The Anadama Bread is an old-fashion New England bread made with molasses, wheat flour, and cornmeal. My version is made with a sourdough starter with the addition of seeds and coconut.

Imagine my surprise when I came across this recipe as I was searching for a new bread recipe to use with my new kitchen toy. A New England bread I have never heard off before, an old-fashion bread that may very well be on it’s way to extinction. Once commercially produced, the Anadama Breads is a rarity today. Here is my tweaked version: a Sourdough Seed Anadama Bread.

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Sourdough Seed Anadama Bread

Anadama bread is a yeast bread from Massachusetts and it is traditionally made with wheat flour, cornmeal, and molasses. No one is sure of its origin but the Anadama bread did exist before 1850 in Rockport, Massachusetts and it may have come from the Finnish community of local stonecutters.

During the 20th century, it was delivered in a horse-drawn cart to households by men in blue smocks.  It was commercially available from local bakeries from the early 1900s until 1970 when the Anadama Bread Bakery on closed down.

KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer

New Kitchen Toy

I did it! I took the plunge and I got myself a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer. My previous stand mixer was no longer able to knead bread dough. So I went searching for the best deal I could find on Black Friday. I finally found my deal on eBay actually. An even better deal than any sale: 50% off. I had no choice of color as the model had the tiniest of a scratch on one of the beaters.

Wow, what a workhorse this beast is. I had to set the speed to the max on my old mixer to be able to handle bread dough. When I read the KitchenAid instructions, I was doubtful when it said to keep the speed on 2. But it worked like a piece of cake.

You can see how easily it kneads bread dough below in this short video…

My version is a bit more eclectic and modern. I made my bread with my sourdough starter and I also decided to add a handful of various seeds as well as a bit of coconut.

I am very happy to add this recipe to my bread recipe repertoire. My only comment is that you should eat it pretty quick as I found it dried out pretty fast after a couple of days.

Sourdough Seed Anadama Bread

The Anadama Bread is an old-fashion New England bread made with molasses, wheat flour, and cornmeal. My version is made with a sourdough starter with the addition of seeds and coconut.
Course Bread
Cuisine United States
Servings 2 loaves

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 12 ounces fed sourdough starter
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 cup stone-ground medium cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1/4 shredded coconut
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or more

Instructions
 

  • Combine flour and dry yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with the bread hook.
  • Add warm water and butter to bowl, mix well. Mix in the sourdough starter.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and 1 cup whole wheat flour, a little bit more if needed, until you get a slightly sticky ball of dough that sticks together. The quantity of flour will depend on the air humidity.
  • Knead with the dough for 8 to 10 minutes, by hand or in the mixer. It should be elastic.
  • Oil the mixing bowl and place the dough in it, turning it once to oil the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
  • Punch down gently and cover with a damp cloth and rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
  • Divide dough in two and shape as desired or into two logs to be baked in a prepared loaf pan. Leave to rise, covered, for 1 hour or until doubled in volume.
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F for 45-50 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until the top is a deep golden brow and a thermometer inserted inside reads 210 F. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack before slicing.

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