Boston Brown Bread
2 cups (500 ml) buttermilk
3/4 cup (180 ml) dark molasses
3/4 cup (180 ml) seedless raisins
1 cup (250 ml) rye flour*
1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat or Graham flour*
1 cup (250 ml) yellow corn meal
3/4 tsp (4 ml) baking soda
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 Tbs (15 ml) butter, softened
* Available in finer supermarkets and most health food stores.
Beat the molasses and buttermilk vigorously together with a wooden spoon
in
a large bowl. Stir in the raisins. Combine the dry ingredients and mix
them
into the buttermilk mixture one cup at a time, stirring well after each
addition. Thoroughly wash and dry two empty 28 oz (794 g) tin cans and
coat
the insides with the butter, using a pastry brush. Divide the batter
evenly
between the cans. Cover each can loosely with a circle of buttered wax
paper and then with a circle of aluminum foil. The foil and waxed paper
should be puffed up, like a chef's hat. Tie the wax paper and foil in
place
with kitchen string. Place the cans in a large pot with enough boiling
water to come about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the cans. Return the
water to a boil, cover the pot tightly, and reduce the heat to low.
Steam
the bread for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Remove the wax paper and foil
immediately and turn the bread out of the cans if you plan to serve it
immediately. Or you can leave the bread in the cans with the foil and
paper
in place and steam it 10 to 15 minutes to reheat the loaves before
serving
at a later date. The cooked loaves, with the covers intact, can safely
be
kept in the refrigerator for a week to ten days. Makes two 5+1/2 by 3
inch
(16x8 cm) loaves.