b&m brown bread in a can...

[srsone]

i remember eating it with my dad when i was a kid...

and i occasionally eat it now as an adult but all i ever remember doing with it is heating in the oven and then slathering it in butter...

are there any other good ways to eat/use it?

[travelerjjm]

Wow. Great memories of breakfasts past. Now I have to get or make some. I made it years ago a few times -- not difficult, really. We always cut off a thing slice, toasted it and put butter on. Yummy!

[dfrostnh]

Has anyone made any brown bread recently? I tried two recipes from a community cook book. Fortunately, I had some clean coffee cans in the attic so I washed 4 for bread making. The big pot could hold 4 cans. The family preferred the bread without raisins. One recipe used cornmeal, rye and graham flour. There always seems to be three different flours used. I was surprised that the bread slipped out from the coffee cans so I didn't have to open the other end to push the bread out and ruin the can.

The bread freezes well. My husband likes it buttered and grilled in a fry pan. It's good that way but if I need a quick treat, I like it slathered with peanut butter.

[Bacardi1]

Thanks for the blast from the past. I haven't seen this in DECADES, never mind years. In fact, my mom used to buy the Pepperidge Farm brand of it, but they discontinued that decades ago as far as I know.

Pepperidge Farm used to do a line of gourmet soups & a few other items in cans that had the most wonderful labels - black-line watercolor drawings of the New England waterfront, etc. It was almost worth the money to buy the product just for the labels.

[thesandwichlife]

We always had this on Saturday nights when we visited our grandparents in Maine. My grandpa was in charge of Saturday dinners....we had scrambled eggs and bacon and then he would fry the brown bread in the bacon fat....OMG it was heaven!

[wallyz]

My grandfather used to toast it, then float it in warmed milk for breakfast.
He put his dregs down for the cat.

[Scrapironchef]

My Bostonian parents used to serve this with franks and beans to us as kids, sliced and steamed with a little butter spread on it. All in all a tasty side dish we liked.

[Ritcheyd]

OK, guys, I think we're talking about 2 different things here.There is the B&M brown bread you buy already cooked in a can, which is what I was refering to . I think some of the posters are speaking of the kind you make from scratch and pour into an empty can and then cook it by steaming it in the can. I don't know if there is a big difference in the taste though.

[Will Owen]

Since this is one of those very rare factory foods whose ingredients are almost exactly what the original recipe dictates, I'd be surprised if there were any noticeable difference at all. But it's pretty obvious that the OP is speaking of the venerable canned B&M Boston brown bread. For the record, ours was served to us cold - Mom or Grandma cut both ends off the can and pushed the bread through, slicing more or less exactly 1/4" against the can lip at a time. If I were making this myself, I'd use one of my tin pudding molds and steam it in that.

[srsone]

yes i am referring to the one u buy already in a can....
thats what it says in my post..
and what i am asking about...
and yes we always cut both ends and took it out of the can..then either ate it cold,toasted or wrapped it in foil then baked it in the oven...

the thread has gotten a little away from my question..yes

i am asking how anybody or anyone ate it or eats it (the one from b&m in the can)...not how to make it at home...

[ola]

I only had it once as a kid. My mom forgot to punch holes in the can and blew the door off of the oven!

[srsone]

i dont think u are supposed to cook it in the can.....

[escondido123]

No, you can cook it in the can, with holes in it, so it gets steamed.

[rjbh20]

In the few times i encountered this stuff as a kid, i thought is was revolting and haven't had any desire to revisit the subject since. Of course, I have the same view of B&M baked beans, so i'm probably just genetically averse to traditional Yankee fare.

[srsone]

so then how does this answer the question in my post?

[mrbigshotno.1]

I really like it 3 or 4 times a year during the winter, use the large baked bean cans and I use golden raisins, seal up and freeze the un used flours for later. This is the best recipe and I've tried a bunch of them!

http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/stbrnb...

[Ritcheyd]

No, people. I didn't eat 2 or 3 slices at the same sitting. I ate maybe 3 slices over a week. I had one slice and didn't like it but I didn't want to just through it away. So I tried to eat at least some of it so it wouldn't be a total waste. (I really hate to waste food but it was just too strong.)

Yes, it probably was the molasses and rye. I was expecting more of a date bread kind of thing as escondido123 mentioned.

[scunge]

Have they added the refined corn syrup to it yet?

[bushwickgirl]

Surprisely no, just molasses, whole wheat, degermed cornmeal and rye flours, buttermilk, whey, dextrose, baking soda, salt, corn oil. Oh, and raisins for that variety. It is an acquired taste:

http://www.bgfoods.com/nutritional/im...

[Ritcheyd]

I had seen the B&M brown bread can in supermarkets all my life but had never tried it. So at the age of 50, I thought I'd try it. I'm always game to try something new. After all, if they've been selling it all these years, it's probably pretty tasty... Frankly, it was so strong I couldn't eat more than 2 or 3 slices and threw the rest away. I tried it plain and then tried toasting it with butter but it was still pretty bad. Is it supposed to taste that strong? What am I missing?

[beanodc]

It is an acquired taste, I guess. We always steamed it in a double boiler and then spread it with butter. It was served on Sat nt with baked beans and either steak, hamburgers or hot dogs. Or on Fri. nt with fish cakes. Canadians have their poutine and New Yorkers have so many traditional foods. But to address your statement " I couldn't eat more than 2 or 3 slices". I don't think I ever ate more than that at a sitting.

[paulj]

Strong, as in molasses and rye? yes Maybe that's why it goes well with baked beans.

[smtucker]

Brown bread is a very strong flavor, a bread made with lots of unprocessed grains. It is very filling, in fact, that was its job back in the day.

Even my brother, with the fastest metabolism I have personally known, couldn't manage more than two slices in one meal.

Sorry you didn't enjoy brown bread. Perhaps it is one of those things you have to grow up with.

[escondido123]

My favorite was two slices with cream cheese in between. That creaminess cut the heartiness and turned it into an almost date bread concoction. Or at least that's how I remember it going back many decades. It was a real treat!

[rboijon]

Over 50 years ago my dad taught me to mix chopped black olives into cream cheese and then spread the mix between two slices of brown bread. Today I use whipped cream cheese because its easier and quicker to stir in the olives and I can store the leftover mix in the cream cheese tub. By cutting both ends off the can, you can use the bottom lid to push the bread through the can and use the top lip to cleanly slice pieces of bread to the desired thickness.

[srsone]

i usually only eat 1 or 2 slices at a time also
i just remember always having it when i was a kid..so i guess it is an acquired taste

[Will Owen]

I had it as a kid, as did my little sister and littler brother, so I guess we acquired that taste right away. Had two thin slices each, straight from the can, spread with cream cheese, and then maybe a bowl of soup (something clear, like chicken noodle) and the obligatory glass of milk. It's never tasted "strong" to me, more like a more austere form of fruitcake, which was my very favorite thing to eat. And we were used to the taste of molasses, too.

[Will Owen]

Reading about those liking it toasted just reminded me that ours was put into the fridge midmorning to chill it a bit for lunch. I guess Mom or Grandma thought it was easier to cut that way.

Toasted would be nice, though. Or flat-grilled in butter …

[Gio]

That's one of the recipes I've bookmarked to make from February's COTM, The Essential New York Times Cookbook. Still made in a can, I'm using a 28 oz tinned Pastene tomatoes can. The recipe seems easy to accomplish with rye and whole wheat flours, cornmeal, molasses, buttermilk and raisins. I remember making Boston brown bread years ago. This time I'll make the Boston baked beans from the same cookbook to go with the brown bread as part of a Super Bowl menu.

[bushwickgirl]

Yup, me too, except on Saturday nights in New England, hot dogs, baked beans and coleslaw. The bread is good for any savory topping, tuna or salmon salad, grilled ham and cheddar sandwiches, or just peanut butter and jelly.

I haven't seen canned B & M Brown Bread in years. It's apparently not popular where I now live. Guess I need to follow Gio's lead and make my own.

[blue room]

Always spread with cream cheese. They still make it--still in a can--still the same?

[srsone]

they have it at publix here in florida

[Infomaniac]

Serve with baked beans qnd hot dogs.

[smtucker]

Sunday night supper for us during much of my childhood. Leftover bread was toasted and served during breakfast the next day.

[Shann]

That's the way we always did it!

[srsone]

thats usually what i remember having it with...

and if we didnt slice and toast it..we wrapped it in tin foil and baked it in the oven...

but thats all i ever remember doing with it.....