Boston Brown Bread

Boston brown bread is both a delicious recipe and a bit of a tongue-twister if you try to say it lots of times quickly! Although you might best know this bread from the canned version, it’s not difficult to make it from scratch yourself.

The authentic recipe blends sweet raisins and molasses, tangy buttermilk and 2 kinds of flour with baking soda, egg, sugar, and salt, for a delicious result.

The loaf is baked in the oven until perfectly done. Let it cool a bit, slather on some salted butter and sink your teeth into that tasty, rich bread. The flavor is sweet and rich, and the raisins add texture as well as flavor. It’s a no-fuss recipe that doesn’t require you to work with fresh or dried yeast or let the dough rise.

In fact, this could be the simplest bread you ever made. And the flavor will definitely make you smile.

Why You’ll Love the Recipe:

This no-nonsense bread recipe is surprisingly simple compared to similar ones. You just have to mix the ingredients together, put the dough in a loaf pan and then put the whole thing in the oven and wait. Oh, and it tastes pretty amazing as well!

How to Serve It:

Boston brown bread, which is sometimes called New England brown bread, is nice sliced and spread with butter. However, you might like to serve it the New England way, which means warmed up and topped with baked beans.

Ingredients:

• Molasses
• Wheat flour
• Baking soda
• Buttermilk
• Egg
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Raisins
• Salt
• Sugar
• Boiling water
• Butter for garnish

How to make Boston Brown Bread:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Soak the raisins in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Add the wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.

Blend the egg into the dry ingredients.

Place the molasses, buttermilk and baking soda into a separate bowl, and whisk to combine well.

Mix together the flour mixture with the wet ingredients.

Spread the mixture into a well greased loaf pan.

Place the loaf pan into the preheated oven and cover with a baking sheet to keep the bread from rising to high.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the top of the loaf pan, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Take the loaf out of the pan carefully and place on a wire rack to cool before serving.

Whether you know it as Boston brown bread or New England brown bread, this rich, tasty loaf is sure to thrill you. It’s very easy to make and the flavor is rich and wonderful. You’ll want to make this more than once, for sure.

Can You Make It Ahead?

Yes, Boston brown bread can be made in advance if you want.

Storage Instructions:

This bread keeps for up to 5 days in the refrigerator as long as it’s well wrapped. You can also freeze it in slices for longer storage.

Variations and Substitutions:

Try a bundt pan instead of a loaf pan for a different presentation. Traditionally the bread was made in cans and came out round, so you can use any container you like to make it. Feel free to omit the raisins or reduce the molasses if you prefer a less sweet result.