Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread
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Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread. A classic Newfoundland recipe that everyone's Mom or Nan made back in the day. It's often enjoyed at the Holidays and is a favourite for morning toast with gobs of melting butter.
Originally published on December 22, 2008.
In the last few remaining baking days leading up to Christmas, I like to make this incredibly popular Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread commonly referred to in this province as "Lassie Raisin Bread".
This is another of those iconic Newfoundland recipes that every native Newfoundlander's mother or grandmother used to make and hopefully still does.
This bread is fantastic warm, straight out of the oven and makes the absolute best toast ever!
Molasses raisin toast is a bit of a Christmas morning tradition in our house. I normally make several loaves for the freezer and a few extra loaves for a couple of lucky gift recipients.
If you've never done it before, be sure to hold back a little of the dough for "Lassie Raisin Toutons" which make a fantastic brunch addition too.
Fry them at a little lower heat than you do regular toutons though as the added sugar in this dough browns and burns more easily.
Measuring flour correctly.
It is easy to over measure flour for any recipe by as much as 30% or more as you can see in the photo below. Both are one cup of flour but one weighs much more. Read more on how to avoid this common baking pitfall in our post on How to Measure Flour Correctly.
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Newfoundland Molasses Raisin Bread
A classic Newfoundland recipe that everyone's Mom or Nan made back in the day. It's often enjoyed at the Holidays and is a favourite for morning toast with gobs of melting butter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 8 gram envelopes dry yeast (or 4 teaspoon total)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups all purpose flour, approximately
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm milk
- 1 cup molasses
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 2 beaten eggs
- 3 cups raisins
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir the sugar into the lukewarm water and then sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let stand without stirring for 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer that has a dough hook, stir together 3 cups of the flour along with the salt. When the yeast is ready, stir it add it to the flour and salt along with the butter, molasses, warm milk and beaten eggs.
- Using a wooden spoon or the regular paddle of your electric mixer, mix slowly for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth with no lumps. If using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook at this point and begin to slowly incorporate the remaining flour. You may need to use a little more or less flour than the recipe details to bring your dough to a proper consistency that is not too sticky. This is not unusual.
- If not using an electric mixer, keep mixing in the flour gradually until a soft dough forms that leaves the sides of the bowl.
- Add the raisins at this point and continue to knead until the raisins are evenly distributed in the dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a flour-dusted counter top or breadboard to knead. Knead the dough for an additional 5-10 minutes by hand.
Proofing the dough
- Place the dough in a large bowl cover the dough with a damp tea towel. Leave it to rest and rise for two hours. Punch the dough down and knead it for a few minutes by hand before letting it rest for another 10 minutes.
- Grease 4 medium loaf pans. 9 x 5 inches at the top or similar dimensions. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball. I use a kitchen scale for this purpose, taking the total weight of the dough and them dividing by 12.
- Place 3 balls of dough in each prepared loaf pan. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow the dough to rise until it is about 2 inches above the rim of the pan, about 2-3 hours depending on room temperature. Molasses bread generally takes quite a bit longer to rise/proof than white bread.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes depending on the size of the pans that you are using. The top and bottom crust should have good colour.
- When baked, turn the loaves out onto a wire rack to cool. Brush the tops with melted butter if desired to soften the top crust.
Notes
For those who are familiar with making your own bread, you should be aware that the rising time for this bread is generally quite a bit longer than other breads. The times quoted here are just guidelines and will vary considerably depending on room temperature. The most important rising is in the pans; just make sure that the dough rises at least a couple of inches above the bread pans before baking the bread.
Total time noted in the recipe does not include rising times. Allow severl hours in addition.
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Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Hi Barry, I tried this recipe and I did something wrong. It wouldn't rise for me! Waited forever. Any tips? Also would boiling or soaking the raisins beforehand be beneficial? Thank you!
Sounds like a yeast problem to me.This bread does take longer to rise but I have never had it fail. Did you use instant and add it to the flour directly? I never soak or boil the raisin.
This bread was incredible. I kneaded with my bread machine and let it rise overnight. I also used dried blueberries since I had no raisins. Soooo good. Soft and delicious. I will make again and try and sorts of variations!
Hi Barry, I stumbled across this recipe on the net and just wanted to say that I made my first loaf today and it is brilliant. It's summer here in New Zealand as I write this so proving was less of an issue. The flavour is intense, the texture reminiscence of sultana bread of my youth and the smell has radiated through the house in the most pleasant way. Thank you for sharing.
So good! Very moist, love the colour and texture!! I added a pile more raisins because I love lots!! Great recipe will definitely keep making !!
This was the first time I have made any kind of bread by hand. This recipe was so easy to follow and fool proof. Thank you so much for posting.
I made this bread yesterday and it is delicious. My nanny used to make molasses raisin bread and I have to say this is a very close second to hers. I substituted two cups of whole wheat flour with success. Thanks for the recipe. I will be making it often.
Just found your site today as I googled for a raisin bread recipe. As I write this the bread is rising in the pans. The dough felt wonderful and easy to work with. Can’t wait to sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy a slice. Many thanks and merry Christmas from Cape Breton.
Merry Christmas!
This bread is the best I ever had, thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!!! My only question, I used regular size loaf pans and mine had good colour and sounded hollow when tapping after 30 minutes. Did anyone else find this as well? I'm making it again, should I try leaving it a full 40 minutes this time? The bread was really, really good!
Really does depend on the pans, what they are made of and what size, plus the consistency of temperature in your oven. You'll find what's best for your equipment, I'm sure.
Thank you for this recipe.
I have a few questions/concerns--perhaps you can advise:
1. In my 1st attempt to make this bread I halved this recipe and baked 2 loaves in the lower third of the oven according to the time/temperature stated in the recipe. I thought the top crust was browned far too much as it appeared almost blackened in some areas. Certainly, when I toasted a slice, parts of the crust were burnt. Do you ever have the need to lightly "tent" your loaves with aluminum foil partly through baking to manage this problem?
2. In my 1st attempt to make this bread I did not check its internal temp after removing from the oven, There was a gummy, wet line in the bread running horizontally along the bottom edge of the loaf. What might cause this problem? Can you suggest an appropriate internal temp for these loaves using an instant read thermometer to ensure a fully baked loaf?
Because of th high sugar content these can brown quickly...and of course every oven is different. Tenting may well be an option in your oven. A gummy line usually means over proofed bread or bread that is not fully baked. I don't use a thermometer for bread, I'm afraid, so I can't offer advice there.
I have made this bread 5 or 6 times in the past two weeks: gifts for neighbours, family, and good practice for me!
Every oven is different, but I usually tent my loaves with a large piece of aluminum foil at the 20 or 25 minute mark to prevent over-browning the top crust. As the bake time approaches the 50-55 minute mark, I use an instant-read thermometer to check internal temp and remove loaves when I get a reading slightly below or above the 200 mark. I recommend to others that slices be toasted "very lightly" in order to avoid charring the top crust.
I do not make the full recipe. I scale it down to fit two 9" X 5" pans. I weigh the dough mass prior to dividing/shaping and I allow about 2 lb. 1 or 2 ounces (about 940 grams) of raw dough mass per loaf pan. This way it produces a nice sized loaf after the 2nd proofing and oven spring.
Delicious bread--it's a pleasure to share this with others.
Thank you Barry.
Thank you for the recipe! It goes together beautifully .. my only question is: Why split each loaf into 3 sections?? Can it be made as a single loaf??
It's just a traditional way of baking bread in Newfoundland. Some say it represents the Holy Trinity and is a way of asking a blessing that the bread will rise. You can of course bake it as a single long loaf. There are some folks who have a preference for the "love" slices where the sections meet. 🙂
Hi,
I made this bread a couple of days ago and it is amazingly good.
I bake most of our bread myself as I love the taste and smell of fresh bread.
I am Dutch ad in The Netherlands we eat a lot of raisin breab too.
I haven't lived in The Netherlands since 2001 and when I saw this recipe I needed to try it, Oh Boy I am so happy I did!
I had 3 loaves a couple of days ago and today only 1 is left haha. I froze 2 of them after they were completely cooled to keep them fresh but they won't last long.
Thank you so much for this incredibly tasty recipe <3
Hi Barry, you have great recipes!! I make breads of many different kinds including Raisin Molasses. However, I use cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice & cloves in mine. I'd happily share my recipe if you want to try it. I notice a few comments about difficulty with rising....having lived in mountainous terrain I know that yeast is affected by barometric pressure. If the pressure is low, don't make bread until the sun shines. Of course the Island would not be affected by that, I have a barometer to be sure.
I am originally from NL and really love and appreciate your great recipes.
Good day Barry,
When using a stand mixer and dough hook is it necessary to turn the dough out onto a flour-dusted counter top to knead the dough for an additional 5-10 minutes by hand or is using stand mixer and dough hook adaquate?
Thank you.
The hook should be adequate.
I have a carton of crosbys fancy mollasses and crosbys cooking mollasses. What one is best for bread? I always used the fancy, not sure what to do with the cooking stuff?
We use fancy molasses
@Connie Foote, He actually commented way further back that he uses fancy molasses. That’s what I use too and it works great. Cooking molasses is darker and more bitter. 😊