Boston Brown Bread

Day 181: Quite a few years ago during a fit of "de-stuffing" (i.e., getting rid of things I wasn't using), I packed up several boxes of culinary equipment and shipped them off to my sister-of-the-heart in New Hampshire. It wasn't a decision I immediately regretted, but some time later, I had the urge to make orange slices (a jelly candy), and I couldn't find the molds. After searching the house from top to bottom several times, I decided I must have given them away, although I couldn't recall taking them to a thrift store. Then I remembered...Patty! I wrote to her and found out that she had put the boxes in storage, and they were buried too deeply for her to dig for them. Over the next few years, I kept reminding her that if she got into her storage space, she should look for them. To make a long story a little bit shorter, she found them last week and sent me photos of the contents which included not only the candy molds, but the Boston Brown Bread pans I'd also been trying to replace. She sent them back to me and today, I am making steamed Boston Brown Bread to celebrate. Jelly candies will have to wait until I can afford the flavourings.

And here's the update (with raisins, of course!)

Boston Brown Bread

Day 109: If you want to make this recipe, you're going to have to take an unusual step before you begin. You need a mold, so you're going to have to buy a can of brown bread (I think B&M is the only brand in production) just to get the can. Of course, you can eat the brown bread which comes in the can. That's a bonus, but you really need that can.

I love Boston brown bread and have been promising myself to make it from scratch for...oh, I don't know, probably forty years, but I kept buying it in the cans and then forgetting to save them. Well, I finally did it. I used two different steaming methods which worked almost equally well. More on that in a minute. Another thing hanging me up was the fact that you just can't find graham flour these days, but I found several recipes which substituted whole wheat. It changes the texture of the brown bread a little, but the taste is close to the original. Let's get on with my adaptation of the recipe.

Butter the inside of the can (or use a spray) and line the bottom with a piece of wax paper or lightly greased parchment. Have a second round of parchment handy to cover the top of the dough.

Combine thoroughly
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3cup rye flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp brown sugar
(1/3 cup raisins if desired)

In a second bowl, combine thoroughly
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp melted butter

Stir moist ingredients into dry ingredients and pour into the can. This recipe will fill the can a little under 2/3. Bang on the counter to make any air bubbles rise to the surface. Cover top of dough with the second round of parchment. Place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the can, pinching firmly all the way around. Fasten with string.

Traditionally, the mold would now be put in a pan filled partway with hot water, the outer pan covered, and set to steam in a 275-degree oven for about three hours. However, many of us have modern equipment which makes steaming more cost-efficient. I put my first loaf in the crock-pot (water 2/3 of the way up the sides of the can) and let it steam for three hours. I made the second loaf in my InstantPot (can 2/3 submerged), processing on high for 45 minutes with a 15-minute natural release of pressure (this does not result in a full release, so finish releasing pressure manually). The InstantPot loaf was slightly drier than the crock-pot loaf, so I think I could cut the cooking time by 5-10 minutes. You'll know your loaf is done when a skewer inserted into it comes out clean. NB: the aluminum foil will cause some slight corrosion where it comes into contact with the exterior of the can, but this does not affect the brown bread. The texture is grainier than B&M brand, perhaps owing to the fact that my rye flour is fairly coarsely ground, or maybe because I used whole wheat instead of the unobtainable graham flour, but the taste is very, very close. And the best part? I can put in just as many raisins as I damn well want!