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Newfoundland lassy raisin bread (Hemeon family recipe)

Lassy bread · Newfoundland lassy bread · Newfoundland molasses raisin bread · Nanny Hemeon's sweet raisin bread

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A Newfoundland family-style sweet yeast loaf with molasses, raisins, cinnamon and cloves. This version follows a half-batch adaptation of Nanny Hemeon's family formula; it is not a standard recipe for all Newfoundland households.

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A finished dark golden Newfoundland molasses-raisin loaf with a slice showing its raisin-studded crumb.

A Newfoundland family-style lassy bread

The term lassy bread is documented in Newfoundland English for bread made with molasses. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary lexicographer describes a Newfoundland sweet yeast bread with molasses, raisins and spices; the Dictionary of Newfoundland English cites a 1914 reference to raisins and molasses in whole-wheat bread called lassy bread. A family recipe recorded by Lois Gill identifies her version as Nanny Hemeon's molasses raisin bread and says versions differ from household to household. This page follows that family formula and does not present it as the one standard Newfoundland bread.

Gill's recipe is a wheat-flour yeast dough with molasses, sugar, butter, raisins, cinnamon and cloves, mixed with warm water and kneaded before a long rise. She says this half-batch adapts her family recipe to instant yeast and uses a full 250 g raisin package. The dough is shaped into several loaves or small buns grouped in pans; the source's base bake is low and long. These features distinguish this specific lassy bread from Boston brown bread, which uses a rye, maize and wheat batter raised with baking soda and cooked by steaming or covered baking. It also differs from Belgian cramique, a more enriched yeast loaf made with milk, egg and butter but without molasses or spices. The overlap in raisins does not make them the same preparation.

The recorded family recipe has both an optional second bulk rise and a note about changing the oven setting and bake time for one author's smaller loaves and cooler oven. This version follows the base schedule and keeps that later adjustment separate. It is a family-specific formula, not a claim about every Newfoundland home or bakery.

Sources for this section

History

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary lexicographer describes Newfoundland lassy bread as a sweet yeast bread with molasses, raisins and spices. The Dictionary of Newfoundland English records a 1914 use describing whole-wheat bread with raisins and molasses under the name lassy bread. Lois Gill's source gives one Hemeon family recipe and explicitly notes that many household versions exist; this entry does not generalize her formula to every Newfoundland family.

Ingredients

Yield 3 large loaves (or 4 medium loaves) · Scaling: source batch only

All-purpose flourdough; start with 8 cups and work in more as needed
2.13 L9 cup as recorded
Use the source's cup measure. It reports that this is half the original family batch.
Raisinsdough
250 g
Lois Gill used the full 250 g package rather than the half package in the family formula.
Ground cinnamondough
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Ground clovesdough
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Sugardough
207 mL⅞ cup as recorded
Three-quarters cup plus 2 tablespoons.
Saltdough
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Instant yeastdough
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Gill increased the original 1½ teaspoons because the dough rose slowly.
Buttermelted, then mixed into the dough
118 mL½ cup as recorded
Molassesdough
118 mL½ cup as recorded
Warm waterfor mixing the dough
651 mL2¾ cup as recorded
Approximate; add enough to make a smooth dough that is not sticky.
Butter (optional)melted and brushed over the hot loaves for a soft crust
No amount specified.

Method

Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough

Flour can carry harmful bacteria; do not taste raw dough.

Hazard source

Keep raw flour and dough away from ready-to-eat food, wash hands and utensils after handling, and bake flour-containing dough before eating.

Control source

This is a family-specific home recipe, not a single standard Newfoundland formula.

The source gives no proof temperature and has an oven-specific bake adjustment for smaller loaves. No universal storage period or validated internal bake endpoint is established.

  1. Melt the butter and set it aside. Put 8 cups of flour, the raisins, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, instant yeast and salt in a large mixer bowl. Mix the dry ingredients together.
  2. Add the melted butter and molasses. Pour in warm water gradually until a smooth dough forms. Work in more of the remaining flour as needed so the dough is no longer sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes after the dough pulls away from the bowl.
  3. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl. Grease its surface, cover it and leave it in a warm place until doubled in size; allow 2 hours or longer. No measured proof temperature is given.
  4. Punch down the risen dough. The family recipe allows shaping now or leaving the dough for a second rise before shaping; its author says the extra rise can improve dough development and flavour but gives no duration. For the direct version, proceed to shaping now.
  5. Grease three large or four medium loaf pans. Shape the dough and place two or three small buns in each pan, as shown in the source's family method. Cover and leave until doubled; the source gives no time for this final proof.
  6. Bake at 250°F for 1½ hours, following the source's base method for its original large loaves. The author separately notes that her own oven required 300°F and that she shortened the bake to 1 hour 15 minutes for smaller loaves; keep that oven-specific adjustment distinct rather than combining the schedules.
  7. Turn the loaves out onto a wire rack. Brush the tops with melted butter while hot if a softer crust is wanted.

Conditions

Yield3 large loaves (or 4 medium loaves)
Fermentationfrom 2 h

Places

Newfoundland and Labrador

Documented preparation · Region evidence

The source identifies this Hemeon family recipe and the lassy-bread name with Newfoundland, but does not establish a more specific place.

See Newfoundland and Labradoron the mapLocation source 1 → · Location source 2 →

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