Boston Brown Bread

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2009

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Pantry Raid X: Dark Side of the Cane

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (4)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(4)

Cook Time:
1 hr 15 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
2 (4-inch) loaves

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Total:: 2 hr 30 min

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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
Special equipment: 2 empty (26.5-ounce) metal cans

Directions

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.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Boston Brown Bread
Judith Bradenton, FL 08-19-2009
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Delicious Hearty Bread
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Not having Rye flour in my pantry, I substituted 1 part Wheat flour, 1 part All Purpose flour and 1 part Bread flour, also... added a scoop of flax seeds and golden raisins. I sprinkled Demerara cane sugar on top and baked the bread in a spring form pan.Read more
recipe Boston Brown Bread
Michelle West Valley City, UT 07-05-2009
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Gumminess at its best!
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

My husband watched this episode with me and had to try this. I found the measuring of dry ingredients a bit confusing since... it is listed in ounces and while you have to guess it is dry measurements, you are not really sure. The bread never cooked completely. The top couple of inches was very moist and very tasteful, however the bottom was nothing short of gummy batter. Try two batches and the second one was cooked longer, but still got the same results. Will keep working on this though since I think it will be worth the effort once it is perfected.Read more
recipe Boston Brown Bread
Erika Somerville, MA 03-08-2009
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The secret's in the can
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I tried this recipe with a standard diced tomato can (28oz, and squat) and a "family size" tomato soup can (28oz but tall and... skinnier). The diced tomato can bread was much gummier--the soup can gave a much better texture. I gave this 4-stars because the orange zest wasn't very authentic--gave a strange bright flavor to the bread. I'll definitely make this again, but this time with 2 soup cans, and no orange zest--maybe some blackstrap for a stronger molasses flavor. Great way to get some whole grains into a very tasty bread!Read more
recipe Boston Brown Bread
TOM South Pasadena, CA 03-01-2009
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Can in recipe is too big or oven temp is too low - work in progress
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

I tried this as listed, and it never cooked through at the bottom- even after 95 minutes at 325 degrees F. What was cooked... (the top) was very tasty and worth a little experimenting and fine-tuning. Next time I will try slightly hotter oven or smaller can - probably hotter oven first. BTW, my oven is accurate and I have an oven thermometer. Measuring molasses by weight is great. Solves all the messy problems of using measuring cups. I weigh it right into the final bowl. I know that goes against AB's mise en place - organization thing, but in this case it is much easier and more accurate to measure into the final mixing bowl. You only have one shot to do it right. You go over, you are bailing out molasses. Once I get this dialed in, It's this and the Once and Future Beans together! Yum.Read more