Anadama Bread or facing my fear of baking yeast breads

My first introduction to Anadama Bread was as a teenager. I had gone with family to dinner at Dexter's Hearthside restaurant in Essex, MA. Prior to the meals being served, a loaf of homemade Anadama Bread would be served. I still recall the sweetness of this bread from the use of molasses making a lasting impression on me.

As a teen it appeared to me this was the one and only restaurant from which you could get this bread and therefore I concluded this was a bread local to Cape Ann or the communities of Essex, Gloucester, Manchester and Rockport, MA. Little did I know how right I was! (Anadama Bread History. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadama_bread )

Passing from my teen years into my twenties and beyond, having my diet change due to food allergies, thoughts of this bread passed from brain until 2007 when I was looking for bread recipes which called for yeast. I had decided to face my fear of yeast breads and consulted my trusty revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook for recipes to try. Imagine my surprise when I found an Anadama Bread recipe!

I have always made this recipe as rolls as this made it easier for me to freeze and thaw as needed. Stored in a freezer safe container or plastic bag, the bread will keep up to 3 months.

Anadama Bread

From the revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook.

Yield: Two loaves or approx. 8 – 15 rolls, depending upon size

½ cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups water

1 package dry yeast

½ cup warm water (100 – 115 degrees farenheit in temperature

½ cup molasses

2 teaspoons table salt or 1 ¼ kosher salt

1 tablespoon butter or substitute, such as Earth Balance Buttery Spread (http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/original-buttery-spread/)

4 ½ cups white flour

Put the cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and pour it over the cornmeal. Stir until smooth, making sure that the cornmeal does not lump. Let stand for 30 minutes. When 25 minutes have passed, in a separate, small bowl, stir the yeast into ½ cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. Add the molasses, salt, butter and dissolved yeast to the cornmeal mixture. Stir in the flour and beat thoroughly.

For loaves: Spoon into 2 buttered loaf pans, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Bake bread for 45-50 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks.

For rolls: Using hands, shape batter into rolls, up to 3 inches in diameter. Place rolls 1 ½ inches apart on cookie sheet covered with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Bake rolls for 30-50 minutes. Remove rolls from oven when toothpick inserted in center of center-most comes out clean. Cool rolls on racks.