Cooking with Annie: Episode 3 – Traditional Boston Brown Bread

With all of the comments about folks not being able to find some ingredients (and wanting to stay away from the grocery store in general), I thought perhaps this recipe would be a good one to share.  It’s one of my favorite and is super traditional New England.  It uses whole wheat flour, which for some I’m hearing is easier for people to find than regular white flour, and NO eggs, which I’m also hearing are sometimes tough to come by especially around these Easter days when everyone is dying eyes with their kidos.

On the Riggin, I often serve this Boston Brown Brea with homemade butter, fresh garden radishes, an assortment of sea salts as one of many appetizers.  Here at home, we had it with lamb stew and then snacked on the remainder.  It’s delicious toasted with cream cheese or a little pat of butter.

The first recipe works well with either rye or whole wheat flour, but again, I have a hard time getting rye flour in ‘normal’ times, so wrote the recipe with whole wheat in mind.  If you don’t have buttermilk, it’s easy to make.  Combine just over 3/4 cup milk with 1 or 2 tablespoons of white or apple cider vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes or so.  The result is usually just a little thinner than store-bought buttermilk, so I just end up substituting a little less than 1 cup of homemade buttermilk for 1 cup of store-bought.

Hope you all love it!

Traditional Boston Brown Bread
1 cup whole wheat or rye flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup raisins

3, 14-ounce cans
waxed or parchment paper
foil
string

To prepare the cans, trace the edge of each can on waxed paper and then cut out 3 rounds. Liberally grease each can and place the waxed paper round in the base of each can.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the buttermilk, molasses, and raisins and mix until just combined from the center out to the edges of the bowl.

Divide the batter equally between the three prepared cans, cover with tin foil, and use string to keep the tin foil ‘lids’ in place.

Transfer the cans to a medium pot of simmering water. The water should reach just about half way up the side of the cans. Cover and simmer until the breads are set and gently pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 35 minutes.

Transfer the cans from the pot to a cooling rack, remove the foil, and allow the bread to cool. Run a knife along the inside of the cans to loosen the bread and then invert the cans into the cup of your palm or rap firmly on a work surface to dislodge the bread.

Makes 3 little loaves

Mom and Grandma’s Brown Bread 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons molasses
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch bread pan. Cream together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon in a medium-sized bowl. Add the milk, eggs, and molasses and stir until just combined. Stir in the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pour into the prepared pan, and let it sit 20 to 30 minutes. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the center springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing.

Makes 1 loaf

Annie
#staysafe #becalm #bekind