Zucchini bread using Amish Friendship Bread starter

I recently received my first Amish Friendship Bread starter. It's like a sourdough starter, except it's sweet, and the recipe traditionally handed out with it is really more for a cake than a bread. I've had the version that came with it and it's scrumptious (almond poppy seed), but I wanted to try something less sweet and rich and use up some ingredients that were sitting in the fridge. I discovered online a few different variations of the recipe, settled on one, and adapted it to my needs. The result? One of the best zucchini breads I've had. Whenever I've done the "use yogurt and less sugar and whole wheat flour" route in a quick bread, I've had mediocre results. But having a starter improves the flavor and adds moisture. So, I'd say it was a success!

Amish Friendship Zucchini Bread

A note on the starter: the instructions that came with the starter have you feeding it just before using it. I decided against this, as it seemed the starter would have maximum flavor without the feeding to dilute it (a suggested by other bloggers). One can just feed it afterwards, split, and share with others.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt

1 cup AFB starter

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup 2% Greek yogurt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cup shredded zucchini (or carrot for a carrot version)

1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Opt: Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 9x5 loaf pans (mine came out rather flat. Maybe put the whole batter into one 9x5, or make muffins)

2. Sift together dry ingredients.

3. In large mixing bowl combine starter, eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Beat for a minute or two to aerate. Add dry ingredients gradually and mix until just blended. Stir in shredded zucchini and nuts. Divide batter evenly between pans. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to your liking (opt).

4. Bake 35 min or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.