The Best Molasses Raisin Bread Recipe Newfoundland Style!

A soft fluffy bread made with plump juicy raisins and deep dark molasses. This tried and true recipe is one of the very best you’ll find. A special treat for Newfoundlanders for many generations. It uses Crosby’s Fancy Molasses as the star ingredient, found in almost every Newfoundland household. This, along with those juicy raisins creates the most wonderful fluffy loaf of bread.

Today, in a 2 part series, I will show you how to create this Molasses raisin bread. Newfoundland style!

Raisin bread especially molasses raisin bread was quite a treat in our house growing up. My mom had a friend her name was Betty and she would make the best and I mean the best Molasses raisin bread that you would ever taste.

We would hurry home from school just to grab a slice of her delicious bread. Not long out of the oven smothered in molasses gooey drippy molasses running down your chin. I can taste it now!

Not all Mom ‘s had the skills to create such a wonderful loaf of bread. Molasses and raisins are quite heavy and can create quite an ordeal when trying to create a fluffy loaf of bread. Lucky for you, I will demonstrate how to achieve a fluffy loaf every time!

I had to do this in a two part tutorial, one for the dough and one for the bread to go in the pans. I hope you try to make this molasses raisin bread for your friends and family to enjoy. As I stated earlier, its super fluffy, super delicious and you won’t be sorry.

I sure hope you enjoyed that video tutorial. As you can see it making bread can be very therapeutic especially the kneading. Here’s part two, getting the dough formed into balls and into the bread pans.

I just love making bread, something about kneading the bread that is so relaxing, calming and so wonderful I cant describe it. The pushing and folding of the dough over and over again I swear its like a mini meditation. A great stress reliever for sure!

In order to make 3 loaves of this delicious, Newfoundland style molasses raisin bread you will need the following:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• 3 tablespoons of shortening
• 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar
• 1 & 1/2 tsps. of salt
• 4 1/2 teaspoons or two packages of instant quick rise yeast
• 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
• 2 cups of fresh 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon optional
• 1 & 1/2 cups of dried raisins sultanas work great
• 1/4 cup of Crosby’s molasses

Method:

In a large bowl, place 4 cups of all purpose flour. Add to this, your instant yeast, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Whisk together then rub shortening into flour with your hands until it kind of feels like grains of rice and set aside.

Heat milk over medium heat until it’s lukewarm. You will start to see tiny bubbles forming around the edge of the milk. Remove from heat and add your butter. Stir until the butter is melted and the milk is cool enough to add to your bread. This will be kind of lukewarm around 35 Celsius. add molasses to the water and then stir into the milk mixture.

Make a well in the center of your flour mixture, pour the milk mixture into the center of the well. Then, mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. This takes approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Once you have no lumps add your raisins and continue stirring and adding your flour about a half a cup at a time until you’re a dough forms a ball.

When it gets difficult to use your spoon; start using your hands to work the remaining flour into the dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and start kneading. I Knead for 5 to 10 minutes you could even need for 15 minutes if possible; the longer you need the fluffier and softer your bread will be.

Place a small amount of oil in the bottom of your bowl, about a tablespoon. Place your ball of dough face down into the bowl then turn it over so the top is also coated with oil and then cover with a tea towel it will look like this:

Place your bowl in a nice warm area. An oven with just a light bulb on works quite well.

When your dough is doubled inside, turn it out onto a floured surface once again and separate into three equal portions.

Make each porch portion into three equal sized balls. Roll them tightly and place in your bread pans. Cover once again with a tea towel and place back in your warm oven until the dough rises to the top of the pan, or about doubled in size once again.

Once your Dough has doubled in size, it’s time to bake it. Preheat your oven to 350° and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until your bread sounds hollow when tapped with your finger.

We like to enjoy this bread with even more butter and molasses it’s so delicious I sure hope you give it a try your friends and family will love you for it.

As usual, I will share links to my favorite ingredients! Crosby’s Fancy molasses the best find it here:

https://www.crosbys.com/product/

The shortening was fluffo

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/fluffo-all-vegetable-shortening-454g/6000188765241

The raisins were Our compliments find them here:

https://www.compliments.ca/en/products/sultana-raisins-375-g/

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