Macy's Brown Bread
Submitted by macy on January 09, 2005 at 6:48 pm

DESCRIPTION
Macy's Brown Bread

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Muffins Quickbreads Scones

INSTRUCTIONS
This brown bread variation is the result of my quest to find a recipe that looks and tastes like B&M Brown Bread. My previous attempts had been pale loaves that tasted rather like I imagine steamed cattle feed might taste. Most of the recipes I came across or that were shared with me (in a thread called 'Boston Brown Bread' 10/7/01) were all basically the same recipe with only the total amount of batter being different, but the same proportions of all the ingredients. The only real variation is white flour being subbed for either the rye or the whole wheat.

In a moment of inspiration (and frustration at not being able to find rye flour in less than 5-lb bags), I thought about the rye crispbread crackers I like to keep on hand. They are made from only whole grain rye and salt. Why couldn't I grind these up and use them for the rye flour? The bonus is that they already have a toasted flavor rather than raw. I gave it a try and the crackers made a noticeable improvement in the flavor and color of the bread. I was wanting something a little sweeter though. I had been using whole wheat graham flour, and wondered what if I used ground graham crackers instead of flour? (I had seen this in a similar bread recipe.) It had worked well for the rye, so I repeated the basic recipe, substituting crackers for both flours. I left out the salt because there is enough in the crackers. I crushed the crackers in my hands, ground them in the food processor, and then again in the blender to get them as fine as possible. The result was perfect little tubular loaves that had a deep, rich brown color and just the right texture--this is the bread I was after.

Another thing I've tried instead of graham crackers to get rid of the raw taste is to toast the whole wheat flour in the oven. Toast 1 cup slowly at 300-325F (a round cake or pie pan works well), stirring every 10 minutes or so, until it loses the raw smell and starts to deepen in color. That does the trick too and results in a less sweet bread that is probably more traditional. One cup of whole wheat flour loses about 1/2 ounce during toasting, but I haven't really found it necessary to add water to the recipe to compensate for that or the crackers.

I used the instructions from my old Betty Crocker Cookbook (steamed 3 hours in 4 14.5-oz cans), but have included the instructions from Rabbott's and PJ's as well. As you can tell, this bread isn't too fussy about how to cook it. Whatever size pan/mold you choose, the universal instruction seems to be to fill it 2/3 full.

1 cup ground, whole-rye crispbread crackers (my favorite is Ryvita Dark Rye, 11-12 sheets)
1 cup ground graham crackers (about 15 squares) or toasted whole wheat flour (see above)
1 cup whole grain, stone-ground cornmeal or corn flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup mild molasses
1 cup raisins or currants, if desired

Grease four 1-pound cans or one 7-inch tube mold. Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl. Beat 1/2 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Fill cans or mold 2/3 full; cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Place rack in dutch oven and pour boiling water into pan up to level of rack. Place filled cans on rack. Cover Dutch oven. Keep water boiling over low heat to steam bread 3 hours or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (If it is necessary to add water during steaming, lift lid and quickly add boiling water.) Immediately remove from cans.

My favorite setup for steaming is my big stock-pot. A round cake cooling rack fits inside just perfectly and I can raise it up off the bottom by setting it on the outer ring of one of my spring-form pans (with the bottom removed). This will hold enough water under the cans that I don't have to add any for the whole 3 hours. If you don't have a pot tall enough to allow this, the cans can be half submerged. A boiling water bath canner will work too.

Rabbott (1/2 recipe):

Mix well. Grease a 1 or 1 1/2 quart mold or two smaller ones. Fill not more than 2/3 full. Put on the cover. Place on a rack in a deep kettle. Add boiling water to come halfway up around the mold. Cover. Set over the heat and steam 3 1/2 hours in a large mold, 1 1/2 to 2 hours in smaller ones. Keep the water boiling, and add more as needed to keep the water at the proper level.

Take the mold from the water, remove the cover and set in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes to dry out somewhat. Remove the bread from the mold.

PJH (3/4 recipe):

In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpernickel, cornmeal, whole wheat, baking soda, salt and currants. In a separate bowl, beat the buttermilk and molasses together till smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix till just combined; there's no need to beat the batter.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, and cover it with buttered aluminum foil, fastening the foil tight to the edges of the pan (so the bread will steam a bit), but ballooning it in the center, so the bread has room to expand without hitting the foil.

Bake the bread in a preheated 325F oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil (the middle may be slightly sunken; that's OK), and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Yield: 1 loaf, about 16 servings.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by rottiedogs.