Steamed Molasses Brown Bread with Raisin

Steamed brown bread is a New England tradition that goes back to colonial times, when home ovens were unreliable and steaming on the back of the wood stove was the workable alternative. Boston brown bread, the regional cousin to this loaf, is its most famous descendant, and you’ll often see it served alongside a pot of baked beans on Saturday nights across New England.

The ingredient list is humble but specific. Graham flour (a coarse whole-wheat) brings the dense, hearty texture. Yellow cornmeal adds a faint sandy bite. Molasses provides the deep mahogany color and bittersweet caramel flavor that defines the loaf. Don’t substitute light molasses for dark or blackstrap. The character disappears.

Three hours is genuinely how long this bread needs. The slow steam-cooking creates a uniquely moist, almost cake-like crumb that no oven-baked bread can replicate. Use tightly-fitting lids on the tins. Steam needs to circulate, but water dripping into the bread turns the top to mush.

The optional final oven trip is the home cook’s choice. Steamed bread comes out with a slightly tacky crust, so a few minutes in a hot oven dries it to something more conventionally crusted. Either way works.

Serve sliced thick with butter, cream cheese, or alongside a steaming bowl of Boston baked beans.

Pro Tips

• Use coffee cans or pudding molds with tight lids if you don’t have proper bread tins. Grease and flour generously.
• The water level in the steaming pot should reach halfway up the sides of the tins. Top up with boiling water as it evaporates.
• A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean when the bread is done. Don’t shortcut the time.
• Cool in the tins 10 minutes before unmolding. Hot steamed bread tears easily.

Variations

• Swap raisins for chopped dates or dried cranberries.
• Add a teaspoon of cinnamon or grated orange zest to the dry mix.
• Stir a tablespoon of toasted walnuts into the batter for nutty crunch.