B&M Brown Bread in a Can
As a ready-to-eat version of the regional bread favorite, B&M Brown Bread in a can is a quirky, beloved, and convenient New England tradition.
By Aimee Tucker|Aug 18 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanIn New England, one of the most popular varieties of brown bread is made by B&M in Portland, Maine, and it’s sold in a can. Canned bread might sound strange to the non-native Yankee to imagine buying bread in a can at the supermarket alongside the baked beans (which B&M also makes with pride), but if you’ve ever steamed a loaf yourself at home, you know it can take awhile, making brown bread in a can a handy alternative.
Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
It’s not clear when B&M (the letters stand for co-founders George Burnham and Charles Morrill) started selling their version of the classic New England bread (a sweet variety made from cornmeal, wheat and rye flours, and molasses), but like its Necco Wafer and Moxie soda kin, the canned bread has been around so long it’s hard to imagine a time when it wasn’t for sale. The company got its start back in 1867 canning meats, seafood, and corn, but by 1927 B&M’s brick oven baked beans hit the market, and business (if you’ll pardon the pun) boomed on a national scale. The company was sold several times starting in 1965, but despite each new ownership, both the B&M name and the Portland plant have remained.
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When eating canned bread (B&M sells the bread in both original and “with raisins” for those that like things sweet), a handy can opener is necessary to first remove both the top and bottom lids, and then, with a gentle shake, the bread emerges and is ready for slicing.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Dense, moist, and made from natural ingredients, B&M’s brown bread is a solid ready-to-eat representative of the classic New England dish. Some folks enjoy eating the bread sliced up as-is at room temperature, but you can also warm it in the microwave or toaster oven. It’s good topped with butter, cream cheese, or jam.
Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
You can also make it a meal by serving the canned bread topped with a generous ladle of baked beans. Hot dogs on the plate are also not uncommon. In many households, hot dogs and baked beans with brown bread (canned or homemade) was a Saturday night tradition. For many, it still is.
Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Are you a fan of B&M Brown Bread in a can? Do you like it with butter or beans? Hot dogs? All three? Share your brown bread in a can memories with us!
Want to try your hand at a homemade version of steamed brown bread and baked beans? Try Granny’s Brown Bread with classic Boston-Style Baked Beans.
This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated.
SEE MORE:
Fluffernutters | A Favorite New England Sandwich
75 Classic New England Foods
Live in California. Where can I buy the can bread?
You can find it at any Kroger stores. QFC, Fred Meyer, etc. Also you can buy it online.
Hi Teri. Both Amazon and the Vermont Country Store website have B&M Brown Bread for sale. Enjoy!
I have seen the B&M billboard whenever traveling through Portland. We are big fans of both B &M beans and the brown bread. Does anyone know if they have a retail store?
We had the B&M Brown bread with raisins with our beans & hotdogs every Saturday when I was growing up. My mother opened both ends of the can with a can opener and pushed the bread out one end useinr the lid to push it through. She sliced it into eight slices (there were eight of us) and wrapped it in aluminium foil. She put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 – 30 minutes. When it came out of the oven it was moist and ready to eat with butter melted on it. I did the same thing with my family as an adult, and my daughter is now doing it with her family. Hotdogs & beans are not the same without B&M Brown Bread!
I love this B&M brown bread. We had it in my family alot. Would love to find where they sell it. I’m from WV. Now and Grew up in Massachusetts.
Oh yes! That famous brown bread in a can! I remember my mother , who is from New England, heating up and consuming this bread when I was a child! She was the only one in our family who ate it and I tried to like it but the molasses always threw me off. It boggled my mind the idea of bread coming from a can.
as a transplanted Yankee (now in Fl) I haven’t had brown bread in a while. But, the memories from childhood…..beans, franks & brown bread are still near ‘n dear to my heart. As a young mother I introduced brown bread to my children, but they weren’t to crazy ’bout it.
I used to be able to buy it in Fl, but it’s hard to find anymore….nice to know The Vt Country Store sells it…..just might have’ta order some and take a trip down memory lane 😉
I remember eating beans (homemade) and Schonland’s franks and B&M Brown bread every Saturday for supper when I was a kid. I now live in Hawaii and have to drive over 1/2 hour away to find it…IF they have it in stock. I always call first!!
I love brown bread even more when I slice it and put in my toaster then smother it in butter. Real butter.
My husband loves it with his beans and hot dogs. We have loved this bread since we were kids and always consider it a treat when we got it. Please don’t change it.
i still live in massachusetts , we use to have dogs and beans on every friday and brown bread steamed in the can , sliced and real butter . we still do this every now and then as a treat . now that i am older i have to watch what i eat .
We had beans and hot dogs and brown bread as kids, too! Sometimes we’d have Indian pudding for dessert! I liked mine warm with a scoop of ice dream. While everybody else chose vanilla, mine would be chocolate. Once, as a kid, I actually made the pudding myself because we couldn’t find it in cans! It was wonderful! I’ll have to do it again this winter?
My youngest son moved to Florida and when he got sick he came back to NE.. He had cancer but his requests when he was still able to eat, was brown bread, beans and hot dogs….It made him go back in time growing up on this treat Saturday nights. He was so happy to have it again..It’s a big memory of him before he passed..Brown Bread..yeah..
We ate a lot of B&M Brownbread when I was a kid and I loved it. but they now use high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener and i stopped buying it when that happened. It’s too bad that this New England tradition has been sacrificed to a cheap processed sugar product that’s bad for you.
I’m living in Michigan now but my local supermarkets do carry B&M Beans and Brown bread. However they don’t realize the bread goes with beans and have it in a completely different aisle.
I can barely remember a saturday night in my youth that we did not have beans and brown bread for supper.
Not only were the three a Saturday night supper, the beans and brown bread were served with bacon and eggs Sunday morning. I do agree toasted with butter is quick and easy.
Tis the season to start the tradition again!
My mother made the bread with beans and hot dogs too. She buttered the slices and placed them in a frying pan to warm….. so good. I sometimes make it for my children, but they don’t love it like I did. (Gluten sensitivity so I can’t eat it anymore)
Loved the brown bread with raisins, but alas, since I’ve moved to Dixie I just
cannot find it. With only S.S. for income, I can’t afford Vermont Country Store’s
price. Sometimes getting up in age means living on memories. Yum!
This is a terrific article! When I was growing up, my mother – a Connecticut Yankee through and through – served B&M brown bread and B&M beans with corned beef hash. I still do.
Jackie Bennett
This was a Sat. Night special Meal. Brown Bread from the can, steamed hot dogs and baked beans.
It fed a large family from Whitefield, N.H. For many Sat. Nights. I still enjoy it. Jeanne
Must truly be a “Yankee” tradition. We had the same things every Saturday. B&M beans, hot dogs and brown bread. My parents were both from Providence and my father was a big hot dog lover. I have lived most of my adult life in the south, from Virginia to Texas and finally Florida. You can’t always find the “good old days” in the grocery stores down here, so when I do see them I stock up. When ever I visit up north, I try to pick up other things too. Eclipse Coffee syrup and Kenyon Mills Clam Cake Batter Mix. I should just move back to Rhode Island. 🙂
We also had brown bread with B & M baked beans & hot dogs every Saturday night growing up. I find B&M Brown Bread at Reasor’s in Tulsa Oklahoma with the baking goods.
I’ve been eating delicious New England B&M brown bread for the last 60years…love it. Now living in IL I’m told it is a seasonal item. That’s CRAZY !! Until recently I’ve found it on the shelf whenever the craving hit me.
It’s a special memory from my childhood. Try it with cream cheese, too.
My dad was a big fan of the health benefits of molasses so naturally we ate a lot of brown bread in my house. We always preferred to eat it fried in butter even with our usual Saturday night beans and dogs which he usually prepared. I am disappointed to learn that the ab& M brand is now made with corn syrup.as I do not use that in my diet.
My mom would buy it whenever we went camping. At home we would eat it with cream cheese. I haven’t thought about it in a long time. I now live in Florida, I doubt I will find it, but guess what I’m doing tomorrow. If I don’t find it, my New England Santa will have to ship me a few cans.
Jody, I live in the Tampa area and I found it at Publix (also found “Fluff” for my fluffn nutters) I have also been told The Walmart Food stores here in Florida carry it. Good luck from a fellow New Englander.
I always thought that the initials B&M stood for Boston and Maine like the railroad
gluten free?
Born in ME, so had homemade baked beans every Sat. night, and a treat was when we had brown bread. Later, i could find it in Houston, and I’d slice and toast it in the toaster oven, then put butter on it, and toast again. It tasted like dessert to me and I like it immensely!
You can just google a recipe for brown bread and bake it in an empty can that you already have.
Hi Karen. I suggest you contact B&M directly with any questions about ingredients or dietary concerns regarding their products. If you’re looking for a gluten free brown bread recipe, here’s one to try: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/10/gluten-free-boston-brown-bread-recipe.html
I have always loved this canned bread, even as a child in San Francisco I was a latent Mainer! It was always in the store then but that is a long time ago.
Where in Klamath Falls Oregon can i get the B&M brown bread in a can…I love it but cant find it here..
Hi Susan. Both Amazon and the Vermont Country Store website have B&M Brown Bread for sale. Enjoy!
Am I the only person who’s Mom used the B&M brown bread with raisins as a dessert by mixing up hard sauce to go on it? One of my strongest dessert memories of childhood and I’ll be introducing my coworkers to it in a couple of weeks.
This year we have not been able to find the B&M brown bread anywhere! (And we don’t want to buy a whole carton online.) Wonder what is going on in Rochester, NY, that it has disappeared this year? Wegman’s market is listed on the B&M website, but Wegman’s says they have discontinued it. Tops market also said they discontinued it. Walmart is advertised on the B&M website, but they also are not selling it this year. B&M customer service has not responded to email inquiries. Help – we are desperate; it is almost Christmas!
I found an old ?? Can of B & M brown bread Raisin at my mother’s – how can I find out how old it is ? And if it’s still ok to eat. She is 93 and has no idea when she got it. No date on it – but has some numbers stamped into the top lid. Looks like a much older label than advertised on Amazon etc.
any ideas ? Thanks !
Hi Annie. I’d call the manufacturer directly for more information about the expiration date, but it might just be best to buy a new can!
I grew up in Pa. and we always had B&M Brown Bread and B&M beans. We also had fried codfish cakes. It came in a can and you sliced it and fried it and had it with beans and brown bread. The canned codfish is not made anymore.
I live in DE and still buy B&M beans and brown bread. They are the best.
Donna, considering the cost plus shipping, it’s rather steep. But, here is an authentic recipe which certainly will cost less and taste even better than memories.
Ingredients
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup black raisins
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a clean 1-pound coffee can.
In a large bowl, combine the whole-wheat flour, rye flour, cornmeal, baking soda and salt. Stir in the oil and molasses, just to combine. Add the buttermilk and egg, and mix just to combine. Stir in raisins.
Spoon into the prepared can. There should be about 1 1/2 inches of clearance above the batter for the bread to rise. Cover the top of the can tightly with greased foil
Place can in a large pot whose rim is higher than the top of the can. Pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the can. Bring the water to a bare simmer, then cover pot and steam 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, until toothpick inserted in the top (with foil removed) comes out clean.
Replenish the water if needed while steaming. Cool on a baking rack for at least 10 minutes, then unmold. If the bread will not come out the top of the can, use a can opener to remove the bottom and push it out the other side.
Slice the bread into thick rounds and serve warm, preferably, or at room temperature.
Store leftover bread in the refrigerator for up to several days.
B&M beans and brown bread and Jordan’s red hot dogs were a Saturday night staple in our home. Miss both the brown bread and the hot dogs out here in Califiornia and the beans are even sometimes hard to find. Bush’s is the popular brand out here. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
You should request that they stock it next to the beans. Tell them the story of brown bread and Saturday night beans. My mom would make red kidney beans with molasses and salt pork all day Saturday. She had Dad buy her an electric stove with a steaming well in the back burner. Every Saturday was bean night and the well was also used at Thanksgiving and Christmas to make plum pudding! My mom was from Cape Porpoise, Maine, but I grew up in Rochester, NH. Traditions run deep in New England Families. I haven’t had brown bread and beans in over 25 years. I need to have my store stock it. I’ll tell them to put the bread next to the beans. We used to get the plain bread, but when I got married, my husband liked the raisins in the bread, so we had that instead. We had it with the B & M Beans, too. He liked hot dogs with his beans, so I started serving them, too. When I was growing up, we used to “fight” over the salt pork. My parents got the larger portions, and we girls had the smaller portions. Fond Memories!
This brought back memories of Saturday nights of beans and hot dogs or church baked bean suppers. I can find B&M beans in Washington State, but haven’t found brown bread. I think I’ll give the recipe a try.
I live in Midland, Texas. Would like to know what stores carry the Brown Bread? Thanks for your help.
Beans, brown bread, but not just hot dogs. They had to be red hot dogs. Yup, all that red dye is still coursing through my system. Red hot dogs have a taste all their own. Either boiled, fried or BBQ’d. Still sold here in Portland, Maine. Always sold at church fairs, hot dog carts, etc. Sat. nite special: B&M beans, red hot dogs and brown bread. Yum yum.
I also live in Texas. You can get the bread, with or without raisins on Amazon! Ymmmm!!
Hi Helen. Both Amazon and the Vermont Country Store website have B&M Brown Bread for sale. Enjoy!
keep up the good baking of the beans Hi, I was born in Maine and live in Pa. now for the past 46 yrs. I love the Yellow Eye Bake Beans . But we can’t get them here. But we can get the B & M Brown Bread. So When I come to Maine for Vacation I try and buy the Yellow Eye Dry Beans. But if I can’t find them I get the Pea Beans. I am so hungry for my Grams Bean Hole Baked Beans we use to have when we had the family reunions.
Keep up the good baking of the beans, as I am going to try and get some this year.
I will get the New England Hot Dog Buns to go along with the beans for the great taste together.
Draegers in San Mateo has B&M baked beans and brown bread with raisins on the shelves. Picked up a couple cans of bread today.
This brown bread has me intrigued and I would like to try it. I live in PA. Where in the grocery store would I find it?
My folks had hot dogs and B&M beans and Brown Bread Saturday nights. No matter how far we got from Chelsea Mass we still ate New England Diet. I still crave it after fish supper on friday.
I believe Nob Hill in Redwood Shores has it as well.
Count me in on the Saturday night supper of B&M beans and red Jordans hot dogs in my childhood on the Maine and New Hampshire coast. Always coleslaw on the side. B&M brown bread was a rare treat, usually the bready accompaniment was biscuits with crabapple jelly (cheaper), but I do love the brown bread. I remember my grandmother was furious because I liked B&M beans better than her homemade ones (which were always hard and the liquid was watery)! And always-always-always, no matter how cold it was, we had to roll down the windows when driving on 295 through Portland to get a snort of that heavenly smell from the baked bean factory!
It’s so depressing that B&M puts high fructose corn syrup in their pork-less (I don’t eat factory farmed meats anymore so no more red hot dogs either; Applegate’s organic beef hot dogs are a pretty decent replacement even if they’re totally the wrong color) beans now – nobody else’s beans are anywhere near as good and frankly baked beans are a tedious pain in the rump to make from scratch for one person. I hate freezing them because when I want some they’re a solid brick that takes a day to thaw and I just can’t pre-plan my baked bean cravings! Maybe I’ll try canning them.
I just checked the B&M website and there’s no HFCS listed in the brown bread: “Water, Whole Wheat Flour, Molasses, Dextrose, Rye Flour, Whey, Degerminated Yellow Corn Meal, Baking Soda, Buttermilk, Salt, Corn Oil. ” That’s some good news anyway. I did always wish they’d make little cans of the brown bread to go with the little cans of beans though!
We live in OK and have not been able to find any store that carries B@M brown bread. Any suggestions?
The only way I ever had it growing up, and now occasionally, is with cream cheese. My Mother also sliced it by sliding it through the can, as someone above mentioned. We’d make a ‘sandwich’ with cream cheese between two pieces and then cut into quarters. Yum, yum! Raised in NJ, I never had it with hot dogs & beans but will try that soon. Here in Florida, I can usually find it at Publix. This brought back many memories …
My mom used to cook hot dogs (boiled), B&M baked beans (she’d add dried minced onion and maple syrup, and cook until they started to break down) and she’d put the slices of B&M plain brown bread in a skillet with butter to warm the bread and toast the outsides. So yummy. She would often tell me how her mother used to make the same thing except that she’d make her own brown bread and baked beans from scratch.
I’m in WA and our local QFC (Kroger) carries the brown bread on the top shelf above the many more shelves of beans.
We now live in Tennessee and go through the same thing when in Maine on our annual vacation! I purchased a hot dog bun pan from Chef’s Catalog so I can now make my own New England hot dog buns! Those round rolls are just not the same for hot dogs and toasted tuna rolls!
It is usually on a shelf above the B&M beans. When we lived in Virginia, our Kroger store manager ordered some for me. When it came in, he asked me what we do with it. He had never heard of “bread in a can”. He took some home, and reported later that his whole family had really enjoyed it.
I can’t find it here in Tennessee.
I peel the label off, make a hole in both ends and warm it IN the can LOL
I Love B&M Brown bread. I live in the south and buy mine at Publix
If you have access rho the commissary on a military base, you are likely to find it there. Since they cater to military families from all over the states and the globe, they have all manner of odd and sundry items. I get my brown bread at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
I remember this, too and am in Hawaii as well! Where have you found it here?
brown bread w/ b&m beans and fenway franks on saturday nights. anyone else put ketchup in w/ their beans?
Yes but the cost is ridiculous there is not shipping cost with prime, but they mark the sales price up pretty good. That’s why when I travel to CT every year, I bring it back in my luggage.
I’m a New Englander born and raised yet I’ve never heard of brown bread until this post lololol. Never even knew bread came in a can!
Big thick slices with cream cheese….oh yum
Not the only one at all. That’s how I remember having it, especially at Christmas time, but I never knew it was a Northern food tradition. We were in Maryland.
Not the Nob Hill in Alameda. : ( They said they never heard of it.
I love this stuff!! I eat it warmed up with a warm vanilla sauce put over it. OMG it is awesome as a dessert!
We grew up on brown bread with hamburgers or hot dogs also! I now live SC and they never even heard of the liquid cheese for Pizza Huts Breadsticks ! I guess Brown Bread is out of the question !!!
For those in the western US, check Winco stores. Found the bread and beans there. In the same aisle. Bread on top shelf, beans of all kinds below.
I have one question for you all… canned bread?
If you’ve never tried this, you must. It brings back so many memories of visiting my grandmother. She always served this to us kids and we thought it was such a treat!
Grew up in the deep South but can’t remember how many years ago I first discovered this, probably my dad brought a can home to try when I was a kid. Now in my 70s I still like it, especially the raisin kind with B&M beans and franks. My local grocery store in Seattle usually has 2-3 cans on a top shelf over the beans.
I have loved this since I was a kid when Mom made special holiday sandwiches for company, sliced thin with cream cheese. Needless to say, when I came upon them in the fridge, there were “not as many as there were before” when she took them out to serve the neighbors. I was hooked, especially when I could find the B&M Brown bread with raisins. I am fortunate to find this now at a very expensive local grocer, and no raisins either, but I’ll take what I can get. So, with some cream cheese, this was breakfast today, with a full pot of coffee! YUM!
Teri, I have always been able to find it in the smaller grocery stores that are just a little bit upscale. There’s no problem finding it in California. I’ve lived here for 50 years now. I do have Connecticut roots however!
I am in California and cannot find this ant where any more!!
What is the shelf of the B&M Brown Bread?
I really miss B & M Yellow Eye beans. I haven’t been able to find them in several years. So I assume that they no longer sell them. Too bad. They were awesome.
Born in NJ and moved to Florida at 5. Both of my parents were raised in the North and loved the B&M Brown Bread. We ate it with cream cheese and I remember my Dad liked corned beef hash with it also. Mom made Boston baked beans and codfish cakes sometimes too!! Great food if you have never had it try it. Yes…canned bread is a real treat!! 🙂
As a 5th generation Mainer, B&M Beans and Brown Bread were often served at out home on Saturday nights.
I like my Brown Bread with butter but don’t mind getting pieces mixed in with my beans. I miss my Rice’s Franks. They were red and snapped when you bit them. They were wicked good with beans.
This summer, my mother searched out B&M Brown Bread to take back to Florida.
From Westborough, MA now living in Princeton, NJ. In my family of 6 boys it was Saturday night with beans, hot dogs, and brown bread. The brown bread was always toasted in a frying pan or griddle plate with butter so it formed a nice toasty crust. More butter when it was served on your plate. so good.
We get this at our Senior Center once in a while. Never enough. Handy for power outages, something good to open and eat.
My dad retired from B&M, he use to buy the beans and the brown bread buy the case when I was little. I remember getting a tour of the plant and seeing all the kettles were the beans were made in the 1970’s. I remember when they went with pillsberry back in the day not sure if they still do. I miss driing threw Portland, Maine on 295 and seeing B&M were I live in AZ. I never see B&M baked beans or brown bread any were I do see there deviled ham and chicken but not the beans or brown bread. I did not like the one with raisens because I dont like rasins but I love the plane brown bread.
Gramma’s house on Sat night. Brown Bread (homemade) baked beans and hot dogs. I come from Leyden MA and my Grandparents had one of the first tv’ in town. After dinner crowdindg around that little tv for Arthur Godfrey. Made homemade brown bread this weekend. I loved it my family not so much. Thanks Yankee Magazine for giving this city girl the memories of a small hill town.
Forgot about hard sauce. Maybe I’ll look the recipe. Thanks for one more memory
Please send me any info at all where I might purchase B&M Brown Bread, in Southern California.
Being the first generation born off island (Nantucket) I can swear by B&M Bread and their wonderful Baked Beans in that funny shaped jar. Having found my way to Dallas by 1980 I was discouraged to find my supermarket decided to discontinue carrying Brown Bread (with raisins OMG) and none coulkd be found anywhere else. Luckily Amazon carries this! Hallelujah! I now always have a can in the pantry. This was followed most recently by discontinuing carrying Bays English Muffins. I’m now looking for another grocer having discontinued them. The other sad departure is that the last Howard Johnson’s is closing. Boo Hoo. As a child the whole family packed into the car and Dad would taake us to HoJo for fried clams. The world is much less without HoJo’s fried clams. Sniffle. My gramps would say “ship that oar” telling me to put my hot chocolate spoon out of the cup and on the saucer when we had breakfast together. Sweet, so sweet. Mom, from the MidWest, would say “your gramma thinks salt and pepper are spices”. Cooks in the kitchen. But she was as eager as anyone to get gramma’s tin of christmas rumballs from Connecticut. Dad, who controlled the tin, would always remark on opening – Good old Mom “Lips the touch liquor, shall never touch mine! Her lips? No her liquor! The kids would get about half a ball and I remember how my sinus instantly cleared. Thanks for bringing back up these great memories.
I found it at Stater Brothers in Temecula also you can get it online Walmart only last time I got an order they only shipped me half of the order and charged me for the entire order never did get a reply from them
You mentioned Dallas. I grew up in Dallas, Texas in the 80’s (and assuming you meant Texas and not Alabama) and my mom would sometimes get the brown bread from the store. I just bought some today at a Kroger in a Dallas, suburb. Interestingly, they also had B M brand beans, which I’ve never had before.
If you aren’t going to homemake your New England style baked beans, B & M canned beans are BY FAR the best and most authentic and AWESOME !! Take your Campbells, Friends and whatelsehaveyou and flush them down the toilet, as B & M RULE the universe of canned “Boston” baked beans. -Dave
We have a 16 oz. size of B&M Brown Bread WITHOUT raisins here in New England, at Market Basket (DeMoulas) for $2.19 per can, much better than Amazon, etc. I will send you as many cans as you want if you prepay the cost and shipping. I am a member of the NH Bar (ID #1957) and WILL do this for you if you prepay me. I am 1,000% reliable and WILL send this to you as promised upon prepayment and I DO promise. NO ONE SHOULD BE WITHOUT B&M Brown Bread in a can !!! -Dave
Hi Kirsten,
We don’t have that information, but I’m sure B&M would be able to help you out if you contacted them directly.
I am from Massachusetts living in Florida for the last 14 years. I still have hotdogs, B&M baked beans and B&M brown bread with raisins EVERY Saturday night . I am in my 60’s. Some traditions never die
I can find B&M Brown Bread here in Columbus, Georgia; however, it always has raisins in it and I don’t care for the raisins in the bread. I would love to be able to find it plain, without the raisins. I absolutely love, love the B&M Baked Beans; I grew up in Virginia.
Love this bread had it growing up can’t find it in my northeastern town woodbourne ny 12788 help!!!!!!!
Sorry for your loss
I’m a Mainer and love baked beans, hotdogs and brown bread. My boyfriend, an Irishman from Massachusetts doesn’t like baked beans but has taken to stealing my stash of brown bread. I keep the leftovers from the can presliced and frozen. Very yummy topped with beans or toasted with butter and a sprinkle of sugar for breakfast or dessert.
Connecticut native, lived here all my life. Saturday night special was Hummel hot dogs, sauerkraut, onions, baked beans, and b and m Brown bread, warm with butter. Mom opened both ends and pushed thru with lid. My husband and I just had this exact meal. Yum, and oh the memories.
Thank you!!! I thought they might carry it!!
Joan: That is such a sweet story. Sounds, smells, and tastes really can transport us in time and place, and bring us happiness. It made me smile to know your son was able to enjoy these treats and memories. My condolences to you for your loss.
While Shopping in Stater’s Bros. Here in Poway, California, My wife pointed to a can of B&M Brown Bread. She asked if I had eaten it, told her yes, many years ago. I recall we had it with a sweet frosting, sorta like a thick paste consistency. She let me know I was on my own as she does not like it. She used to have it with Beans and hot dogs. I will try it again.
I just saw some this morning at Stater Bros in Moreno Valley. I’ve never had it but I’m excited to give it a try. I’ve been reading the many ways people have it and I’m going to sample a few.
I grew up with brown bread, beans and cole slaw all made at home. There was never a hot dog served nor would one have been allowed. My mother’s freshly baked and steamed bread, shredded cabbage and carrots from the garden and beans that took all day to cook were the only items allowed on the table unless the season’s bread n butter pickles hadn’t been polished off yet. I remember my mother baking the first loaves of bread at dawn so my grandfather (her father-in law) could stop in first thing and pick up a loaf fresh from the oven. For years I wondered why that loaf of bread was a secret. He was long gone before I discovered he wanted one he didn’t have to share! Funny old thing!!!
I like to keep it for emergency food supply anyone know the shelf life. .?
I picked up a can earlier this year; had a “August 2018” expiration date on it.
I found B&M Brown Bread at a local supermarket here in Phoenix, AZ (Basha’s).
I grew up eating this B&M Brown Bread (and still love it, I just bought a can the other day) even though I’m a native Oregonian and my mom was originally from Wyoming. Although she never visited the northeast, she must have had some sort of New England connection, because she also often cooked what she called a “New England Boiled Dinner” which is beef or corned beef cooked in a pot on top of the stove with vegetables.
I also am an Oregonian and love the brown bread in a can. Have looked in several stores and have yet to find it for sale. Where did you buy yours?
Where can I purchase B&M brown bread in Rochester Ny
Sorry Ron it is a felony to export Boston brown bread outside of New England.
LMBO, that’s funny
Did you try Wegmans? I used to get it there years ago when I lived in Auburn NY.
I miss B&M brown bread in the can. I used to be able to find it out here in Oregon, but I haven’t found it for more than 4 years now. I’m originally from Maine and my mom and also my dad would cook the baked beans once a week and we would have the brown bread or my mom would make a batch of fresh yeast rolls or make corn bread. Lots of sweet memories…many, many, many years ago.
In Mass. I can buy it at my local Stop & Shop. I know they also sell it on Amazon. Good luck.
My friend told us how he used to eat the bread in cub scouts and how his kids love it when they go camping. Never hearing of bread in a can, we told him to bring some in to work. Bill brought a can of bread, a can of baked beans, butter, and cream cheese. We all had the full feast. We all enjoyed sampling the bread with all the fixings. Now every year we have the canned bread to celebrate the New Year for good luck.
I remember going to the steak and shake in champaign Illinois in late 60’s, they would serve baked beans in a glass bowl with a side of brown bread, loved it. They do not have the baked beans anymore, more like pork n beans and no brown bread. I would love to have this one more time in mylife I am 75 years old.
Was so excited to find B&M brown bread while in Florida recently. I remember eating it as a girl with cream cheese and orange marmalade. Yum.
A nice snack any time of day with butter or cream cheese Must have raisins . Loving it since a kid now a big kid at 73
I live in South Carolina and buy my B&M baked beans and brown bread in Publix and Kroger. We always had both of these items growing up, and old habits die and. Never get tired of them, although I wish they had a sugar free version or light version of both.
I just received a “care package” from my niece in NH which included 4 cans of this wonderful culinary treat! It was packed along with many other favorites which I am unable to find or purchase here in Arkansas. The tastes of home are such a comfort for me, especially at this time–my soulmate husband recently passed away after battling cancer. It may sound silly, but having these scents and flavors are akin to getting a hug from my also departed Grammy…
when I was a kid my mother used to take the brown bread, slice it and then fry it up in the grease from bacon along with the eggs. Manna from heaven.
Love brown bread fried in butter until it’s crispy, then more butter!! Ahhhhh!
I have tried the brown bread, my husband being from New Hampshire, and I have to say I didn’t care for it all. It just seems dry, and butter didn’t help because it tastes terrible. My husband made it once or twice and I tried it then too and still didn’t care for it. I don’t get the love for it.
It is available with / without raisins. I don’t care for the plain version myself. Also, I don’t care for it cold. Warm with melted butter-lots of it and some honey or molasses
According to the label hit is a division go B&G Foods and is Produced by Burnham & Morrill , Portland, Maine http://www.bmbeans.com Perhaps (like Xarex) it may be available mail order from Famous Foods of New Bedford, MA.
Brown bread, baked beans & hot dogs, saugys if your from R I, were a staple every Saturday night. Any left over brown bread & beans were Sunday’s breakfast with 2 over easy & crispy spam. Talk about Heaven
Our little local grocery store chain in Southeastern Ohio carries B&M Brown Bread – although the four cans on the shelf usually have a good bit of dust on them. Apparently my wife and I are the only people in town who buy it.
My grandparents always had this brown bread in the houses, either in Illinois and Florida back in the 60’s (1960’s). Difficult, if not impossible to find here on the Sonoran desert in way Western Arizona. However, Amazon Prime and Prime Pantry had a few cans for sale, so I grabbed two. $11 with 2 day shipping on Prime. Well worth it. Slather butter to taste, oh wait, I need to get a pound of butter. Will be here Friday. Thank you Amazon.
I also live in AZ and haven’t found brown bread here. Being from Maine that is what we ate with beans on Saturday night.
How can a New Englander go from the beauty of New England to the Arizona desert? That is like the devil’s armpit. 100+ degrees all the time. No thanks.
I know what you mean but we do love AZ very much. Just have to get though the summer just like New Englanders need to get through the winter. My wish would be to summer in Maine every year. I do go back as often as possible.
it is sad ,like so many others out there you haven’t a clue what you are talking about, Hawley lake got down to 44 below zero in the late 60’s, gonna be 29 degrees here in Prescott Monday am
I am from Portland. My Grammy worked for B & M for years and retired. I live in Tucson. Love the brown bread. Will have to order on Amazon or Walmart. As we like to say “You don’t shovel sunshine”.
I bought a case of 12 from Amazon for $36. I bring it on long sailing passages so I won’t always have to bake when I am out of bread. Grilled ham and cheese…Yum!
Hi I am 84 years old, have lived in Maine except the 21 years I did in the Navy. I have also eaten B&M Brown Bread and B &M Baked Beans since as long as I can remember. We still do. We were stationed all over the United States, but we always found someplace to shop that carried them, or if we couldn’t find any we would load up on them when we came home on leave. I can remember when we went to Portland my Mom would always point out the plant where they were made. I also did the same with my children, grandchildren and even my Great Grandchildren. My wife bakes beans a great deal of the t but rest assured If we do have caned beans or brown bread, it is always B&M.
Walmart sells it for $2 a can.
I now live in Florida and have found B&M only a few times at Publix supermarkets (I usually shop Winn-Dixie), but will look when I go to Walmart’s Food.
Growing up in Massachusetts and New Hampshire we always had hot dog and beans Saturday nights along with B&M’s Brown Bread (usually with raisins)/ After shaking it out of the can we would wrap it in tin foil and let it steam in the oven while the beans and hot dogs cooked on the stove top. Later in my life I lived in Portland, Maine and where we would take our evening walk at the “back bay” and you could see the B&M plant still making those wonderful beans and brown bread. Wonderful memories.
In the 60s my dad used to makes us baked beans and brown bread from the can, I loved it. Remember one evening we were about to prepare it and when he opened the can (not sure if it was B&m or a different brand) but the bread was all rotten inside, I started to cry thinking I wouldn’t be having any of that delicious brown bread. My pop calmed me down and the both of us went back to the store and got a new can and I got my brown bread after all!
We ordered 2 cans from Walmart (not available in store) at $1.98/can. Minimum order of 2 cans. This was the most reasonable price we could find. Could not find in stores in Asheville, NC. We opened one can tonight and put cream cheese on it. Wonderful as our childhood memories told us it would be. I grew up in Ky and my husband grew up in NJ. Amazing that we both remembered it!
I just ordered 6 cans from Walmart. I grew up in Michigan & it’s a wonderful childhood memory with honey butter. 🙂
I’m from NJ too and also ate with cream cheese. Two slices, cream cheese in middle and cut in 4 pieces. I may be wrong, but I thought it had nuts in it. Loved it!
I too was remembering it with nuts inside. I know we are this B & M kind but I think the nuts type was Date Nut bread in a can. I have been unable to find it now 2018
It is Date Nut and it’s my favorite. Can’t find it in any stores her in the Midwest. Can order Plain or Raisins online at VermontCountryStore.
Being lucky we have never strayed out of New England for any long periods of time so we have always had the pleasure to get brown bread at anytime. Live in a small town in northern RI and both our small markets carry it, plus the local CVS usually has a few cans in stock. Always on Saturday night for the last 65 years it has been either homemade baked beans or B&M beans, hot dogs on grilled buttered NE style rolls and warm B$M oringinal Brown Bread. 4 generations and showing no signs of stopping this wonderful tradition.
Growing up in central Massachusetts, I have memories of eating canned bread with beans and Kayem franks. I bought a can recently so that I could relive my youth. I didn’t like it. Guess it’s back to reliving my youth by wearing my Benson’s Animal Farm t-shirt while crunching Necco wafers.
Used to love Boston Brown Bread. Coming from Conn. we had it quite often when I was a child. My Mom used to make an icing for it. However, one evening while opening the can she cut her hand badly on the lid and from that night on I refused to have it as I was afraid she would cut herself again. Have never had it since.
There are can openers now (both manual and electric) that do not leave a sharp edge. I cut myself badly on a lid many years ago and was hesitant to try one of the “new style” openers, but they work very well. You might give one a try – who knows, there may once again be brown bread in your future!
I was looking for B&M Brown Bread during the winter as I was in the mood for it with beans and franks. Could not find in my local Market Basket or Stop & Shop. Will have to look again. Hate to have to order it online.
I now live in Colorado having lived my whole long life in Massachusetts. I miss New England food something terrible. BUT I was able to actually find B&M Brown Bread in a larger grocery chain and thought I died and went to heaven. Now if they will only carry red snappers, fresh seafood, real pizza, real portugese and italian bakery bread, chow mein, coffee milk, coney island hotdogs, fried clams and I could go on and on and on I just might adjust. I do miss all the good food. There is none out here.
I’m also in Colorado and have not been able to find B&M brown bread. Safeway used to carry it years ago but doesn’t any longer. Where did you find it, what store? I’m in the Centennial area and we have King’s, Safeway, Natural Grocers/Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods. I’d love to be able to buy it again. Many thanks!
You can order it many places. But for a New England charm I like vermontcountrystore.com
You can buy it online from Amazon. Almost anything is available that way….
Delicious!
Love this but can’t have it now. I’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease. But I enjoyed it very much while I could eat it!!!
I am from the South,TN to be exact, but I have childhood memories of Brown Bread and cream cheese. Mom didn’t have it often, mainly during Thanksgiving and Christmas. No one in our family was from New England.
I too grew up with Saturday lunch being beans, hotdogs, brown bread with butter and piccallilli on the side. Yum to all, the bread makes it the best!
I found these in California… I grew up in Boston and love Brown bread and Beans with sausage… We are having it tonight with the Pats playing the Dolphins… wow…..
I heard about this from a New England friend and found plain and with raisins at Winn Dixie in Mobile, Alabama! I toasted it with lots of butter and it was delicious. I kept it in the pantry for hurricanes (power outage). Now I am in Maine and keep it for snowstorms (power outage). Good excuse to eat it and I’m glad in both houses I have had an old gas stove that works when the power is off!
Born and raised in MA, in a town with no street lights or anything commercial. As kids there were regular ham and bean suppers at The Grange Hall! Love these! Tonight, we’re trying the bread topped with egg!
I am not a New Englander ,I was born in California , but I remember my mother cooking B&M baked beans in our oven . I also remember her slicing that wonderful brown bread . I enjoyed it two ways. Warm with butter slathered all over it . The other way was with those baked beans ladled on top.Both were delicious and I am glad I got a chance to enjoy a taste of something from the other coast.
Born and raised is California. My Mom always had B&M brown bread on hand ready to be smothered in cream cheese or….even better….peanut butter!!! Glorious!!
I live in new merry and cannot find that brown bread anywhere, my mom alwAys gave us that with cream cheese, soooo good.
Oh, my gosh, do I remember this product! My dad was born and raised in Brockton, Mass., but spent his adult life in California. Growing up, I used to love Friday nights when mom would make one of dad’s favorite meals: Beans and franks with B&M Brown Bread on the side. Of course, the beans were canned B&M Baked Beans — still some of the best beans on the market. Now in my 60s, I could still eat those beans right out of the can! And brown bread on the side is just icing on the cake! Good times, indeed.
OMG, I am from Boston, MA, grew up there, now living in North Carolina. I go home often. Cant find B&M Brown Bread anywhere in the south. I grew up on Beans and Franks with toasted brown bread on Saturday nights, love them. I have friends and family send me B&M Beans and Brown Bread all of the time. I hate being without them. Can eat B&M beans right out of the can. Best memories ever!!! By the way I spent most all of my life in Boston, born and raised. Only been in North Carolina for 7 years. Moving back soon.
I live in N Florida and Publix carries it here, the only store out of 4 in my area.
I was born and raised in MA also, now in PA but I lived in NC for 2 1/2 years. I never found the brown bread there though. One thing I discovered about NC was nobody had relish which I found strange. I didn’t like it there and left but trying different foods from different areas is interesting. Sweet Potato Pie? Never had it until NC and it’s incredible. I think it’s fun to try different foods, here in PA I had potato soup, never even heard of it before and made right, it’s delicious.
OMG! I was born in Brockton, MA in the 50’s, moved to FL in the 60’s, then to GA in the 70’s. But no matter where we lived, my Mom always had that brown bread in a can along with cream cheese, which I and especially my Dad enjoyed. Such good memories!
I have a can of B&M Brown Bread in my pantry at this very moment! Just looking at it brings back fond memories and somehow keeps me connected to my folks, both now gone. In Northern Calif., I buy it at Raley’s or Bel Air or Safeway.
I grew up in Kentucky, but B&M Brown Bread and Baked Beans were a Saturday night favorite down home. I think my aunt learned to eat them during her naval officers training during WWII and passed the taste along to the rest of the family.
Lived in Connecticut most of my life. Raised my kids eating B & M Brown Bread. Have lived here in Minnesota the past six years and cannot find this bread anywhere. My sister came to visit last week from Connecticut. She will start sending me the bread, then it will be back to …Hot Dogs, Beans, Sauerkraut and Brown Bread for Saturday night suppers! LOVE IT!!
Geraldine, I grew up in Michigan, and ate canned brown bread very often. It was considered a treat in our house. Toasted with fresh butter melted on top.
In MN, I bought a can of B&M canned bread with raisins at the Cooper’s Foods grocery store on West 7th, near downtown St Paul. I just opened it and tried it for the first time. It’s a little heavy on the molasses. I can see where cream cheese would cut the sweetness. Good luck finding it.
my mom served b&M bread with cream cheese and called it a Barley Do. has anyone else ever heard it called that?
I can’t say I grew up on B&M Brown Bread, (my Mom considered it like a treat; a housewife with 5 kids; ’60s), but I remember my Mom calling it a Barley Bo. The cream cheese set it off. I called my older sister and she remembers it as Bo as well. I was just a kid and my sister was only a year older. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. It could’ve been Do.
Where can I buy caned bread in Canada? Thanks
Google it
I’ve never heard of bread in a can before. I was watching Castle Rock by Stephen King (set in Maine, obviously) and a character opens the refrigerator and there are a half dozen cans of B&M brown bread in there. I had to Google it to find out what it is and that lead me here. There was also a shot later of a jar of marshmallow fluff next to bread. Fluffanutter sandwiches weren’t that popular in the midwest, and we definitely never had canned bread. So interesting to see regional references like this.
I grew up in Nashville—beginning very long time ago!—on special snacks of thinly sliced “Boston Brown Bread” spread thinly with cream cheese mixed with finely chopped olives (green, with pimentos) and pecans—yum!
So when assigned to bring snacks for ladie’s Bible Class on November 7, and thinking about something not yet brought, my old friend popped into my mind! I just ordered a 6 pack of original B&M from amazon prime—free shipping! So there will be plenty for class, bridge, and just me! Can’t wait!
Also grew up and loved it with the cream cheese and sliced green olives. I could make a meal out of that and homemade chicken soup.
I was born and raised in Boston and fed frank n beans with bread (never realized it came from a can but then I never spent much time in the kitchen lol) but to be honest, I loathed, and to this day loathe frank n beans, separate or together, the only part I could ever stomach was the bread but not once it got soaked in bean sauce. Blasphemy for a new englander, I know, but anyway. I do remember having this bread with cream cheese at friends houses growing up and that was actually pretty good. But with olives? Now that sounds great! I’ve never heard of that but I could definitely enjoy that. I’m a huge, huge fan of southern cooking (and weather). Outside of New England seafood (which I absolutely love and always will) I really can’t stand the vast majority of regional “favorites” that I grew up with, neither then nor now. I always was called a picky eater growing up because I would only eat seafood or my grandma’s traditional Polish cooking, but as I got older and started buying food for myself, whatever I wanted, and trying new stuff for new places, I discovered that I am actually a very adventurous eater! Classic New England fare was just really never for me. Never was a fan of the fluffernutters and I even hate our adult favorite, beer (lol), too. I know, crazy, right? Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my Boston roots, but sometimes I really think I was meant to be born down south or in the southwest lol. Now, give me fried chicken and biscuits, cajun, or Mexican food all day every day. Yum yum. Save for our delicious seafood, northeastern food just doesn’t really have any flavor to me (and what flavor it does have, is usually disagreeable to me) :/ So do I have to turn in my NE’er card? Lol.
Maybe you’ve burned your taste buds with all that hot spicy food? Just kidding, I do share your love of Seafood.
Regarding the bread in a can, I fell in love with it as a very small child who grew up in a military family. Canned bread was available to soldiers in regular sized olive green cans. Someone would bring by some “rations” they didn’t want because my dad always had hunting dogs to feed, but my mom would keep some of the items we liked, and it was fun and delicious to eat. She’d slice the bread, butter it and toast in the oven.. so good. We also ate a date and nut variety of canned bread, drizzled with a homemade orange or lemon flavored glaze. Of course, the large, round crackers in a can were delicious when smeared with the military canned cheddar cheese or peanut butter. Also, there was canned chocolate candy…and I don’t know why someone doesn’t make it again, because it never melted unless you deliberately put it on the stove. It didn’t mess up your fingers and get all over everything…and was formed like a half inch, round cracker with a very firm texture, but satisfying. There were so many items that were canned in those days (1950’s and early 60’s) because of the military.
Where Can I find Brown Bread with raisons in Fort Worth,
Texas
my family is many generations in Boston & we were raised with Sat night hot dogs, beans & brown bread. Always remember the leftover beans spread between 2 slices of buttered bread for Monday lunch at school. It never dripped and I always got the pork slice from the top of the jar. Very disappointed to open jar today (finally found in Phoenix AZ!) that was so soupy and had no pork under the lid. Everybody cheaping out these days as if no one will notice. I want my grandkids to know what deliciousness beans are supposed to be so I guess I will be making them myself. I still love the brown bread and hope to introduce the AZ grandkids to it next time I get some
Grew up near Boston and B&M Baked Beans (in both glass jars and cans back then) and Brown Bread were well-loved favorites. Now live in KY and those products aren’t sold around here. Found some at a reasonable price on Jet.com and looking forward to remembering my younger days!
Mom used to pack this for boat trips in the Pacific Northwest on Puget Sound. It stayed fresh and delicious and then we’d have it with baked beans.
I have always loved this product. Recently none of the supermarkets within 8 miles of me carry it as far as I can tell. My zipcode is 27614. Help! PS id it available with nuts?
Hey Neal, I know this sounds simplistic in response, but how about you search a little more than 8 miles from home?
For those who can’t purchase brown bread locally, B&M Brown Bread –plain & with raisins– can be bought at Walmart.com… $1.98 for a single 16oz can or $1.88/16oz can when bought in packs of three. Amazon also carries it, but their price is $3/16 oz can when bought in packs of 12.
I grew up on this too, in small town Western Mass. Brown bread with baked beans and hot dogs was standard Saturday night fare for us. I live in Maine now, and still buy it once in a while (at Shaw’s). Great comfort food, toasted until crispy with lots of butter.
Grew up in New England. My mother usually made homemade baked beans served with hotdogs on Saturday. B&M beans were a delicious standby and B&M brown bread a special treat. It was warmed and served with a pat of butter. My father loved that meal and often said he could eat that a few times a week. Delish!
Yuck would be a punishment to eat it, and I only eat homemade baked beans.
Thanks for the amazing feedback and insightful opinion Vicki! Haha. No but really this stuff is sooo good. You’d never think so til you try it. Cheers
Vicki, I make my own beans but they can’t beat B & M beans…and i grew up on pork and beans. As for the brown bread and Saugy jot dogs, we here in New England like them better also. Where are you from and what is your local favorite?
I doctor up my can of B&M (Boston style) with a dash of Vermont maple syrup and a little catsup. Not quite as good as homemade, but a heck of a lot less work!
I had to read the headline article twice as I could not believe my eyes, brown bread in a can? but now, looking at the pictures, it actually looks yummy. Does anybody know if there is any American online shop shipping it to other countries? I am a Canary Islander currently teaching in Sofia – Bulgaria. Would love any recommendations of online shops -especially local ones, not huge ones like Amazon- that sell New England products to clients overseas. Thanks.
Growing up in Oregon my mother always served B&M Brown Bread alongside corned beef hash for a frequent Saturday or Sunday night dinner. We loved it…either toasted with butter or cream cheese. I still love it and think I’ll go out to the pantry and see if there’s a can on the shelf.
I LOVE this canned brown bread. I’m an Arizona native introduced to it by another Arizona native in 1963…my future mother-in-law. It’s sold in our supermarkets, but generally around the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. Amazon sells it (too expensive). Those of you who think it sounds “yucky” should broaden your horizons. Soften some cream cheese and then find some bread in a can!
Where at, I live in Southern Arizona and would love some.
I found some at Bashas!!!
I also remember B&M Brown Brad growing up and I think I will check for store to see if they carry it.
My sister and I grew up in Poultney, Vermont and Saturday evening our Dad made supper. It was almost always B+M baked beans and Brown bread and we loved it. Fifty years later I still enjoy it with dinner and never have trouble finding it here in Connecticut. You just can never eat one slice as it’s that good.
I am not sure why people think it being in a can makes it somehow disgusting… personally I think baked goods wrapped in plastic is pretty gross. In a can makes it impervious to outside environmental contaminates. It will always be fresh and moist when you open the can.
After reading all the comments from people who never heard about brown bread in a can; I was flabbergasted! Guess I am too stuck in Vermont! I am eighty-two; one of six kids; beans and dogs, cole slaw Sat. Night was a given. Sunday morning right now, reading this in bed; but I am going downstairs to my cupboard and get the brown bread and beans out! Tonight is going to be an old fashioned Sat. Night meal!
I grew up in Auburn Mass on B&M beans and brown bread, natural casing franks with New England style buns. I now live waaay down east (Lower Alabama). I can still find B&M beans and bread in Winn Dixie, Freihofer New England style buns at Target but always on the search for them wicked good natural casing franks like they had at Champagnes Market all linked together. Nathans 1/4 pound franks from Sams work well though. I sure miss my Community Auditions and Anthony Martignetti and whatever happen to George Scott !
We used to drive thru Portland on our way to Popham Beach and yell “Ma , the beans stop _arting”!! Nice kids! 4 boys stuck in a car…
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Saturday night brown bread with Beans-n-weenies. Now I live in (ugh) Texas. they have never heard of brown bread, B&M beams, or Essem franks. I made my own brown bread in an instant pot and it was OK covered with beans but just not the same.
I’ve found it on Amazon! Pricy but for a special treat once in a while I manage it!
Top sliced hotdog rolls!!!! Why aren’t they used here in TX??? I order B Bread and bell’s stuffing online all the time lol
I also couldn’t find Bell Stuffing her in Los Angeles so I ordered it from Amazon a few years ago. It is still in my freezer and I use it a lot!
You are incorrect. Plenty of Texans know about brown bread and even more prefer B&M beans to other canned beans (though the best are in the glass jars and hard to find). We’ve always had them in our home; my dad is from Newton and introduced us to B&M products. First, check Walmart who carries B&M products more regularly than the grocery stores, then check Kroger. PS – if Texas is so bad, move. We have plenty of folks here and a few less won’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
You sound like he said something terrible and he didn’t. You came across as rude
You folks in Texas sure are touchy, even when someone isn’t saying something bad about you! Lighten up Francis!
Me too born and raised in MA. We always had Maple Leaf franks, you could hear the “crunch” when you bit into them. On New England style hot dog rolls of course! I liked to dip the brown bread into the juice from the beans.
Grew up in Vermont…my mom used to make “English pudding” using the B&M Brown Bread. Loved that stuff! Haven’t thought of it in years! I’ll have to see if I can even find B&M BB here, in Oregon.
It’s also good warmed with butter and cinnamon! Yum!
The Shady Cove market in Shady Cove, Oregon sells it…stocked next to their baked beans
I used to eat it with whipped cream on top !
Every Saturday night we had hot dogs and beans. My mom had the beans in the bean pot in the oven all day. God, how I hated those beans! The only thing that made the meal palatable was the brown bread in the can!
Saturday night was always beans and franks night with B&M brownbread. My mother took both ends off the can but then steamed the can so the brownbread was warm and moist and soooo good with way too much butter but back in the ’50’s who thought about that?? I used to toast it as well. It is so nice, especially in these times, that this treat still exists and really hasn’t changed. On the rare occasion we drive through Portland I always let out a little cheer when I see the B&M plant. Thanks Mr. Burnham and Mr.Morrill.
My mom always served it with hot dogs also (NJ) but my favorite had dates and walnuts in it. I miss that so much, spread with cream cheese.
I grew up in Fair Haven! Baked beans were homemade, but always brown bread from a can! Cabbage salad – just chopped cabbage & mayo. My husband’s family added walnuts, apples and raisins to the salad.
I was born in Medford, MA in 1955. I spent many weekends at my grandparent’s cottages in NH until the mid 1970’s. These were large, multi-generational family gatherings. The Friday night evening meal was always baked beans, knockwurst, cole slaw and B&M Brown Bread. My family moved to The Finger Lakes Region of Central NY in the 1960’s. Brown bread was still available in stores. I haven’t enjoyed a slice since moving to Western KY in 2000.
I grew up in Townsend Mass. It was a staple in our house. Had not had or thought about in years till I saw it on a cooking show. Just ordered a case from Amazon. Brought back memories.
I live in West Central IL. I have been eating Boston Brown Bread from any gold lined can my mother saved from vegetables for all my years (56 yrs old). My mother doesn’t make too much anymore, but I have taken over the annual baking of the bread. I have now tried to find gold lined cans, it’s very hard. Needless to say after all these years my Mother’s are wearing out. All 4 of us children love it, would not be Christmas without it. My recipe is so much easier than some of these, no rye, no molasses. So fun to hear of everyone’s experiences. I however never knew, you could actually buy it! Merry Christmas to all!
A favorite lunchbox treat when I was young (the 1960’s) was brown bread with cream cheese sandwiches! My mother attended Bennington (Class of 1940) on full scholarship as a pianist. She didn’t have enough money to leave the town after college, so she got a job keeping house for a family in town, in exchange for room and board. She learned to cook during that year, so things like home made baked beans, fish cakes, fried apples and cornmeal mush, and brown bread were regulars on the menu in our house as I grew up!
To all – I’m a Brit & I discovered this in Conn in 1979….and having remembered it recently I went searching & bingo – Amazon has it – yeah !!!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025UCI94
Enjoy – cream cheese with this is my very favorite treat, and of course the raison variety is scrumptious too !
I should say that I arrived on this site looking for somebody to give me a clue about the best way to get the darnd thing out of the can !!! I open both ends & push but it destroys the ‘pushed’ end …..any better ideas ? Would freezing it first help ?
veronica, open both ends then place one of the lids back in at the end and use it to push the loaf through. it should come out fairly easily and intact
THIS! Always use one cut end to push it thru. I’m trying to remember how my mother reheated it. I swear she left it in the can with 1 end removed and placed it in a pan of boiling water to do it. I just got 6 cans in so it’ll be safe to experiment with one lol
Ya, that’s the way my grandmother did it. MMMMMM!
I am Canadian and I was given this as a gift by a proud Mainer. I’ve read all the comments about how nostalgically live this can is and I have been working up the courage for the past two weeks. The instructions on how to open it from both ends and push maybe set me back a week however I am optimistic and set a do or die date of end of February,
I’ve read it’s best served with baked beans, toasted with jam, smear of cream cheese, cream cheese and olives..
Am I missing any?
I’m looking to give it one shot with several different ways and record my endeavour to send as proof I gave it my all. I will either sink, or swim however have a good laugh I’m sure.
A Friday night in J.P. At my grandmother’s house was baked beans and cod fish cakes along with brown bread from Barry’s deli on Centre Street. It was the best!
fry it in a pan with butter. I wish I could be there when you finally open the can!! Nothing gooey is going to flow out…lol…you do open both ends and push it out. The one with raisins is my favorite but it’s hard to find here in PA so the plain is just fine. I never had it with cream cheese or even olives, or jam. It’s buttered and fried and always with baked beans and hot dogs on Saturday night! I’d love to know if you’ve had it yet! If so, let us know!
I really enjoyed your B&M story as it brought back many happy memories of Saturday night around the kitchen table eating a simple meal of frank’s and beans with brown bread. My grandmother always said that brown bread was healthier than plain white it sure tasted better.
I have great memories of Friday night supper at my Irish Catholic grandparents’ house in the Boston area in the late ’40s and early ’50s. B&M Beans, B&M Brown Bread, and B&M (I think) codfish cakes!
cI was born in 1940 in the Roslindale section of Boston in an Irish/Italian/Catholic neighborhood. Have awesome memories of Saturday night beans and brown bread suppers. Makes me want to replicate that dinner now if the ingredients are still available.
All of the ingredients, to make it from scratch, are plentiful. Getting the branded foods, that’s always a challenge when distant from a region.
As an example, in Louisiana, couldn’t find scrapple to save my life, back in Pennsylvania, can’t find jowl bacon. Still, in most major cities, one can find pretty much everything if one looks hard enough.
My Mom was from Pawtucket, RI, and we lived in Washington state. She made sure, however, that we didn’t want for classic New England fare. We had B&M Baked Beans with hot dogs and brown bread every Saturday. It was heaven. I haven’t thought of that in a while so I’m on a mission now to find both the beans and the bread. New Mexico isn’t necessarily a culinary feast type of place.
You can get it on line…famousfood.com
I got six of them through Amazon a couple of years ago. Brought back many memories. They offered the two types: raisin and plain.
One of my favorites!!!! Love it. Ate it with kids as they were growing up.
We had B&M beans and the brown bread every Saturday evening. My dad would open the can and give about 1/2 of it to my Mom so she could “cook” it her way. Her way was to put it into the saucepan add some sugar and milk then heat it up. It was the only way she would eat it. I like the brown bread either way, however I don’t think my husband would like it “cooked”. The brown bread does bring back many fond memories of family life.
Sounds halfway to being bread pudding. Sounds intriguing as a pudding component, I’ll have to try making it.
Picked up a can of the bread from our south-central PA Giant market, since it’s molasses based, I’m likely to love it.
I’m from Rhode Island. Every Saturday night supper was B&M beans, Saugy hot dogs, B&M Brown bread & a tall glass of Cold Milk or Coffee Milk. I just made myself very hungry.
So funny. I am trying to get this bread for an aunt, with mild dementia, who is from New Hampshire. Because of the pandemic she had to leave the home she was born in 95 years ago and move to Michigan. Well let me tell you every Saturday for those 95 years she ate baked beans and brown bread. Well after enough empty stares over baked beans and a loaf of whole wheat bread I looked it up. Your’s made me laugh because I realized it was a Saturday night thing. Well now I order it. Hey, do you know anything about the Christmas morning Chicken Pot Pie without vegetables?
Willow tree chicken pie. Famous for no veggies
I grew up in the suburbs of Boston in the 60s/70s. We had brown bread from time to time (my father loved it; don’t remember being required to eat it, though, and I certainly never had any once I was out on my own @ age 17). My father loved a lot of “weird”/gross foods: sardines, lima beans, fried chicken liver. Man, some of the crap food that ended up on our plates gave me PTSD
I love the brown bred but my biggest gross out meal was creamed salmon and peas! But we were pretty poor so I gagged it down, although I would spit the peas into my milk to avoid eating them not realizing they piled up on the bottom and were quite visible. lol The other things your father ate would be on my list of gross foods too!
I’ve seen this stuff in the grocery stores ever since I was a kid (i’m in my 60s now). And I just have to say it always looked and sounded disgusting to me!. Bread in a can? What’s up with that?
Try it you might like it!
why would you comment so negatively when you haven’t even tried it? If you can’t say something nice…….
It is unusual. It’s made with molasses so if you don’t like molasses you probably won’t like this. I put butter on it and fry it in the frying pan flipping it over buttering the other side and continue frying. It’s very dense so it’s a bit chewy. We all have something we either don’t like or looks and sounds terrible. I was born and raised in MA and now live in PA. People here think it sounds disgusting too but I don’t like a lot of the food they do. We’re all different in our tastes. I’d say give it a try. cut a thick piece and fry it up, you might like it.
I too love a slice of brown bread fried on both sides till crispy and chewy! Yum!
You clearly have no idea about regional cooking, let alone the steaming of puddings. Ever heard of a Christmas Pudding? A sticky toffee pudding? Or any other such bread/fruit related desserts? (Fruitcake?) They are steamed in cans or molds. Made up of bread and dried fruits. Lots of booze too. Well a brown bread is similar, just not super sweet unless you add raisins, and no booze. Maybe you ought not make a negative comment if you don’t know what you are talking about.
I happen to like it don’t knock something until you try it or don’t
I loved my Saturday night bean suppers with the B n M Brown bread. I’m from Maine and live in Florida now. I buy my beans n bread when I’m home for a visit. My Mom used to steam it and slather it with butter.????
Publix sells it in Florida!
Didn’t read through all the posts, but the way my mother did Brown Bread was to steam the slices. Made it even more moist, and that butter just permeated the bread!
What’s more New England than beans, brown bread and hotdogs on Saturday night? Salmon and fresh picked peas on the Fourth of July!
Exactly! Best meals still my favorites.
I love this stuff, oh, it can give you the runs from time to time but it is so worth it
Can give you the runs! Worth it sometimes? Do you eat with your fingers crossed?
Haha!!
Always it was Saturday mid-day dinner, then my father made a light supper- waffles or pancakes. We took cold left over bean sandwiches for Monday school lunch.
I’m originally from Mass. now live in NC. They don’t sell B & M anything down here. I have to special order it. It is well worth it. Won’t eat anything but
Suzanne….if you ever get down to GA…..try Publics
You can also order on Amazon.
I recall this from my childhood. We often went on Saturdays to my grandmother’s house in Marblehead, where her family lived for many generations. The menu was invariable: a boiled daisy ham, baked beans, bread and butter pickles, and brown bread–except when (I presume for variety) baked peas were substituted for the beans. (I disliked them.) Eventually the ritual trek to Marblehead gave way to steak at home on Saturday nights, but I still recall brown bread with great fondness.
Sad to say, B&M products are no longer made in Maine and New England. The company betrayed its faithful New England customers by selling up and moving to the mid-west, Kansas as I recall. The firm’s baked beans and brown bread were a favorite here, and it was shocking to see the plant sold and shuttered.
Sad, too, to note that those skilled employees were let go in recognition of their skilled service. Such a disappointment to see a fine, old Maine-made product sacrificed to the whims of corporate expediency.
Yes. It was such a disappointment. Such a bummer. Money talks, though. Money talks louder than tradition, louder than commitment, louder than good will. I guess everybody’s got their price. (from a New Englander in Maine)
A lot of our traditional things have moved. Moxie is made in Washington state, Cain’s relishes are made in I believe Wisconsin, and guess what happened to Necco wafers. Stop & Shop used to make the best split top buns, now the only ones I can find are the Pepperidge Farm ones made God knows where. I don’t think Teddy Bear Peanut Butter exists, but I might be wrong? I miss Winslows potato chips, or the ice cream from West Lynn Creamery.
Same corporate overlords finally killed off my preferred baked bean brand – Friends – as well. B&M bought them several years ago but still offered the different recipe and label. I hope that they don’t kill off the brown bread or change it the way Cain’s Mayonnaise was ruined.
Born and bred in Rhode Island and a true New Englander, I too remember that the only menu on Saturday night was B&M baked beans, Saugy hot dogs and B&M brown bread (with raisins) warmed in the oven. If there was any brown bread left over, we would toast the bread and then smother it with orange marmalade for Sunday breakfast. When my children were growing up, I would bake the beans in a covered pot adding a dollop of ketchup, mustard and maple syrup to make the beans taste more like home made. Another time I might add a couple strips of bacon and a slice of onion. But the ” cherry on the top of the cake” was the brown bread. Beans and franks weren’t the same with out the brown bread. It’s been a while since my family has had this ” Saturday night special” so I think a trip to the market is in order very soon. Luckily, they are readily available!
Born and bred in Rhode Island and a true New Englander, I too remember that the only menu on Saturday night was B&M baked beans, Saugy hot dogs and B&M brown bread (with raisins) warmed in the oven. If there was any brown bread left over, we would toast the bread and then smother it with orange marmalade for Sunday breakfast. When my children were growing up, I would bake the beans in a covered pot adding a dollop of ketchup, mustard and maple syrup to make the beans taste more like home made. Another time I might add a couple strips of bacon and a slice of onion. But the ” cherry on the top of the cake” was the brown bread. Beans and franks weren’t the same with out it. It’s been a while since my family has had this ” Saturday night special” so I think a trip to the market is in order very soon. Luckily, they are readily available!
I live in New Jersey over 60 years ago we took it camping had it with beans excellent lunch I still eat it today .
My mom baked a large pot of pea beans and a small pot of kidney beans. They were delicious! Shultz hot dogs and cole slaw and of course B and M brown bread with homemade apple pie for dessert with a big piece of cheddar cheese. We steamed the brown bread and slathered it with butter.
My great grandmother canned piccalilli and sweet chili sauce to accompany the beans. Wish I could go back in time!
Occasionally, I find a couple of cans of Brown Bread on the shelf at Publix in NorthMyrtleBeach. I slice it and freeze the slices, snacking on one with cream cheese when the urge hits me. Publix also had B&M beans in the jar, but now I only see cans. I grew up with B&M in Concord NH in the 40sand 50s.
I don’t know of any earlier family connection to the North East, but this was a tradition in my Grandma’s home in the south Ohio/Indiana area. She made it homemade in special old (unlined) Asparagus cans to make a longer loaf. We put butter or, more often, cream cheese on ours and I’ve been thinking about it all weekend as she passed away. Such special memories of this strange canned bread 😀
Sadly, it is all but impossible to find in Indiana now. Had to resort to paying nearly $10.00 a can on Amazon to get my fix after reading Craig Alanson’s books and realizing it still exists. B&M’s baked beans are my favorite… but, you guessed it, only available to Hoosiers via Amazon.
Bought it on a liquidation shelf at Winn-Dixie in Miami for less than a dollar. Bread in a can…., I thought to myself? Weirdest thing I had ever seen, but tried it with cream cheese and liked it. I’m running back to buy the shelf-full. They’re supposed to have a shelf life of up to 2 years. Sounds like an excellent emergency food option for our hurricane season. But its good for casual consumption too. Fills you up too.
If it’s made by Yankees, I wouldn’t worry about the 2 years for shelf life. It will probably still be as good years after that.
It is made in the Midwest or Mexico now… Sorry to tell you.
Bought a can of brown bread at my local Kroger store. It was marked down and I had never heard of such a thing so got it for my family to try. I live in West Virginia and we have a brown bag lunch but no brown bread in a can, haha! I toasted it up and spread with butter. Mine had raisins and was sweet. Think I might get more if they have any left. Not for everyday but maybe camping or something
A lot of our traditional things have moved. Moxie is made in Washington state, Cain’s relishes are made in I believe Wisconsin, and guess what happened to Necco wafers. Stop & Shop used to make the best split top buns, now the only ones I can find are the Pepperidge Farm ones made God knows where. I don’t think Teddy Bear Peanut Butter exists, but I might be wrong? I miss Winslows potato chips, or the ice cream from West Lynn Creamery.
I sit here with tears in my eyes as I recall all the wonderful memories of my childhood on Cape Cod, I will always consider it home. Those memories often included Brown Bread and cream cheese. I always loved it. Hot dogs, Brown Bread and baked beans (often home made by my grandparents in a bean pot in the ground). It (Brown Bread) was always a part of holidays too. Thank you for stirring these memories. Now I have to get a can of Brown Bread immediately.
It also made me resubscribe to Yankee. Thank you
I have a recipe for brown bread w/ raisins that is yummy and you bake it in a coffee can. Haven’t made it for years but was always a great seller at our church Xmas fairs.
I remember my grandmother used to make the brown bread in a can with the raisins, I would love to have your recipe/ if you get this message
Hi Mary, Contact me at rsilsby4718@gmail.com .I will send back 2 Brown Bread recipes. Bob S
B&M was sold to large company some time ago… for those of us living in the area it was comforting to know the Tech Co. That bought the plant is keeping the familiar building along 295. The sweet smell of molasses is now only a memory of the past.
They have torn down the iconic chimney and next up the pier building.nit much will be left. Very sad to see this go .I live in Portland
I can’t find Brown Bread with raisins anywhere around the Boston suburbs grocery stores. Can anyone help me?
Amazon has it! Not finding it in grocery stores.
They have it at Shaws, only about $3.50 a can.
I’m from Nashville, Tennessee. Canned brown bread was one of the oddities always on the shelves of our local groceries. It was usually alongside canned date nut bread, which was more of a treat. A good thing to have when the power went out, we never thought of warming it, just spread on some margarine, maybe peanut butter. Handy thing about the cans: you could push the bread out with the bottom lid and use the top to slice it.
Had a recipe for years to make Boston brown bread steamed in coffee cans using grape nuts cereal anyone have it???