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America's Melting Pot
Sorghum Molasses Bread hero image coming soon
1930-1945 - Civil War military cooks and postwar frontier households
Sorghum Molasses Bread is a hearty bread sweetened by sorghum molasses, popular during and after the Civil War as a sustaining food. Its simple ingredients and dense texture made it suitable for military and frontier kitchens, reflecting practical baking in austere conditions.
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Difficulty
Medium
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
40 minutes
Total time
1 hour 10 minutes
Servings
12 slices
Region
Ozark, Appalachian, and Southern Plains Depression pantry kitchens
Era introduced
1930-1945
Introduced by
Civil War military cooks and postwar frontier households
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During the Civil War and Reconstruction, sorghum molasses became an important sweetener and preservative in bread-making for soldiers and settlers. Sorghum Molasses Bread combines simple pantry ingredients to produce a dense, nourishing loaf that could be made with limited resources. Its enduring popularity highlights the adaptive foodways of military and frontier cooks responding to material scarcity and hunger.
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