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Anadama Bread
Anadama is a classic New England bread made with cornmeal and molasses. This comforting loaf is surprisingly moist and tender, with just a hint of sweetness from the molasses. Great for sandwiches, toasted, or served with cultured butter and hearty chuck roast.
Plan a bit in advance for this bread. The night before you make the bread, mix the poolish that will be incorporated into the dough the next day. A poolish (equal parts flour and water with a pinch of yeast) is mixed the night before the bread is made and incorporated into the dough the next day. Adding a preferment, like this poolish, to a yeasted bread adds a depth of flavor and improves both the texture and keeping quality of the bread. If you want to make this bread all in one day, add an extra pinch of yeast to the poolish, and it will be ready in half the time.
Prep
14-16 hours
Cook
40 minutes
Total
14-18 hours
Yield
One 9" x 5" pan loaf
Ingredients
- 91g (¾ cup) Bread flour
- 91g (about ⅓ cup) Water
- Pinch Instant yeast
Poolish
- 140g (about ⅔ cup) Water
- 70g (½ cup) Cornmeal
Cornmeal Mash
- All Poolish
- All Cornmeal mash
- 150g (⅔ cup) Water
- 85g (¼ cup) Molasses
- 40g (3 tbsp) Oil or softened butter
- 8g (2 ½ tsp) Instant yeast
- 90g (¾ cup) Whole wheat flour
- 282g (2 ⅓ cup) Bread flour
- 9g (1 ¾ tsp) Fine salt
Dough
Instructions
- Set up the Proofer: Set up the Proofer and set to 72°F (22°C)
- Mix the poolish: The evening before you want to make the bread, mix the poolish. Using the dough whisk, combine the flour, water, and yeast for the poolish. Mix until thoroughly combined. Cover and place in the Proofer or Sourdough Home to rest for 10 to 12 hours.
- Make the cornmeal mash: In a small pot, bring the 140g of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the cornmeal and stir for one minute until no lump remains and the mixture comes back to a boil. Remove from the heat, spread the mixture on a plate, and cover. Set aside until cool.
- Mix the dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, poolish, cornmeal mash, and yeast. Stir with a dough whisk to break up the cornmeal and incorporate the poolish. Add the molasses and oil and stir to combine. Add the whole wheat flour, bread flour, and salt. Attach the dough hook, turn the mixer to the lowest speed, and mix for 2 minutes until no dry flour remains. Scrap the bottom of the bowl if necessary. Turn the speed to second speed and mix for 5 to 7 minutes. At the end of mixing, the dough will have gathered around the hook and will appear elastic, and will be somewhat tacky.
- Bulk fermentation: Set the Proofer to 79°F (26°C) and put the water tray in the middle of the warming plate. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) of water into the tray and place the rack on top of the tray. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and place it in the Proofer for about 1 ½ hours until doubled in size.
- Shape: Gently deflate the dough and turn out onto a floured counter. Shape into a 9” log. If desired, roll the top of the log in cornmeal. Place into a greased 9 x 5” bread pan.
- Proof: Place the bread pan in the proofer to rise for about 1 ½ hours. Toward the end of the proofing time, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C)
- Bake: Remove the loaf from the proofer. Using a bread lame, or small shape knife, make four diagonal slashes across the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 35 to 40 minutes until it is a deep golden brown, and a probe thermometer inserted into the center will read 195°F to 200°F (90°C to 30°C). Remove from the pan and set on a rack to cool.
Leave a comment
8 comments
Could you provide instructions to convert this recipe to use a sourdough starter instead of instant yeast, please?
Lisa – We have yet to make a sourdough version of this loaf, but here is the approach we would take if we were to try it. First, remove the yeast from the ingredient list. Next, Add the poolish flour and water amounts to the main dough ingredients. Decide how many grams of starter you want (we often use 20% of the total flour weight. Then divide that starter amount in half into flour and water weights, and subtract those amounts from the flour and water listed in the recipe. . If using 20% starter, here is what the recipe would look like- . All Cornmeal mash (same as original recipe) 92g Ripe Sourdough Starter (100% hydration) 195g Water 85g Molasses 40g Oil or softened butter 90g Whole wheat flour 327g Bread flour 9g Fine salt . In terms of mixing and timing, you will have to experiment, as we haven’t tried a sourdough version ourselves. You can follow the listed mixing instructions or try adding the cornmeal mash after a fold. The rising time will be extended by a couple of hours, but we can’t provide specifics. Let us know if you give it a go and how it turns out.
I am a bit confused by an inconsistency I found in your Anadama Bread recipe. Under the listed ingredients for the Cornmeal Mash part of the recipe, it calls for 140g of water. Yet in the instructions for making the Cornmeal Mash, it says to bring 130g of water to a boil. Which is the correct amount of water?
Janye – Sorry for any confusion. 140g is the correct amount of water for the cornmeal mash. The instructions have been updated to reflect the correct amount.
This bread is excellent! It’s the best bread I’ve ever had! Thank you for sharing.
Tracy – Thank you so much! We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed it!
Thanks. That’s a very good anadama recipe. Will def be repeating. Slices beautifully and even thinly sliced has great flexibility.
LCB – Thank you! So glad you like it :)