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Bread

Anadama Bread Recipe – Traditional New England Molasses Bread

Anadama – what a weird name for a type of bread.  I think I was first interested in making this bread because of the name.  After sampling some of it for the first time at The Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, NH years ago – it’s been a great go to bread for me ever since.  It’s also super easy to make, a good introductory bread recipe for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of experience baking breads.

The origin of the name itself is a funny story – this told from Wikipedia:

There are several popular myths about the origin of the name, which mostly take this form:

“A fisherman, angry with his wife, Anna, for serving him nothing but cornmeal and molasses, one day adds flour and yeast to his porridge and eats the resultant bread, while cursing, “Anna, damn her.” The neighbors baked it because it was so delicious and coined it Anadama or Anadamy.

With that fine intro, onto the recipe!  This recipe comes out of the Moosewood Cookbook from the awesome Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY.  Keep in mind that this will make a bunch of dough – enough for 2 big loaves or 3 medium sized loaves.  Also keep in mind that this bread does freeze well, so bake it all and then save it for later!

• 2 cups cool water
• 2 cups whole (or 2%) milk (or soy milk)
• 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 packs of active dry yeast (the standard kind you find in the baking aisle)
• Around 10 cups of unbleached bread flour – more as needed for dusting, etc…
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
• Butter for glazing (optional)

Combine the 2 cups cool water and milk in a pot and bring to a boil.  STIR in the cornmeal, then the brown sugar to make a thick mush-like goo – this will be really thick and hard to stir.  Once combined, set aside off the heat.

In a separate bowl, add the warm water and and molasses and whisk lightly to combine.  Add the yeast and dissolve it in the water/molasses mixture.

The temperature of the cornmeal mush should be around 110F – once it’s there, add the mixture to a mixer along with 2 cups of the flour and beat for around 100 strokes with the paddle attachment (or my hand of course).  Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place (around 80-90 degrees if possible) and let this mixture sit for 45 minutes.  I use my oven to let the dough rest and rise – sometimes even turning the broiler on for a minute to give it some warmth – this trick works well if your house is cool to begin with like mine.  The mix should bubble and rise slightly – this is called a “sponge”.

Stir the oil, salt and gradually cup after cup of flour to the sponge after it’s been bubbling for a while.  I did this with the dough hook of my mixer, but you can also do it by hand.  You may not need to add all of the flour – but you want to end up with a slightly sticky yet fluid dough that you can knead.  Turn it out onto your board and knead it for around 10 minutes by hand, adding flour as necessary.

Oil your large bowl and return the dough to your bowl, cover with the damp cloth and place again in the oven to rise for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.  Punch down the dough and shape it to your liking – I made standrad shaped loaves, as well as round boules – both were delicious.

Lightly oil your baking dishes, then add the dough, cover with the damp cloth again and let rise in the baking vessels for another 30-40 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350 F, brush the tops of your loaves with a little melted butter and bake for 40 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!