| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 2 (4-inch) loaves |
Ingredients
- Nonstick spray
- Boiling water
- 2 1/2 ounces whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 ounces rye flour
- 2 1/2 ounces cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground allspice
- 6 ounces molasses, by weight
- 8 1/2 ounces buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Move a rack to the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spray the insides of the cans with nonstick spray and place set a deep 3-quart oven-safe pot. Begin heating enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the cans when poured into the pot.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the wheat flour, rye flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and allspice. Add the molasses, buttermilk, vanilla and zest and whisk to combine. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared cans. Cover the top with a double thickness of aluminum foil and tie securely with string. Pour the boiling water into the pot. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the edges of the bread begin to pull away from the sides of the cans. Remove the cans from the pot of water, uncover, place on a cooling rack and cool 1 hour before removing bread from the cans. Serve with baked beans or slice, toast and serve with cream cheese.
Reviews
add raisins, you’ll love it!. Do homemade baked beans. Serve with hot dogs and chunky applesauce.
Followed the recipe as written and the results were great. Brett M. is right, weighing is the best for accurate amounts. I doubled the recipe and used two 4×6 cans and it worked well. A rack on the bottom of pot keeps the cans raised and allows water to heat from beneath. Cook time could be longer so watch carefully. A long wooden skewer works well for testing.
Indeed, while we Americans do not typically weigh our dry ingredients, it is the appropriate method. We’ve come up with all sorts of methods to help us avoid weighing (dip-n-sweep, scoop-n-sweep, spoon-n-fluff, etc.), but it is all more confusing than just getting out the scales, zeroing out the container, and weighing it out. You might be surprised at the difference in volume two chefs can pack into a measuring cup.
However, most importantly, following a recipe requires either: 1. using the exact same method as the author, or 2. weighing the ingredient. Guess which one works more consistently?
Very easy to make. I added 1/4 cup raisins.
For those who have had trouble with this recipe, here are a couple suggestions:
1. While American cooks use dry measurements, weighing the flour is common in most other countries. The 2-1/2 ounces of corn meal, whole wheat and rye flours the recipe calls for are approximately 1/2 cup of each flour. Likewise, the 6 ounces of molasses measures out to almost 1/2 cup. (I used refiner’s molasses, blackstrap (treacle is a little thicker, so I would try 1/3 cup.
2. Several people also complained the bread was underdone or “gooey” in the center. Someone suggested using a smaller diameter can. Traditionally, this bread was baked in a 2 lb. coffee can, which most roasters have replaced with plastic. A 2-lb bean can works equally well.
I would also add testing with a straw, like you would a cake. Or use an instant read thermometer and bake until the internal temperature reaches 206 degrees Fahrenheit (96 degrees Celsius
I only had one can to use, forgot that it required a second one so I used a loaf pan on other. Both came out good. Not quite good enough to make it into my cookbook, a collection of recipes but certainly would recommend trying it if you never had Boston Brown Bread like I have.
Kudos to Alton for a delicious recipe! I just made this bread to go with our St. Patrick’s dinner and I was very surprised how delicious it was! So was my husband! My mother always bought the B&M brown bread in a can when we were kids and that was good, but this recipe is even tastier. Great texture, great flavor and nice and moist! I will definitely be making it again!
Well that’s 2 hours of my life I can’t get back. This is a terribly inaccurate recipe. Mine, along with the majority of the viewers, came out mushy and uncooked. I suspect there was not enough flour in the batter after compared to other recipes. It makes no sense of ratio to can. Also giving measurements in ounces for dry ingredients is ridiculous. Who measures in ounces and ounces by weight?
Booooooooooo. I wish I had read the reviews first. I’ve made brown bread many times in the past and this recipe should be illegal. Seriously.
Booooooooooo. I wish I had read the reviews first. I’ve made brown bread many times in the past and this recipe should be illegal. Seriously.
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to make Boston Brown bread. AB’s recipe and one other stood out in Google. Several other reviewers had trouble finding the right size tin can. I did,too. Til, I found Peppridge Farm’s PIROUETTE rolled tin wafers. Perfect can size. I used cornbread mix instead, and added 1/2tsp cinnamon,1/4c demerara sugar & 1/2c currants. I, also, used dried orange peel instead. This can has it’s own lid, so it keeps the mixture airtight. I used an asparagus steamer and baked it for 1hr. 45min. This bread came out SOOO moist, sweet, and DELICIOUS!!
Thanks, Alton, for a simple and classic recipe! MUUAAAH!
Thanks, Alton, for a simple and classic recipe! MUUAAAH!
Excellent recipe! Simple & delicious.
For those that are having problems with “gooiness”, it’s your can shape. Do not use a wide can, the dough will not cook through. You need a taller, thinner one.
I used Royal Dansk Luxury Wafer tins, & they worked perfectly. As an added bonus, they come with lids, so there’s no need for all of the foil & string. Just sprayed generously with cooking spray, poured the dough in, popped the lids on, & placed in the water bath. Perfect results!
For those that are having problems with “gooiness”, it’s your can shape. Do not use a wide can, the dough will not cook through. You need a taller, thinner one.
I used Royal Dansk Luxury Wafer tins, & they worked perfectly. As an added bonus, they come with lids, so there’s no need for all of the foil & string. Just sprayed generously with cooking spray, poured the dough in, popped the lids on, & placed in the water bath. Perfect results!
The flavor was excellent, but it was underdone and mushy in the center, I think a longer baking time is needed for sure. It was also very crumbly and fell apart when I tried to slice it. Like I said though, it was VERY delicious, so I decided to make bread crumbs out of it to use elsewhere. Not quite sure what I’ll be breading with it because of that distinct sweet flavor, but I’ll come up with something! Waste not, want not! Thanks A!