Bahstun Brown Bread

If you’re from New England, you know about the B&M company, not to be confused with the huge British food conglomerate. A lot of folks, even locals, think that B&M is a Massachusetts based enterprise, but it ain’t so. Way back in 1867, George Burnham, started a canning business, was then joined by Charles Morrill, and Burnham & Morrill was born. B&M has been a fixture in Portland, Maine at One Bean Pot Circle, ever since. Their rightfully famous beans are still slow cooked in brick ovens, and their brown bread is the one, as far as I’m concerned. Their cans are filled with batter and the bread is baked in the cans, and that’s just how you do it.

If you’ve never tried it, do. Served with ham, baked beans, and cole slaw, you got your traditional Saturday Night Suppah.

 

8 1/2 ounces Buttermilk

6 ounces dark Molasses, (by weight)

2 1/2 Ounces Whole Wheat Flour

2 1/2 Ounces Rye Flour

2 1/2 ounces Yellow Corn Meal

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

2″ fresh Vanilla Bean, (or 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Allspice

1/2 teaspoon Orange Zest

1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

2 empty 26 ounce metal cans with one end of each cut off.

Move a rack to the bottom third of the oven and heat the oven to 325° F.

Choose an oven safe pot or dish deep enough so that you can fill it with water to about halfway up the sides of the cans. Boil enough water on the stove top to fill that pot or dish. 

Lightly coat the insides of the cans with vegetable oil.  

In a mixing bowl, combine wheat flour, rye flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, and salt. 

Add the molasses, buttermilk, vanilla and zest to the dry ingredients and thoroughly combine.  

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cans. Cover the top of each can with a double thickness of aluminum foil and tie securely with kitchen string. Place the cans in your deep pan and slide that into the preheated oven.

 

Carefully fill the pan with boiling water to about halfway up the sides of the cans.

Bake for 70 to 75 minutes. At seventy minutes, remove the foil tops. When the edges of the bread begin to pull away from the sides of the cans, you’re there. 

 

Remove the cans from the oven, place on a wire rack to cool for 1 hour before sliding the bread out of the cans. If the bread is a bit sticky, a thin bladed knife run around the can will free it up.

 

Don’t forget to have plenty of fresh, local butter on hand…