Pilgrim Bread from Molly MacRae

 

This is another one of those recipes we’ve been making for decades. Made with cornmeal, rye, whole wheat, and white flour, the loaf has a really wholesome, nutty flavor. Over the years I’ve added more or less of each type of flour and experimented with substituting or adding other grains like oatmeal and millet. It’s a forgiving recipe! We like to make round loaves and serve wedges of the bread with soup or stew.

A few weeks ago, when it only got as high as 0 here, I warmed the house by making this bread and a pot of baked beans. They warmed us inside and out.  

 

Pilgrim Bread (adapted from Ruth B. Hess’ recipe in the 1976 edition of More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre)

 

Ingredients

¼ cup cornmeal

2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast (1 packet)

¼ cup warm water

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

¼ cup rye flour

2 – 2 ½ cups unbleached white flour or bread flour

 

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, brown sugar, and salt. Gradually stir in boiling water. Add oil. Cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve yeast in the ¼ cup warm water. Let sit for five or so minutes, until bubbly.

Add bubbly yeast to cornmeal mixture. Stir in whole wheat and rye flours. Stir in white flour one cup at a time to form a soft but not sticky dough.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic – 7 to 10 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double. 

Punch dough down, turn onto lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. Shape dough into a round and place in a greased pie dish (or make it into a standard loaf). Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 375 F. for 25-30 minutes for round loaf, 40-45 minutes for a standard loaf.

Look for Molly’s new series—the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries—coming in July 2024!

Book 1: Come Shell or High Water

And in the meantime, you can enjoy her other books.

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.