Have you ever heard of bread in a can? You may have if you love homemade bread or canned goods.

As the name suggests, it is bread in a can. That may sound strange to people who are used to buying loaves of bread.

Why would you have such a thing? Most of us only associate canned foods with beans, pickled vegetables, or soup.

Well, there is bread in a can! It dates back to the days of pioneers when it was called Hobo bread.

The name originated from a practice adopted by travelers or hobos of baking bread in metal cans over a fire.

They usually had this bread with hot coffee and canned baked beans for breakfast or dinner.

These days you can buy bread in a can from the grocery store shelves or make it at home in a coffee can.

The canned bread you see on grocery store shelves is made using cornmeal, rye flour, wheat, buttermilk, and molasses. A famous brand is B&M brown canned bread with or without raisins.

You can also make bread in a coffee can in the oven or by steaming it. Here are two recipes for bread in a can you can try at home.

Steaming Recipe for Making Bread in a Coffee Can

Ingredients

1/2 cup rye bread

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

7 tbsp of vegetable oil

1/2 cup of molasses

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/2 cup raisins

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, oil, and molasses in a large bowl.
3. Add the egg and buttermilk to the flour mixture and stir in the raisins.
4. Spoon the bread batter into a greased coffee can, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space on top
5. Cover the coffee can with a greased foil and place it in a large pot. Ensure the pot’s rim is higher than the top of the can.
6. Pour water into the large pot to a level halfway up the cans and bring the water to a boil.
7. Cover the pot and let the water simmer for 1 1/2 hours to 1 3/4 hours as the bread steams.
8. Keep replenishing the hot water until the bread is ready.
9. Once the baking time is over, uncover the coffee pot and check if the bread is ready by sticking a toothpick.
10. If the bread is done, set it aside for cooling on a baking rack for 15 minutes.
11. Once the bread is cool, use a can opener to cut off the bottom of the coffee can and push the bread out onto a board.
12. Slice the bread into thick slices and serve it with butter, jam, or cream cheese.

 

Baking Recipe for Making Bread in a Coffee Can

Ingredients

2 cups coffee

4 tsp baking soda

2 cups raisins

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

A cup of white sugar

A cup of brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 cups sifted flour

Procedure

1. Boil the 2 cups of coffee and set them aside.
2. Add the raisins and baking soda to the coffee and let them steep overnight.
3. In the morning, grease three clean coffee cans with butter and flour.
4. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
5. Mix the sugar, flour, salt, and coffee-raisin mixture in a large bowl.
6. Pour the bread batter into the greased coffee cans and let the bread bake for 65 minutes.
7. Remove the bread in a coffee can from the oven and set it aside for 15 minutes to cool.
8. Once the cans have cooled, cut their ends open and push the rolls of bread through.
9. Slice and serve the bread with butter or cream cheese.

 

Conclusion

That’s a basic recipe for making bread in a coffee can, but there are other ways to make it.

You could substitute applesauce and honey for coffee and molasses for sugar in a different recipe. Some people grease their coffee cans with oil instead of using butter and flour.

Making bread in a can is a great way to recycle old coffee cans. You can do it at home in an oven or over a fire while camping. Try it if you are looking for a simple way of baking bread at home.