Anadama Bread

Wednesday, 12/31/2014

I don't crave bread often, but this is the bread I desire when I do. The molasses makes it slightly sweet and moist - the crumb is soft and toothy. There is just the faintest hint of crust, which is fine by me (I prefer my bread with little to no crust). My favorite part is when it's fresh out of the oven, with just the smallest pad of butter.

This recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but all I had on hand was bread flour. Not the end of the world, but it gives it a more 'bready' texture. Other than that, it is a super easy bread that is hard to mess up. It is a bit sticky, so keeping your surfaces well floured while kneading is important. It is perfect if you want to dive into bread making and have very little experience.

Cheers Dee
90 min 45 min 135 min $0.50/serving

Ingredients:

  • 1⁄2 cup water
  • 1⁄4 cup cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1⁄2 cup molasses
  • 1 (1⁄4 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1⁄2 cup warm water (110°F)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Splashes of oil (vegetable works fine)

Steps

  1. Stir the yeast into the 1⁄2 cup warm water. Allow to become foamy, roughly 10 min.
  2. Place 1⁄2 cup water and cornmeal in a small saucepan. Stirring intermittently, allow to boil and thicken, about 4 min. Turn off the heat and add the butter and molasses. Let cool to lukewarm.
  3. Transfer the molasses/cornmeal mixture to a bowl. Add the activated yeast and mix until blended.
  4. Add 2 cups of the flour and the salt; mix well. Add the remaining flour in 1⁄2 cup increments, mixing well before adding next batch of flour.
  5. Once the dough appears 'kneadable', dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth , about 5 minutes.
  6. Coat a large bowl with some oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume, 60ish minutes.
  7. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Punch the dough (seriously, once is fine).
  8. Remove from dough, knead once or twice, and form it so it will fit in a loaf pan. Plop it into the loaf pan and cover with the cloth and let rise for another 45ish minutes.
  9. Bake at 375° F (190° C) for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. If possible, allow to cool completely (about 45 minutes) before cutting. I cut into mine after 5 minutes - very hot!
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