I had some pictures taken this week…. the kind of pictures where I had to pretend to be an actress with glossy lips and curled hair.
The kind of pictures where you have to look surprised and pleased and over the shoulder and don’t do that weird thing with your lips and open your eyes wider and tuck that crazy hair under the less crazy hairs and what the heck are you doing with your chin and please stop that…
Those kind of pictures.
Dumb.
Know what I learned? My forehead is huge.
When I was a kid my Dad made fun of me for having a huge forehead (thanks dad… it’s your fault anyway!), and I had assumed that I had grown into my large upper face region. I was wrong. Totally disproportionate. I’m reconsidering bangs. Please don’t tell my Dad…. the last thing I need is for that whole thing to start up again.
I tell you about my large forehead because it has everything to do with this loaf of bread.
Where my forehead is disproportionate to my face… this bread, with its six simple ingredients, is totally proportionate to… itself.
Wait.
See what I did there?
Forehead and bread.
Proportions are very important in a loaf as simple as this. The ratio of flour to liquid and leavening lends a distinct texture… in this case, darn near perfect.
This beautiful loaf is somewhere right between sweet and savory. There’s no sugar beyond the dark molasses. But lemme tell ya… just the molasses adds a really lovely and deep flavor.
Whole wheat flour and cornmeal lend to the savory aspects of the bread and give this loaf a great nuttiness and just a bit of crunch. I could totally see serving this bread with a hearty vegetarian soup for dinner or a cup of tea for breakfast. I spread my with Nutella. Duh… delicious. Then I spread it with cream cheese and my head just about exploded. Perfect.
Whole Wheat Molasses Bread
makes one 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf
recipe from the New York Times
1 2/3 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup molasses
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf pan. Non-stick baking spray works well too.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt and baking soda.
In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk or yogurt and molasses.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold to combine. The batter will be slightly thick, but not dry. Spoon batter into prepared pan and place in the oven. Bake loaf for 45 minutes to an hour. Depending on how evenly your oven bakes, you might want to rotate the loaf in the middle of baking. Be careful though. Don’t manhandle it too hard or it might deflate.
When a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, remove the loaf from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan. Run a butter knife along the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto a wire rack.
Loaf will keep, well wrapped at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Serve with cream cheese, jam, salted butter or nutella.
Rachel
I was expecting this to be good because I love molasses, but it was even more delicious than anticipated! Peanut butter tastes great on it, as does butter (of course). Must…buy…cream cheese.
Grits
Ok, so I pretty much only bake any form of bread (quick or yeast) when I know I will be sharing it as I never finish it. Ever since I had read this recipe, though, I wanted to try it. Made it on Tuesday and devoured most of it on my own. You’re going to be the death of my waistline, Joy, but I’ll love every minute :D
Jackie S.
I made this last night for my boyfriend and our roommate, along with split pea soup for dinner. They loved it! It’s a perfect, homey, quick bread to whip up anytime! My fellas even said we weren’t wasting any more money on store bought bread. :) Thanks so much!!
Rebecca
Hi Joy!
I just made this yesterday and I’m having a difficult time not devouring the entire loaf all by myself. I can’t handle the delicious.
Carol
Another great one I just tried. A happy treat on a Sunday morning just before church. Thanks for sharing!
Charlene
I’ve made this 3 or 4 times now. It is really good and perhaps better several days old (I keep mine in the fridge and warm slices as needed). Really good with honey butter. It reminds me of the bread served at The Outback. Just left a comment over at Three Many Cooks that it would be good used in Maggy’s Nanny’s Bread Pudding and thought I ought to come here to thank you for a great recipe. So thank you for a great recipe I’m sure I’ll be making for a long time!
Zaida
I made this last night and brought it into work today. First, it’s DELICIOUS!! It was set out with strawberry jam and 4 different flavors of cream cheese. I can’t wait to make again! Fantastic recipe. Thanks!
mary evans
this is great bread that i’ve been making since i saw it in the NYT. i tweaked it a bit by adding 1/4 cup of millet. gives a nice crunch and a nutty taste. love your blog!
Michelle
Oh my goodness, I made this and it was fantastico! Thank you so much for the recipe!!! I am probably going to make it again, tomorrow.:)
Sina
I never heard of molasses before and it took me VERY long to find a shop that sells it (or even knows what that is!), but eventually I came home last week with this can in my hands and, boy was I excited about how it would taste like. I tried and … understood why people use it as medicine.
I just made this bread, it’s in the oven right now. And I’m kind of worried because my batter was colored chocolate brown rather than your yellow-ish golden one. I just checked whether I maybe used too much molasses, but everything’s O.K. Oh my… I’m so excited now!