Brown Breakfast Bread

This is a quick bread for the bread machine, not a yeasted loaf. Baking soda does all the lifting here, reacting with the acidic molasses and the lactic acid in the milk to give the bread its tender, cakelike crumb.

The spice trio of ginger, cinnamon, and allspice is doing pumpkin-bread-meets-gingerbread work. Each teaspoon is generous, which means the spice is the lead flavor, not a background hum. Add the warm sweetness of honey and the bitter-deep molasses, and you get a loaf with the personality of a holiday morning.

The spoonful of orange marmalade is the surprise. It melts into the dough as it bakes, adding a faint citrus brightness that lifts the heavy whole-wheat-and-molasses base.

Use the quick bread or cake cycle on your machine, never the yeast cycle. There’s no yeast in this recipe, so a long fermentation cycle will give you a brick.

Slice thick and toast slices with butter and a drizzle of honey for breakfast, or pair with cream cheese for an afternoon snack.

Pro Tips

• Don’t substitute baking powder for the baking soda. The acidity of molasses needs the alkaline soda to activate the rise.
• Toss raisins in a tablespoon of the whole-wheat flour before adding to keep them suspended in the loaf.
• Use whole milk for richness, or buttermilk for a tangier crumb with even better rise.
• Let the bread cool fully before slicing. Whole-wheat quick breads need time to set.

Variations

• Swap raisins for dried cranberries and add 1 teaspoon of orange zest for a holiday version.
• Stir in ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for nutty crunch.
• Replace honey with maple syrup for a more woodsy, less floral sweetness.