Milk/Cream

Blackbird's Bread

by:
August 20, 2015
4
5 Ratings
Photo by Alpha Smoot
  • Makes 2 loaves
Author Notes

Recipe from Four & Twenty Blackbirds. —Food52

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (420 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (260 grams) whole wheat flour
  • 3 teaspoons (22 1/2 grams) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons (180 grams) brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (190 grams) oil
  • 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon (310 grams) molasses
  • 2 cups milk
  • 7 tablespoons (65 grams) sesame seeds
  • 1/2 cup (65 grams) sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup (70 grams) walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons (20 grams) flax seeds
  • 1/3 cup (40 grams) poppy seeds
Directions
  1. Combine all dry ingredients except for seeds and nuts. Combine the eggs, sugar, oil, and molasses and mix well. Mix dry ingredients and milk into egg mixture using dry-wet-dry-wet-dry combo. Add seeds and nuts. Pour into buttered loaf pans. Bake at 300°F for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Mike Sidman
    Mike Sidman
  • Elizabeth
    Elizabeth
  • Kate @ Framed Cooks
    Kate @ Framed Cooks
  • JCCraves
    JCCraves
  • Jennifer Malcosky Terry
    Jennifer Malcosky Terry

17 Reviews

Mike S. April 4, 2018
Can someone help me understand the dry-wet-dry-wet-dry combo? I've been trying to look it up but can't find a good explanation!
 
Annie S. April 4, 2018
It means alternately adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Usually you start and end with the dry ingredients. I hope this helps!
 
Mike S. April 4, 2018
Thank you, Annie! That is helpful!
 
Elizabeth November 15, 2016
Wonderful texture and flavour. It halved easily. I noticed the same discrepancy as another commentator regarding the baking powder measurement when using my scale- I went for a middle number between the published grams vs. tsp measurement. It rose beautifully. The flavours are strong enough that if you went for the higher amount (in grams) you wouldn't taste it. I'm tempted to find a way of incorporating pumpkin puree next time, and half walnut oil (I used all sunflower this time).
 
Kate @. April 28, 2016
I absolutely LOVED this recipe. My new favorite quick bread.
 
Anna November 25, 2015
There was so much molasses in this bread it was disgusting. I threw out two loaves. What a horrible waste.
 
piggledy June 17, 2019
Your reaction is a bit surprising. A quick survey of gingerbread and Boston brown bread recipes reveals this ratio of molasses to flours (and this recipe has quite a large volume of other ingredients) to be average to low for breads sweetened by molasses. Disgusting is a bell ringer of a description for a flavor others found to be delightful. Perhaps you haven’t experienced molasses sweetened baked goods, but your evaluation is very personal, and not at all kind. Please try kindness, you may find it returned. It makes life so much more pleasant, I promise!
 
Annie S. October 18, 2015
I think this recipe is missing a little bit of salt!! What do you think?
 
Annie S. October 18, 2015
It is amazing that this bread is not sweet! I am very excited as it is chock full of wonderful seeds and nuts and will be a great breakfast or snack bread. I am curious about what oil people used?!
 
Annie S. October 6, 2015
What kind of oil did you use?
 
JCCraves October 2, 2015
So I'm confused about the measurement of baking powder. When I look at conversion charts it says 3 teaspoons = 15 grams. Here it says 22.5?
 
whitneygerhard September 22, 2015
This is so good! I halved the recipe and baked the loaf in a 9x5 inch pan for a little over an hour. My husband loves it, as did my 4 year old and 1-1/2 year old. This will be a regular in our household throughout fall and winter. It would make a great base for a gingerbread loaf- just sub in ground ginger and cinnamon then mix in candied ginger.
 
Jennifer M. September 20, 2015
It's really not so much, considering it's ~5 cups of flour making 2 loaves.
 
Jennifer M. September 22, 2015
Not so much sugar, I meant to say..
 
maryvelasquez August 28, 2015
Anyone know how well this bread freezes?
 
bookjunky August 26, 2015
That is a shedload of sugar and molasses. This looks good but more of a cake than a bread.
 
Anonymous September 7, 2015
Yes, none of us are stupid. It's a recipe from a pie shop. What were you expecting? If you don't care for it, don't make it.