Molasses Wheat Bread

Here’s an easy way to bake bread (no yeast!) and a delicious way to enrich your diet with a little iron. Also notice the lack of fat--none if you use nonfat milk. This bread tastes a lot like Boston Brown Bread, but you don’t need to steam it. You can buy whole wheat flour at most grocery stores these days.

     1 cup white flour
     2 cups whole wheat flour
     1/2 cup sugar
     1 teaspoon salt
     1 teaspoon baking soda
     One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
     1/2 cup molasses
     1 cup raisins, currants, dried cranberries or chopped dates (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 9x5-inch pan with oil or nonstick spray. In a medium or large mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, salt, and soda. Blend with a fork or whisk to evenly distribute. Add milk and molasses. (To keep molasses from sticking to your measuring cup, coat it with nonstick spray first.) Stir until well blended. Stir in dried fruits if desired. Pour into coated pan and bake about 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Makes one loaf (18 half-inch slices)