Canned bread may sound like a very strange novelty food, but it's actually a long-standing Boston favorite. The history of this New England special dates all the way back to the Pilgrims who had to adjust the way they made bread because of wheat shortages. They would replace a third of the wheat flour with rye and another third with cornmeal. The result was a sweet, sticky, dark bread that was often steamed to enhance all of those characteristics.
This recipe was embraced by Boston bakers, who made another important
improvement to it during the early 19th century, when cans became more
widespread. They reused coffee cans to prepare this steamed cylindrical
bread and served it with baked beans and sausages.
Ingredients for Bread:
Molasses - 2/3 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp.
Buttermilk - 1 cup
Cornmeal - 1/4 cup
Rye flour - 1 cup (or whole wheat)
Baking soda - 3/4 tsp.
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Method of preparing the Bread:
Grease three 14-oz cans and place a round piece of parchment in each
of them.
Whisk all ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.
Now, divide the batter between the cans.
Use a foil over the top of
each can and secure them with a string.
Place the cans in a pot and fill
them with hot water to halfway up sides of cans.
Cover the pot with a lid and bring to simmer over medium high heat.
Now, reduce heat to low and gently simmer for about 35 minutes until the
breads are set and are slightly pulling away from sides of the cans.
Remove the cans from the pot and set them on a cooling rack.
Remove
the foil and allow the bread to cool in the can.
Gently run a knife
along the inside of the cans to loosen the bread.
Now turn the can
upside down to remove the bread. Serve with cream cheese