Anadama Bread Anadama was the second bread I made when you kids were little... it's a very "New England" sweet, cornmeal and molasses based bread that's a little less intense in texture and technique than Boston Brown Bread. New Englanders have passed down two stories that attempt to explain the meaning of this bread's unique name. One story tells of a Gloucester, Massachusetts, fisherman, whose wife, Anna, prepared nothing for him to eat but a bowl of cornmeal and molasses. Desirous of something different to eat, one day he added yeast and flour to his daily gruel, in an attempt to create a tasteful bread. So frustrated was he in this endeavor that he grumbled, "Anna, damn her!" 1/4 cup warm water, 95 to 110 degrees F 2-1/4 tsp or 1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast 3/4 cup boiling water 3 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 1/4 cup molasses 1 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp salt 3-1/2 cups bread flour, about Just a pinch of nutmeg In small bowl, add 1/4 cup warm water and yeast. Stir until the yeast is dissolved and set aside. In small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. In large bowl, pour in boiling water. Add butter, cornmeal, molasses, sugar, and salt. Mix until the butter is complete melted. Allow to cool until warm. Mix in yeast solution. Begin mixing in flour, one cup at a time, until the dough is too thick to mix. Turn out on floured board and knead the dough, adding flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth, not sticky. Put dough in buttered bowl and turn so that the topside of the dough is buttered. Cover and let rise until double in size, about an hour. Punch down dough. Turn out on floured board and knead dough for about 3 minutes. Roll dough into a large rectangle and roll it up to form a bread loaf. Pinch seams and tuck under ends. Or shape round loaves (which is what I usually do). Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the sheet pan for the rounds or on the bottom of the loaf pan and place loaf in pan. Cover and let rise until double in size or for about 30 minutes. To make the bread top shiny, beat 1 egg white in a dish. Brush egg white onto top of bread. Using a sharp knife, make two or three slashes across the top of the loaf to prevent the crust from cracking. Bake bread at 375 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until the bread is a lovely dark brown. Remove bread from pan and let cool on a rack. Back to Yeast Breads