Anadama Bread

How to make Anadama Bread Recipe - Exasperated by his lazy wife's habit of serving cornmeal mush every day, a Massachussets fisherman is said to have added yeast to the mush to make a loaf of bread. He christened his successful creation in honor of his wife by exclaiming "Anna, damn her."

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons butter
2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup warm water (105F to 115F, 40C to 45C)
4-1/2 to 5 cups unbleached bread or all-purpose flour

Method:
Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or 2 round, 9-inch, cake pans. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine 2 cups water, salt and cornmeal. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add molasses and butter. Set aside until cooled to lukewarm. In a large bowl, combine yeast and warm water; stir. Let stand about 5 minutes or until yeast foams. Add cooled cornmeal mixture. Stir in half of flour; beat well. Gradually stir in enough of remaining flour to make a stiff dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board. Knead until smooth and springy, about 10 minutes. Wash and oil bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to oil all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Punch down dough. Turn out onto board.

Knead 30 seconds to squeeze out air bubbles. Divide dough into 2 parts and shape into 2 round loaves. Place on greased baking sheets or in greased cake pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in bread comes out smoothly. Remove from pans. Cool on racks.