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Boston Brown Bread

A yeast‑leavened cornmeal and rye bread flavored with molasses and soda.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Ronald · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Molasses and rye work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 804 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Boston Brown Bread

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Scald one pint of yellow cornmeal with a small quantity of boiling water until thoroughly wet, then let stand ten minutes.

  2. Add enough cold water to make a soft batter.

  3. Add one quarter pint of brewer's yeast, one quarter pint of molasses, one pint of rye meal, one half teaspoonful of salt, and one saltspoonful of soda; beat well together and set to rise overnight.

Rise and bake

  1. When the mixture has risen, stir it thoroughly, put it into a buttered tin, sprinkle a little flour over the top, and set to rise again.

  2. Bake for about two hours.

  3. Cut into slices and toast.

Make the cornmeal drop bread

  1. Thoroughly scald a pint of cornmeal with hot water.

  2. Rub into it a dessertspoonful of butter, two eggs beaten very light, a wineglassful of cream or milk, and a little salt.

  3. Butter a tin pan, and drop the mixture from a spoon upon it.

  4. Bake in a moderate oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

774Calories
22 gProtein
13 gFat
139 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Rye1 slice (32g)83
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Molasses + ryetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together804 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Molasses + creamtop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,408 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Rye + creamtop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together150 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Rye + eggtop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together484 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Yellow cornmeal
Scalding softens the grain, giving the loaf its body and a moist, tender crumb.
Rye meal
Adds structure and a dense, hearty texture with a distinctive earthy flavor.
Brewer's yeast
Ferments the batter during the long rise, producing gas that lightens the loaf.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep brown color through browning during baking.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and add structure and richness to the drop bread.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the drop bread soft and tender.

The step that matters

Scald the cornmeal until thoroughly wet. Hot water gelatinizes the cornmeal starch and softens the grain, so the bread stays tender rather than gritty. Dry patches left unscalded will not soften during baking.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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