. Beat in the sugars until well blended. Reduce speed to medium-low and add the vegetable oil, orange juice, vanilla, and orange rind and whisk until combined with the eggs and sugars. With mixer set on slow speed, stir in the shredded green tomatoes just until they are incorporated with the wet ingredients.
Remove bowl from mixer stand and pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir just until all the dry ingredients are barely incorporated. Do not overmix as it will result in a tough bread. Stir in the raisins, nuts, and candied peel or citron.
Spoon batter into prepared pan and, using a knife, smooth the top of the loaf. Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Let loaf rest in pan for 10 minutes after removing from oven then transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
Yield: One loaf, apx. 12-14 slices (sliced approximately ½” thick)
Note: Bread is best made the day before it is needed. Let cool completely on wire rack then place in airtight plastic bag and store in refrigerator overnight. Loaf freezes well either wholly or in slices.
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Green Tomato Quick Bread
Green Tomato Quick Bread is a tasty bread that makes great use of excess green tomatoes. Warm spices complement the loaf that is filled with shredded green tomatoes, raisins, nuts, and candied peel or citron.
Ingredients
- 1 cup green tomatoes, shredded (apx. 7 oz pre-blotted) (San Marzano tomatoes work best)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp orange juice, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp finely grated orange rind
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1/3 cup candied peel or citron
Instructions
-
Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9”x5”3” loaf pan with strips of parchment paper (one strip horizontally across the pan and one strip vertically down the length of the pan), leaving enough paper overhang with which to grasp and lift the loaf to remove it from the pan. Spritz parchment-lined pan very lightly with cooking oil.
-
Shred the green tomatoes using a medium hole-sized grater. Place shredded tomatoes on a clean tea towel and roll up the towel to remove/blot some of the excess moisture from the tomatoes. It is not necessary to completely dry the tomatoes but blotting out some of the moisture will ensure the loaf is not soggy wet.
-
In a large bowl, sieve all the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center of the ingredients.
-
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk the eggs at medium speed until frothy. Beat in the sugars until well blended. Reduce speed to medium-low and add the vegetable oil, orange juice, vanilla, and orange rind and whisk until combined with the eggs and sugars. With mixer set on slow speed, stir in the shredded green tomatoes just until they are incorporated with the wet ingredients.
-
Remove bowl from mixer stand and pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir just until all the dry ingredients are barely incorporated. Do not overmix as it will result in a tough bread. Stir in the raisins, nuts, and candied peel or citron.
-
Spoon batter into prepared pan and, using a knife, smooth the top of the loaf. Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Let loaf rest in pan for 10 minutes after removing from oven then transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Yield: One loaf, apx. 12-14 slices (sliced approximately ½” thick)
Note: Bread is best made the day before it is needed. Let cool completely on wire rack then place in airtight plastic bag and store in refrigerator overnight. Loaf freezes well either wholly or in slices.
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