• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • New Magazine!
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Whole Wheat Molasses Bread

January 7, 2011 by Joy the Baker 213 Comments

IMG_4606

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.

IMG_4557

IMG_4581

I tell you about my large forehead because it has everything to do with this loaf of bread.

IMG_4569

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.

IMG_4585

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.

IMG_4589

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

Print this Recipe!

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.

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Buttermilk, Healthy, Recipes, Savory, Snacks

Previous Post: « Kale Spinach and Pear Smoothie
Next Post: Tuna Pasta Salad with Spinach and Radishes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Zoey

    January 7, 2016 at 11:10 pm

    Hi
    if i don’t have cornmeal, what would you suggest me to replace?
    thank you!

    Reply
  2. Tessa

    January 19, 2014 at 4:17 pm

    What a wonderful recipe. The taste reminds me of a spiced cake I buy at the store sometimes. Am making this for the third time right now. The first time my bf said it smelled like fish, I think he meant there was too much baking soda in it.. Not a taste we are accustomed with, in the Netherlands, we mostly use baking powder. The second time I tried it with baking powder, which gave a whole different much denser result. So now I made it again, really paying attention as to not overdo it on the baking soda. I used treacle instead of molasses (which isn’t common here), which is less acidic. So I added a teaspoon lemon juice. And it worked! It’s delicious!

    Reply
  3. Ana

    January 7, 2014 at 11:42 pm

    Thank you so so much for this recipe. I just love this bread. I made it with Greek yogurt (don’t know if that really changes anything in comparison with normal yogurt) and sprinkled on some milk after combining all of the ingredients as it seemed a touch dry. This is incredibly easy and simple to make for such a fantastic product. It’s great warm with a slick of butter or, my favorite, as a vehicle for a peanut butter sandwich. The bread is hearty and wholesome-tasting with just the right level of moisture. I can’t rave about it enough:)

    Reply
  4. shirley

    June 17, 2013 at 5:37 pm

    I love this recipe but have family that need gluten-free. Can you tell me how to adapt the recipe for gluten free. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Paola Parsons

      June 24, 2013 at 12:27 pm

      I haven’t made a gluten-free version of this recipe so I really couldn’t give you advice, except for maybe replacing any flour with a gluten-free one like Cup4Cup, but I really don’t know how it will affect the taste or structure of the final bread. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful!

      Reply
  5. Preston - home cook

    December 10, 2012 at 4:19 am

    Hey recipe looks delicious! How would I go about constructing this without using any dairy? I’m thinking of using all water and baking powder instead! Possibly turning this into a yeast-type bread? Am I going too far? Got any ideas? Thanks ladies :D

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      April 3, 2013 at 3:32 pm

      The buttermilk or yogurt is an essential acid in this recipe, I don’t think it would be the same at all with all water.

      Reply
  6. Lisa V

    October 24, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    I made this a few days ago and do far have paired it with sweet potato soup and chili. Oh my! It was incredible. I used a coarse cornmeal, which added just a little texture. I will be making this recipe again and again!

    Reply
  7. Caterina

    June 3, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    I whipped this up in about 5 minutes and OMG – so delicious_ sweet, dense and just scrumptious. Had to try it with both salted butter and Nutella – both sooo good – thanks Joy :)

    Reply
« Older Comments
Comments Page 13 of 13
« Previous 1 … 11 12 13

Trackbacks

  1. Our Year in Food | the dirigible plum says:
    December 19, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    […] Whole Wheat Molasses Bread […]

    Reply
  2. Prescription for a Busy Week | Three Meals and a Cookie says:
    October 17, 2014 at 7:55 am

    […] out on a responsibility and bake bread (we made both of these in my bread class; next week, french […]

    Reply
  3. The Gift of Food | Three Meals and a Cookie says:
    October 3, 2014 at 7:31 am

    […] Whole wheat molasses bread […]

    Reply
  4. Banoffee Pie and “Finding yourself in New Zealand” | Mille + Henri Espresso says:
    September 11, 2013 at 4:54 pm

    […] and molasses bread (great with the macadamia butter) for breakfast (added Turkish raisins and chia […]

    Reply
  5. Recipe: Whole Wheat Molasses Bread | Wherever I am, you are there also says:
    July 11, 2013 at 10:08 am

    […] a Joy the Baker recipe that has worked out pretty much perfectly for me. I’m talking about this one, for whole wheat molasses bread. I love that it requires only six ingredients and is relatively […]

    Reply
  6. Whole Wheat Molassas Bread « Erin's DC Kitchen says:
    February 14, 2013 at 7:30 am

    […] original recipe suggests serving with butter, cream cheese or […]

    Reply
  7. Whole Wheat Honey Molasses Bread - dulcedelicious.com | dulcedelicious.com | dulcedelicious.com says:
    May 14, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    […] Adapted from Joy The Baker […]

    Reply
  8. Molasses Bread « Social Kitchen says:
    April 19, 2012 at 7:07 am

    […] Molasses Bread (recipe from Joy the Baker) […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Bread

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate
How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Micro batch baking – the invitation is to get all the way into it with me!  This is all very Kristin Wiig  making herself a single, sad cupcake in the movie Bridesmaids, save for the fact that there is absolutely zero sadness in me eating a single cinnamon roll over the kitchen sink in my…

Read More

Pile of baked croissants on rack just like starbucks ham and cheese croissant recipe.
Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants

I’ve got 30 solid minutes of your weekend planned out for you.  You’re going to be standing in the kitchen, but I promise it won’t be long. Pour a cup of coffee – that’ll help with everything.  Within your 30 minutes you’re going to pull bakery-quality ham and cheese croissants out of the oven.  I’m…

Read More

Hot cross buns frosted.
Easter Hot Cross Biscuits

Where do you land when it comes to Easter brunch?  Are you a ham, roasted lamb, and scalloped potato family?  Are you more of a quiche salad and biscuit clan?  Do you skip directly to the jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs?  I’m nodding my head yes – there’s no wrong way to do it. …

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Berry crostata topped with whipped cream with coffee.

A Single Serve Berry Crostata Recipe

fresh baked blueberry cobbler on a plate with vanilla ice cream on top.

The Secrets To My Favorite Blueberry Cobbler

POPULAR CAKES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Slice of coconut cake on small white plate with coffee.

My favorite Coconut Cake is actually made with cake mix

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolu My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolute favorite. Get into a box of white cake mix and fresh 🍓🍓 purée! Topped with a thick layer of strawberry cream cheese frosting - this cake is a little pink dream! ⁣
⁣
The Easiest Strawberry Sheet Cake recipe linked in the bio for you! 💋
Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite list of the summer on Joy the Baker this year: The Best Books for Summer 2022!  As a person who reads Beach Reads all year long, this is IT! With titles by @ashleymcoleman_ @anarasong @annleary @bonnie_garmus_author @heyashposton @annabelmonaghan @greerhendricks @sarahpekkanen @shelbyvanpeltwrites @marilynsimonrothstein @@misterosman and @kirstin.chen. The guide to your bookworm summer linked in the bio!
Over here testing the limits of “you are what yo Over here testing the limits of “you are what you eat” and will soon be taking my final form as a summer tomato. ⁣🫠🍅
⁣
This Mediterranean Feta and Fresh Tomato Tart is an absolute show stopper with a buttery crisp, press-in crust, whipped feta, and layers of fresh tomato, cucumber, onions, and olives. I’ll leave the recipe linked in the bio - it’s really very special. Join me. We are 🍅🍅.
Here are my two best kept secrets for getting thro Here are my two best kept secrets for getting through this summer.  I’ve never been much for secrets so I’m letting you right in! ⁣
1.	I’m committed to folding crumbled chewy brownies into the easiest homemade no-churn ice cream.⁣
2.	I’m shopping for all of my baking and summer entertaining essentials, wine and cheese at the new @aldiusa stores opening across the Gulf Coast! Wait… you’re as obsessed with ALDI as I am, right? The shopping is always easy and affordable and I always come home with a fun treat among my essentials. Hit up my stories to see my grocery haul (and the chips I ate in the car on the way home) and head to your nearest ALDI for your summer essentials!  #ad⁣
⁣
I’ll leave the recipe and your #ALDILove grocery list linked in the bio!
Let’s just make one! ⁣ ⁣ One Single Berry Cr Let’s just make one! ⁣
⁣
One Single Berry Crostata just you for. Double the recipe (🔗 in the bio) only if you want to share. ⁣
⁣
#joythebaker #berry #crostata #smallbatch #dessert #foodblogfeed
The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from h The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from here on out, and that’s a promise. ⁣
⁣
Find this Milk and Cereal Ice Cream Bar and loads of other semi-homemade ice cream treats linked in the bio! 💓🍦🫠
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up