DISH RESEARCH · Dish
Boston brown bread
Also known as: Bread, boston brown, canned
New England molasses bread of rye, whole wheat and cornmeal steamed in a buttered mould.
About Boston brown bread
Boston Brown Bread is a New England steamed loaf traditionally made from equal measures of rye, graham-style whole wheat and cornmeal. This profile follows Fannie Farmer's plain 1896 formula rather than later fruit-and-nut versions.
Molasses gives the three-grain batter deep caramel sweetness and a dark malty character, with rye adding earthiness and buttermilk a gentle tang. Butter used on the mould enriches the outside and helps the finished loaf release cleanly.
The bread forms a compact cylindrical brown loaf with a moist, close and slightly springy crumb. It slices cleanly while warm or at room temperature and has the soft, dense character of a steamed bread rather than an oven-crusted loaf.
Allergens in this recipe
Contains: Rye (gluten), Wheat (gluten), Milk.
Other allergen details are unconfirmed.
Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.
Ingredients in Boston brown bread
Fannie Farmer's 1896 Boston Brown Bread.
- Rye flourEarthy grain structure
- Stone-ground whole-wheat flourGraham-style grain structure
- CornmealSweet granular grain body
- Baking sodaHistoric chemical leavening
- SaltFlavour balance
- MolassesDark sweetness and colour
- ButtermilkTangy liquid and leavening acid
- ButterMould coating and release
Ingredient details & uncertainties
Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.
- Rye flour:
- Stone-ground whole-wheat flour: . The selected source explicitly gives stone-ground whole wheat as the substitute when graham flour is unavailable
- Cornmeal:
- Baking soda:
- Salt:
- Molasses:
- Buttermilk:
- Butter:
Origins & food traditions
Tasting History reproduces Fannie Merritt Farmer's 1896 Boston formula and supplies the exact plain steamed version selected here, including rye, graham flour, cornmeal, molasses, buttermilk and a buttered mould. Yankee Magazine independently corroborates the classic three-grain, molasses-and-buttermilk structure and its covered steamed preparation.
Countries
- United States
Cuisines & regions
- New England Cuisine
- American Cuisine