Enjoy a wedge of this vegan brown bread spread with vegan butter for a quick snack, or dunk the bread into your favourite soup or stew to mop up the juices.Or toast a slice or two and serve with a scoop of baked beans. So tasty and perfect for cosy Autumn lunches or light dinners.
1 litre/ 1 quart pudding basin [or a 1.5 litre/quart sized] pudding basin] use a Pyrex glass pudding basin, or a ceramic pudding dish or plastic steamed pudding mould or similar
greaseproof paper [baking/parchment paper]
kitchen foil aluminium foil
sieve
Ingredients
Plant sour milk:
250millilitresplant milk[such as oat/soya or your usual milk]
170grammolasses[replace with black treacle if preferred]
100gramraisins[or sultanas]
1teaspoonsalt
Instructions
Prepare sour milk:
Add the apple cider vinegar to the 250ml/1 cup of plant milk. Stir well.
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 250 millilitres plant milk
Prepare sweet milk:
Add the brown sugar to the 125ml/½ cup of plant milk. Stir well.
1 teaspoon brown sugar, 125 mililitres plant milk
Prepare slow cooker and baking basin:
Switch the slow cooker to the high setting. Pour in 500ml/2 cups of water and place the lid over the cooker.
Rub the pudding basin with a generous amount of vegan margarine or oil as this will prevent the bread sticking.Cut a circle of greaseproof/baking paper the same circumference as the top of the pudding basin.
Prepare the bread:
Sieve the plain flour, rye flour and cornmeal into a mixing bowl. Tip in any bits of the flour that are too big to make it through the sieve.
Next add the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
Tip in the raisins and stir well.
100 gram raisins
Scoop in the molasses and pour in the sour and sweet plant milks.
170 gram molasses
Give it all a good mix.
Transfer the bread batter into the greased pudding basin. Level out the top.
Place the greaseproof paper circle over the top.
Rip a piece of kitchen foil large enough to provide some room for the bread to rise during steaming. Scrunch the kitchen foil tightly around the top of the pudding basin so that the steam can not get access into the pudding basin. The middle part of the pudding basin kitchen foil lid will be a little baggy.
Place the pudding basin into the slow cooker, and pour hot water into the slow cooker so that the water level sits about ¾ the way up the pudding basin.
Add the slow cooker lid and leave to steam for 8 hours.
The bread is ready when it is browned, firm and a skewer popped in the centre comes out clean.
Carefully remove the pudding basin from the slow cooker. Remove the kitchen foil and baking parchment.Once the pudding basin is cool enough to handle, place a plate or board over the pudding basin, flip the basin over and tap the bottom and sides firmly so that the bread slides out.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature and spread with vegan butter or margarine.Slices or wedges can be toasted. So tasty.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not an exact analysis as ingredients can vary.
Boston brown bread can be stored within a food/bread bag or wrapped in a layer of kitchen foil, and stored within a bread bin/container.
Brown bread will be at its best for the first 1-3 days.
Older slices can be refreshed within a warm oven for a few minutes, dry fried in a non-stick pan, or toasted.
Boston brown bread can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 3-4 months. Freezing individual slices makes it easier to pull out one or two slices when needed.