Authentic Anadama Bread – from my book of Historic Cape Ann Recipes “ The Legacy of Three Melissas” by Melissa Smith Abbott
Click to Buy: The Legacy of Three Melissas: Authentic and Original Cape Ann Recipes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1450722156/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_C0242YGBH6WK0FR4Q1XH
soft cover version
Recipe
1/2 cup course cornmeal
2 cup boiling water
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup organic blackstrap molasses (buy it in a health food store)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 package or 1 Tbsp. dry active yeast dissolved in 1/8 cup warm water
5 cups unbleached flour
Using a double boiler, boil some water in bottom section (see video) and put 2 cups hot water in the top part of double boiler, when hot whisk in cornmeal a little at a time with wire whisk. Add 1/2 cup molasses, 2 Tbsps. butter, and 1 tsp. sea salt. Cook on low in double boiler for at least an hour. You may let it sit overnight for even better texture and flavor. I talk about why in my You Tube tutorial, which gives you a complete overview of the process. Cool cornmeal and molasses mixture to luke warm. Combine cornmeal/molasses mixture with 5 cups of unbleached flour and softened yeast. Knead until completely combined and stays in a ball. You can do this in a mixer with a dough hook, food processor, or by hand in a bowl. Place dough in greased bowl and let rise 60 minutes in warm place covered by plastic wrap or damp cloth. When double in bulk, knead again on floured surface for a few minutes and then form into 2 loaves. I go over the best way to form them in the video. Place loaves in greased heavy bread pans, cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 60 more minutes. When double in bulk preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake loaves for 45min -1 hour. Check to make sure oven isn’t too hot, if they start to brown quickly, turn down oven to 375 degrees. Depending on your oven, they may be done earlier so start checking them at 40 minutes.
It has been my pleasure to share this bit of Cape Ann history with you. I hope you bake this with love and enjoy it in your home. I would love to hear your experiences! Happy Baking!
