Boston Brown Bread

By birth - Hungarian; By choice - American; By profession - Attorney By the grace of God - Happy wife, proud mother, & blissfully semi-retired

Although this bread can be baked in a mold specifically made for it, it is traditionally baked in old-fashioned metal cans. The original recipe is little more than ingredients, assuming, I suppose, that most cooks in the day knew the procedure for making this type of bread. The instructions in parentheses are what I've added for modern cooks.

Some modern recipes call for steaming the bread in the oven. This is a traditional stove-top recipe. Most modern recipes do not call for baking bread at end. This one does to dry it off.

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. rye flour

1 c. graham cracker flour

¾ tbsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (Optional)

¾ c. molasses

water

2 c. sour milk OR 1¾ c. milk

Grease molds well. Also grease the inside of the mold's top or the shiny side of the aluminum foil with which you'll cover the mold.

Mix together cornmeal, both flours, & baking soda. In separate bowl, mix together molasses & milk.

Thoroughly beat together both sets of ingredients.

Pour batter into mold(s), filling each ⅔ full. Cover with greased lid. (If using aluminum foil as cover, attach to mold with rubber bands.)

(Put crumpled aluminum foil or steaming stand in larger pot so that bottom of mold does not touch bottom of pot. Pot needs to have lid & be large enough that it can be covered with mold inside. Arrange mold(s) inside pot; then fill pot with enough boiling water that the water reaches about ⅔ of the way up the mold(s). Cover pot & return water to boiling. Lower to simmering point & steam bread for 3-hrs., (adding more water if necessary).

Remove mold(s) from pot & cover(s) from mold(s). Put molds in oven & bake just long enough to dry off bread. (No temperature or time is given. I would start at 325° F [preheated] for about 10-mins.).

SOURCE: "Cookery For Today" (1932 ed.)

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