“A fisherman, angry with his wife, Anna, for serving him nothing but cornmeal and molasses, one day adds flour and yeast to his porridge and eats the resultant bread, while cursing, “Anna, damn her.”
Legend has it that Anadama bread was invented by a frustrated husband.
No one knows who Anna is, nor who she was married to. But that doesn’t really matter. All you need to know is this: One night the couple, whoever they were, had a fight, and their argument resulted in the creation of one of the most beloved dishes of coastal New England.MTN DEW Baja Blast Hot Sauce Is a Gorgeous Oddity Share Subtitles
Anadama bread can be made in loaf pans or shaped rounds. I did the latter, following Walter Staib’s recipe in The City Tavern Cookbook. This recipe was easy to follow and made two large loaves. The bread is wonderful with butter (of course!) or in sandwiches. It’s also very good toasted. (For a loaf pan recipe and a slightly different approach to this bread, see kingarthurflour.com.)
I often become interested in a colonial dish only to learn that it’s perhaps not so colonial after all. This happened with anadama bread. It’s described in some modern cookbooks as an 18th century bread, but it doesn’t appear in 18th or even 19th century cookbooks. However, an Anadama brand bread was recorded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1850, and there is anecdotal evidence that it was made before then.
There are quite a few legends about this delicious, slightly sweet bread, most involving a fisherman on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and his wife Anna. In one version, she was a wretched cook who made her husband cornmeal mush every day. One night he got so fed up with her mush that he threw some yeast and flour in it to make bread, all the while muttering, “Anna, damn her!” (In another version, he throws a bag of cornmeal at her, and it spills into her bread dough.)
6. Lightly grease a very large baking sheet with butter, then sprinkle with cornmeal. Shape each half of the dough into a ball. Place the balls, smooth sides up, on the baking sheet. Flatten each into a 6-inch round loaf. Cover with towel and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until almost doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Anadama Bread Recipe in The Bread Kitchen
FAQ
What is the meaning of Anadama?
What is the name of the brown bread?
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A loaf of whole wheat bread
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Alternative names
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Whole grain bread, wholemeal bread
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Type
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Brown bread
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Main ingredients
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Whole-wheat flour
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Media: Whole wheat bread
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What is Anadama bread?
Anadama bread is a traditional yeast bread of New England in the United States made with wheat flour, cornmeal, molasses and sometimes rye flour. Much folklore exists about the origin of the recipe for Anadama bread and it is not readily agreed upon exactly when or where the bread originated.
How do you make Anadama bread?
Lightly sweetened with cornmeal and molasses, Anadama Bread is a classic New England bread. It’s a unique (and delicious) bread recipe! Using a large bowl, combine cornmeal and salt. Using a microwave or stovetop, bring water to a boil. Add butter, molasses and boiling water to bowl with cornmeal; stir until well combined.
What is New England anandama bread?
This recipe for traditional New England anandama bread—a slightly sweet dark yeast bread made with flour, cornmeal, and molasses—makes 2 loaves, one to eat now and one to freeze. Serve hot with butter and cinnamon. Have you ever had Anadama bread? It’s a traditional dark yeast bread from New England.
Where did the word ‘Anadama’ come from?
A popular folkloric account regarding the origin of the word “Anadama” tells the story of a fisherman becoming tired of meals of corn meal and molasses mush. Upset with his wife, Anna, for serving him nothing else, one day adds flour and yeast to his porridge, baking the resultant bread, while cursing, “Anna, d*** her!”