Anadama bread is a traditional New England sweet bread characterized by flour, molasses, and cornmeal. It has an unusual name whose origins are explained by local folklore. The story has several variations but most of them go something like this: a fisherman, angry at his wife for serving him little more than cornmeal and molasses porridge, decides to take matters into his own hands, adds flour and yeast, then bakes it. As he eats the resulting bread, he mutters “Anna, damn her!” and the name stuck. Or at least the kinder, gentler version, Anadama, stuck! "A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou."
‑ Omar Khayyam
Recipe: Anadama Bread
Makes: 2 loaves of bread
Ingredients:
For the Soaker:
1 cup cornmeal, preferably coarse grind (also known as polenta)
1 cup water at room temperature
For the Regular Sponge:
2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
For the Final Dough:
2½ cups unbleached bread flour
1½ teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons molasses (lighter is better)
2 tablespoons shortening or unsalted butter at room temperature
To see how the rest of the BBA (Bread Baker's Apprentice) Challenge group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! I'm not listed there since the group grew to 200 (the cutoff point) too fast. I may join in now and then, though..jpg)
Tasting NotesI enjoyed this bread. It's tender and sweet but not overpowering. I was surprised to find that the gritty cornmeal texture wasn't apparent as I was eating it. Thinking back, softening the cornmeal was part of the purpose of the soaker and sponge stages, and it really worked. Anadama bread's somewhat dense structure pays off in the crust. The slightly chewy texture is easily the best part of a slice and lightly toasting it really brings that chewiness to the rest of the slice.
This is the first time I've made Anadama bread, and next time I try it I'd like to see how a more traditional, less involved, recipe compares. Also, I would like to try it again with lighter molasses (as recommended by the recipe). I used a dark molasses this time and I think a lighter molasses would allow the corn flavors to be more prominent. All in all though, I highly recommend this bread.
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