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You asked for it

Take your pick of recipes for Boston brown bread

By ELLEN FOLKMAN
Published February 16, 2005

The response to Joanna Harrington's request for Boston brown bread was overwhelming. It is obviously a favorite of many readers, who sent in many variations. Some recipes included raisins and nuts; Gwen Diller uses dates. Her recipe came from her mother, who will be 100 this year. She has been making the bread for more than 55 years.

Some brown breads are steamed or baked in coffee or vegetable cans, but Irene Ulm prefers to use a loaf pan. Some cooks, like Kay Higgins, Mary Oechsli and Bill Henry, use a variety of flours plus cornmeal, while others, like Sheryl Clayton, Gizella Storey and Lynne Reilly, use white flour. Many made delicious serving suggestions.

Catherine Svedberg likes to toast a thin slice and top it with a thin slice of smoked salmon.

Some serve it with butter or cream cheese, but the most popular way to serve Boston brown bread is alongside Boston baked beans. E. Shipley graciously shares a recipe.

Just as interesting as the recipes are the stories of how some of you got them. Lynne Reilly's recipe came from a Mother's Day cookbook made by her daughter's third-grade class. Alice Workman's mother-in-law gave her the recipe more than 50 years ago, and Alice enjoys giving the bread as gifts during the holidays. Gerry Hoag's husband is from Boston and the bread is a favorite. Gerry likes it cold with cream cheese, while her husband likes it warm. That's a "New England thing," she says.

For: Joanna Harrington of Treasure Island.

From: Gwen Diller of Belleair Bluffs.

Recipe: Boston Brown Bread.

1/2 pound pitted dates, chopped

2 cups boiling water

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 pound butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

4 cups flour

Pinch of salt

Empty vegetable or soup cans, greased

Put chopped dates in large bowl. Pour in boiling water and baking soda. Stir. Add butter or margarine. When the butter is melted, add both sugars. Stir well. Beat eggs and add to date mixture. Stir in flour and pinch of salt. Beat with mixer. Fill greased cans half full and bake in a 350-degree oven on a cookie sheet for 1 hour.

For: Joanna Harrington of Treasure Island.

From: Irene Ulm of Pinellas Park.

Recipe: Brown Bread.

1 cup boiling water

1 cup raisins

3 tablespoons butter

11/2 teaspoons baking soda

13/4 cup flour

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

6 tablespoons light molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 to 1 chopped nuts, optional

Pour boiling water over raisins, butter and baking soda; let stand until cool. Add remaining ingredients and mix well by hand. Pour into greased 9- by 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done.

Yield: 1 loaf.

For: Joanna Harrington of Treasure Island.

From: Bill Henry, Kay Higgins, Mary Oechsli, all of Largo, Gerry Hoag of Palm Harbor, Betty Reynolds of New Port Richey and many others.

Recipe: Boston Brown Bread.

2 cups buttermilk

3/4 cup dark molasses

1 cup raisins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup rye flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend buttermilk and molasses in bowl. Stir in raisins. Combine all dry ingredients in separate bowl. Stir into buttermilk mixture. Divide batter into 4 16-ounce cans or 3 20-ounce cans that have been greased. Cover lightly with foil. Place on rack in large Dutch oven. Add boiling water to 1 inch. Cover and simmer over low heat until done, 21/2 to 3 hours. Add more boiling water as needed. Remove from cans and cool on rack.

For: Joanna Harrington of Treasure Island.

From: Lynne Reilly of Trinity, Sheryl Clayton of St. Petersburg, Gizella Storey of Seminole, Joyce Williams of New Port Richey and many others.

Recipe: Brown Bread.

2 cups boiling water

1 cup raisins

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons margarine

2 eggs

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts

3 empty 1-pound coffee cans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine boiling water, raisins and baking soda. Let cool. In separate bowl, beat sugar, margarine and eggs. Add flour, salt and nuts. (Add some water from the soaking raisins if it is hard to stir.) Incorporate wet mixture into dry. Grease coffee cans. Fill about 3/4 full with the batter. Bake 1 hour. Put cookie sheet under cans to catch overflow. Serve with butter or cream cheese. Freezes well.

For: Joanna Harrington of Treasure Island.

From: E. Shipley of Homosassa.

Recipe: Boston Baked Beans.

16 ounces dry navy beans

2 quarts cold water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup molasses

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

4 ounces salt pork

1 medium onion, chopped

Rinse beans; add to water in saucepan. Bring to boiling and simmer 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover; let stand 1 hour. (Or add beans to cold water and soak overnight.) Add salt to beans and water; cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain, reserving liquid. Measure 2 cups liquid, adding water if needed; mix with molasses, brown sugar and mustard. Cut salt pork in half; score one half. Grind or thinly slice remainder. In 2-quart bean pot or casserole, combine beans, onion and ground salt pork. Pour molasses mixture over. Top with scored pork. Cover; bake in 300-degree oven for 5 to 7 hours. Add more liquid if necessary.

Makes 8 servings.

Gretel Sloan's German mother used to make a cake with a creamy poppy seed filling. Her mother passed away and she never wrote down her recipes. Gretel hopes someone has a recipe like it to share.

We're looking for favorite recipes from our readers. If you have one to share, please send it with a few lines on where it came from and why it's special. We'll publish them in future columns as space permits.

You Asked for It is a reader mail column. Send recipe requests to You Asked for It, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to youaskedforit@knology.net Please put "Recipe request" in the subject line. Recipes will be received by mail only. Be sure to include your full name, city and phone number. Letters without this information will be discarded. Requests cannot be answered by phone or mail.

[Last modified February 15, 2005, 11:48:33]