Chef John's Boston Baked Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry navy beans
• 6 cups water
• 1 pinch baking soda
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 stripss bacon , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 yellow onion , diced
• 0.33 cups molasses
• 0.25 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 0.5 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper , or to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Place navy beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches cool water; let soak overnight.

2. 2

   Drain beans; place in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with 6 cups water, baking soda, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and boil for 10 minutes. Drain; save bean-cooking liquid.

3. 3

   Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

4. 4

   Place beans in a clean Dutch oven; add bacon, onion, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt, and black pepper. Pour in enough hot reserved bean-cooking liquid to cover beans; stir.

5. 5

   Cover Dutch oven; bake in the preheated oven 1 hour. Check liquid level; add more reserved bean-cooking liquid to cover beans. Return to oven; continue baking until beans tender and almost all liquid absorbed, about 1 hour.

6. 6

   Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Uncover beans; continue baking until top develops a flavorful crust, 20 to 30 minutes more.