how (not) to...

You can go anywhere to find out how to bake zucchini bread. Only here will you find out how NOT to bake it. My tips (so far) for this fall:

1) Do NOT add the baking soda and baking powder directly to the wet ingredients (before the flour). These are listed after the flour for a reason. They will form indissoluble little clumps that taste horribly bitter when you bite into them.

2) Do NOT mix the batter in your Kitchen Aid mixer. It will over-mix the batter. Especially if the kids are helping. You will end up with a smooth, dense loaf rather than a light and fluffy one.

3) Do NOT take your cookbook recipe, altered to reduce the sugar and increase the whole-grain goodness, and forget to add the baking soda. You will have cooked zucchini batter; not bread.

Happy baking!