Recipe: Boston Brown Bread
Summary: This bread dates back to Colonial days. Made from rye and wheat flours, cornmeal, molasses and raisins. Boston Brown Bread is always steamed (rather than baked) in a large can or mold.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rye meal
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups dark molasses
- 4 cups milk
- 2 cups seedless raisins
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- hot water
- aluminum foil
- butcher’s kitchen twine, and one 16 oz. coffee can, empty and clean
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Grease a 16 oz. coffee can with butter.
- In a large bowl, combine both wheat and rye flours, cornmeal, baking soda and salt.
- Stir in molasses and milk; add raisins and mix to blend.
- Fill coffee can (or mold/baking dish) with batter; it should come up to about 2/3 of the way to the top.
- Cover top of the can with foil and tie with butcher’s twine to make it airtight.
- Place can (or mold/baking dish) into a larger, deep baking dish.
- Using a pitcher, carefully pour hot water into the baking dish so that the water comes about halfway up the outside of the coffee can (or mold/baking dish); place in the oven.
- Allow bread to steam for 2 hours, check water level after 1 hour and add more water if needed.
- To check if the bread is done, carefully remove twine and foil and stick a wooden skewer into the middle and pull it out.
- If the Skewer is clean, the bread is done; if the bread needs additional cooking time, cover with new foil and twine and allow to steam until done.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 2 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Culinary tradition: USA (Traditional)
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