It is no coincidence that the method used to bake this bread, steaming, is similar to one used by the native Indians of New England, who taught us how to use corn as a grain for bread. The most famous of our region's breads, this wholesome blend of wheat, rye, and corn flours is suitable for our diets today as it was 300 years ago.
Ingredients
Makes 1 loaf
Preparation
Step 1
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Step 2
2. Generously grease a 1-quart pudding mold or 1-pound coffee can. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the molasses and milk. Fold in the currants.
Step 3
3. Fill the mold or coffee can with batter. It should come up about two-thirds of the way. Cover the top with foil and tie securely with a string to make it airtight.
Step 4
4. Place in a deep baking pan and fill the pan with boiling water, to come halfway up the side of the mold.
Step 5
5. Place in the preheated oven and allow to steam for 2 hours, checking the water level after 1 hour. Add more boiling water if needed. Check by sticking a skewer into the bread; it will come out clean when done. Remove string and foil and allow to cool for 1 hour before unmolding.
Leave a Review
Reviews (35)
Back to TopThere seems to be some confusion between weight and volume, which is the trouble with "ounces," which can mean either. The recipe suggests a 1-quart pudding mold, so if your coffee can will hold 1 quart (4 cups), you're good. And don't worry about using coffee cans; they're made out of steel, not aluminum and are not plastic-lined.
speacock231309
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
12/18/2020
I finally got back to making steamed bread. It's been so long that I had not realized that today's coffee cans have a lip around the top rim, so you can't get the bread out. Fortunately, I had a couple of older cans without the lip that I could use.
jazz42
Brooklyn, Y
10/25/2017
I used medium ground cornmeal and I did not care for the texture of the bread. If I make it again I will use fine ground cornmeal. Taste ok, but not as I remember my Mom's bread. Will have to try more recipes. The other reviewers spent too much text on what kind of tin can to use.... really?
lisasuer
Maryland
4/9/2016
I'd say use a a glass jar, a wide mouthed ball canning jar, the type for pickles in order to avoid the nasty stuff found in cans these days....even if you found a can without bpas or polyphenols or whatever, aluminum itself isn't any good for us.
tightbelt
Portland, Maine
1/28/2016
I have not seen a small/medium coffee can in years but another web site mentioned that the can was 6 inches tall by 4 inches across. This is the exact size of a 48 oz tomato juice can. In addition, I use the stove top method and make 2 at a time in a covered pasta pot (using the strainer insert to keep the bottom of the cans off of the bottom of the pasta pot). Keep the water just boiling and add more water if needed at around 1 1/2 hrs and cook for a total of 3 hours or until done. I have added these comments because many people seem to have trouble in locating suitable cans/pans. The finished loaves come out 4 x 4 1/2 inches with a really nice texture and density.
stevecc
Victoria BC, Canada
1/18/2016
This recipe works wonderfully. My crew loves it especially with Boston baked beans. Has anyone tried the tins for pirouette cookie tin? It's a 13oz can. I use them and they come with a lid!!
Anonymous
Westerly R.I.
1/5/2016
Others have concerns about using the recommended coffee can, but my pet peeve is that they're still recommended as one lb. molds at all. It's been decades since coffee came in one pound cans of any construction (they're usually about 13 oz.), and I don't understand why the chefs and others who write or adapt the recipes don't acknowledge this. I can only imagine how many beginning cooks who may not be aware of this will simply follow the instructions. The poor things will not only wind up with an unholy mess, but they'll also fail at the recipe, and possibly lose their cooking confidence. A lot of pressure to lay on a coffee can!
leighsb
East Texas
11/24/2015
I'm another nostalgic ex-Bostonian who grew up eating the canned version of this slathered with butter almost once a week in the winter-time. Yum! This is a great, versatile version. As an historical aside: Jasper White associates the steaming of this bread with Native American techniques; I believe the technique is a direct descendant of English steamed puddings with local ingredients (such as molasses) substituted in. (Indian pudding, for instance, is based on the English hasty pudding with cornmeal substituting for wheat, oat, etc. of the original).
NurseRooke
No longer Boston
1/31/2015
I use a medium sized baby fornula can with a plastic lid, got it from my granddaughter-in-law,aqlso, i use my 2-qt slow cooker. workes perfectly.takes anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 houra.
sageypoo30
Ohio
2/9/2012
I'm not from Boston or the NE. I'm from Georgia, originally. We ate the canned stuff and my mom made it from scratch. I liked both. She mixed cream cheese with drained crushed pineapple and gave it to us for lunch when we were children. This recipe here is very flexible with regard to the flours and the dried fruit. Use whatever your family prefers in both. My mom developed Celiac disease as she grew older. She still made the bread with non-gluten flours. Loved reading that someone else had figured that out! Kudos to you. This bread is the bomb!
chantspire
11/27/2011
I just bought 4 ea, 1.25 quart stainless steel "bain maries" plus covers from a local restaurant supply for $3 each. In the past, I've used coffee cans, but they're now hard to find and, since they tend to rust, I only got 1 use from them. I think the Bain Maries will work great. The stainless is non-magnetic and should be re-usable forever.
cfowen
11/3/2011
terrific recipe, I can't believe nobody has mentioned swapping out the milk for dark beer! I use guinness or newcastle nut brown.
DVGofAZ
9/16/2011
I've tried many variations hoping to recreate my mother's brown bread. This is pretty close and good on it's own. I too found that there are few coffee cans out there that are "cans". So I used a large can of pork and beans, it's the same circumference as a coffee can just a bit taller...which doesn't seem to bother the baking/steaming process. Great with cream cheese
Razzosmom
6/25/2011
You can use a glass Pyrex 2L (or appropriate size) beaker, the kind the chemists use. Problem is, they are on the expensive side - about $25 with shipping online. But I did call Corning and its oven use was good to go. I double the recipe and use 1 c rye flour, 1 c corn meal, and 1 c graham flour. IT IS DELICIOUS. FIVE STARS!
CLRogers
Upton, MA
6/20/2011
I usually don't "review" items if I haven't made them, but I'm coming on here to ask a question, which perhaps a subsequent reviewer can address. First of all - I grew up in Maine, just up the road from the B&M factory in Portland, and we regularly ate B&M's canned brown bread. I'm back in Maine now, but have lived all over New England as well as in Atlantic Canada, and I've rarely had trouble finding the canned stuff. I'm surprised it was not to be found in the store in Newburyport. We had it in our local Wal-Mart in New Hampshire! I love the canned stuff, but I've been wanting to compare it to homemade (although for most of us in NE, the canned stuff is "authentic.") I have serious reservations about using a coffee can, though, as tin cans are not what they used to be. Many, maybe most cans are now lined with BPA, which can leach into the foods, but my main concern rests with cooking in such a can - I imagine there would be more of a threat there. Some other cans are aluminum and lined with a polymer - also unsafe if heated at high temps. Does anyone have a brand of coffee which has an unlined can? Is it possible to find a plain tin (or steel lined with tin) can these days?
NEChef
Maine
6/15/2011