Walnut Raisin
Hobo Bread

Enjoy the moist, sweet nut bread inspired by the loaves that hobos baked in tin cans
during the Great Depression.

What is Hobo Bread?

Hobo Bread is not complicated – flour, raisins, eggs, butter, brown sugar, some walnuts and a dash of baking soda. The result is a bread that is great on its own or adds a delectable twist to any sandwich.

Hobo Bread

Variety of uses of Hobo Bread

Get creative. We love the Hobo Sandwich at a Taste of History in Greenfield Village. Put honey mustard on two slices of Hobo Bread, then heap on plenty of turkey breast, Cheddar cheese and red onion.

At the Michigan Café in Henry Ford Museum, we serve Cherry Chicken Salad made from fresh greens, candied walnuts, a hard-boiled egg, sliced red onion, tomatoes and a sliced-up piece of Hobo Bread served with our house-made Michigan Maple Tarragon dressing.

Want something simpler? Toast Hobo Bread and serve it with cream cheese as a breakfast treat. Or Muenster cheese. Even parmesan cheese will work. The secret is for the bread to be hot enough to melt whatever’s on top. Then the sweetness of the bread mingles with the slight tartness of the cheese.

Experiment. Who knows what you might come up with? Our executive chef David McGregor recently cooked up a Hobo Bread pudding in a baked apple.

Where can you buy Hobo Bread?

It’s available here at The Henry Ford at four locations: in Henry Ford Museum in the Michigan Café or the American Doghouse or in Greenfield Village at A Taste of History and the Sir John Bennett Sweet Shop.

We also ship Hobo Bread anywhere! Click here to order online.

You can also buy it at Westborn Markets (www.westbornmarket.com).

How do you Hobo? Send us your recipes and ideas.

Over the years, people have told us about dozens of inventive recipes incorporating Hobo Bread. Email us your recipe and we’ll post it here for the world to share.

Featured Recipes of The Henry Ford

Taste of History Railroader’s Sandwich

4 sandwiches

Ingredients

  • Large hobo bread slices 8 each
  • Thin red onion slices 4 each
  • Honey mustard 4 tablespoons
  • Cheddar cheese slices 4 each
  • Smoked turkey breast sliced thin 1 lbs.

Assembly

  1. Spread one tablespoon of mustard on each of 4 slices of hobo bread.
  2. Place the red onion and one fourth of the turkey on top.
  3. Place a cheese slice and one other piece of bread on top to finish.

Hobo Bread Pudding

1 standard casserole dish

Ingredients

  • 2 large hobo bread loaves
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 6 eggs whipped
  • 1½ cups milk
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup dried cherries
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • ½ cup oatmeal
  • ¼ cup cinnamon and sugar mixed

Method

  1. Cut the bread into 1 inch x 1 inch pieces and place into a buttered casserole dish.
  2. Warm the milk.
  3. Whip eggs, sugar, and cinnamon, add the milk and pour over the bread.
  4. Sprinkle the dried cherries on top and pour over the heavy cream.
  5. Refrigerate overnight.
  6. Sprinkle the top with oatmeal and cinnamon/sugar mixture.
  7. Cover and bake for 350°F for 30 minutes.
  8. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or custard sauce.