So here we are, my very first bread for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge is complete! Anadama is a traditional New England bread made with flour, corn meal, and molasses. It’s a curious name with a funny story attached to it, but the bread itself is no laughing matter. This is a seriously good loaf of bread!
Since I’ve never visited New England, my only only prior experience with Anadama Bread was reading a recipe for it a few years ago in The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. It sounded interesting, but at the time I was mostly baking whole wheat sandwich loaves.
Peter Reinhart’s version is similar to the King Arthur recipe when it comes to ingredients, but the method is different. In traditional Anadama recipes, the cornmeal is softened with boiling water and allowed to cool before the dough is mixed. The cornmeal step might add an extra hour, but bread could easily be made in an afternoon. Peter Reinhart’s version takes two days.
Now I know what you’re all thinking: who has two days to spend on a loaf of sandwich bread? But it’s not like that. The amount of active time between the two versions is about the same, but we have now learned from Peter Reinhart that everything tastes better when it sits around for a while. Yes, I’m oversimplifying it, but it’s true!
Traditional formulas for this bread are usually given as a direct-dough method, but this version utilizes a soaker and a sponge to evoke more flavor from the grain. Corn is chock-full of natural sugars, trapped in the complex carbohydrate starch base, so any trick we can employ to break the sugars free can only improve the already wonderful flavor. — from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart
Terms like soaker and sponge might be unfamiliar to some of you, but the concepts are simple. For this particular bread, the soaker was simply a mixture of coarse ground corn meal (polenta or corn grits) and water. So on the first day I spent a couple minutes mixing that up, left it on the counter and I was done!
Day two is when the real work began! I mixed my corn meal soaker with part of the flour, all of the yeast, and water. This was my sponge.
Mixing up a sponge before creating the final dough is a way to extend fermentation time. This process somehow extracts more flavor from the wheat (I’ll hopefully gain a better understanding of the science behind this as I bake more breads utilizing this method) and you’ll end up with a more flavorful loaf of bread. The soaker only took a few minutes to mix up and I left it alone on the counter for about an hour.
It’s aliiiiiive! As you can see, the sponge started bubbling away nicely in the hour that I left it sitting on my kitchen counter. Next I added all the remaining ingredients to sponge: flour, salt, molasses and butter.
I decided to make this first bread completely by hand rather than using my stand mixer. But if using a stand mixer, I would have mixed up the sponge in that bowl. After adding the extra ingredients, it can mixed using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.
When mixing by hand, I like to use a dough whisk. I got mine from King Arthur Flour’s Baker’s Catalog, but I’ve heard they are available other places online as well as in cooking stores like Sur La Table. A wooden spoon works, too!
Mix, mix, mix!
Eventually everything will be pretty well mixed in. At this point, my dough was much wetter than I was expecting. But rather than stir in extra flour, I decided to add the extra flour during the kneading process.
Tip: to get a wet dough out of the bowl, a simple flexible dough/bowl scraper is extremely useful and they are cheap enough that I suggest buying a couple just to make sure you always have one around! I think I paid a dollar each for mine at an expensive kitchen store. If you don’t have a scraper, just scoop the wet dough out as best you can with a rubber spatula. It’s very helpful to sprinkle flour around the edges of the dough in the bowl before scraping it out. I’ll try to illustrate this better with photos next time!
Make sure you flour your counter or bread board prior to dumping out a mass of wet dough! And I sprinkled some on top and also floured up my hands in anticipation of the sticky mess that was ahead of me!
I was right, the dough was a sticky mess. But I kept kneading and adding flour a little at a time until it became more cooperative. I’m not sure how much extra flour I kneaded in, probably close to 3/4 cup. It happens. I think I kneaded the dough for a total of ten minutes before I felt that it met the requirements of Peter Reinhart: “The dough should be firm but supple and pliable and definitely not sticky.”
So I was looking for a tacky, but not sticky, dough. What’s the difference between tacky and sticky? Luckily one of our BBA Challenge members was able to answer that question for us!
How to tell the difference between “sticky” and “tacky” when it comes to dough: The easiest way is to press your hand onto the dough and then lift it up. If the dough pulls ups with your hand and then releases (so your hand comes away clean), the dough is tacky. If you end up with dough stuck to your hand, it’s sticky. — from Phyl of Of Cabbages and King Cakes and founder of our BBA Challenge Facebook Group
Once I felt that the dough had been kneaded enough, I put it in an oiled bowl and turned it to make sure that the entire surface was coated in oil. This prevents the dough from drying out during the bulk fermentation period. ‘Bulk Fermentation’ is one of the new fancy terms that I’ve taken to using thanks to this book. It’s the proper term for a dough’s first rising period. Whatever you want to call it, this is the time when you cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit around and grow for about an hour and a half until it doubles in size.
My dough doubled in an hour and 15 minutes. At least it looked double to me! I poked it and the indentations remained, so I moved on to the next step.
Now this is where I might have made my first mistake with this bread. I think I was a little overzealous when I deflated the dough. I’ve always punched down bread dough at this point so I did it out of habit. But I think I should have just turned it out onto the board and divided it without deflating the dough all the way.
After violently deflating my dough, I dumped it back onto my board and divided it into two pieces. I did use a scale at this point to make sure that the pieces were close to the same weight so that I would end up with two loaves that were roughly the same size.
Next, I shaped each piece into a loaf. Each person has their own method for shaping, but here’s a great tutorial if you need a little help!
After the loaves were shaped, I put them into my loaf pans. This is where I think I made my second mistake. Perhaps it’s because I deflated the life out of my dough, but the 9×5-inch loaf pans just seemed too big for the amount of dough I was looking at. The weight was right according to the book, but from my experience, it just didn’t look right. I should have gone with my gut instinct and switched out the pans for ones that were slightly smaller. But I wanted to do it by the book this first time.
Normally, the second rise (or ‘proof,’ if you want to be fancy) in my slightly warm house would only take about an hour. But after an hour, the dough wasn’t close to cresting the tops of the loaf pans. I should have baked it at that point anyway, but I stubbornly stuck to the instructions in the book and waited 90 minutes for the dough to crest the top of the pans. Unfortunately, doing this caused my dough to over-proof. When I put it in the oven, the dough had no more ooomph left in it and even started to collapse a tiny bit in the middle.
But they were still beautiful! And the house smelled so good while they were baking, I thought I would go crazy. If I had used smaller loaf pans, the shape of loaves would have been a bit taller with a more rounded top. These loaves were wide and a bit flat. But the flavor and texture of the bread was so wonderful that I considered this first bread in the BBA Challenge a complete success!
My favorite way to eat this slightly sweet bread is toasted with lots of butter. But it’s also a great sandwich bread, and was the perfect wrapper for this wonderful Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich!
I will definitely be baking Anadma Bread again! I might even try using some whole wheat flour to replace part of the bread flour next time.
Want to read some other Anadama Adventures? Here are some links to other BBA Challenge Members who have written about the first bread:
- Paul, who was one of the first BBA’ers to bake the Anadama Bread
- Devany, who baked her Anadama Bread in Hawaii
- Görel, who baked her Anadama Bread in Sweden
- Arundathi, who baked her Anadama Bread in India
- Susie, who baked both an Anadama Loaf and some Anadama Dinner Rolls
That’s just a small sample of the hundreds of loaves of bread that have been baked this month thanks to The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge! And I hope we inspire you to open the book and start baking!
The Next Challenge
So what’s up next? This week’s challenge is Artos, or Greek Celebration Breads and the formula begins on page 111 in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. There are a few different variations of the main bread, and the goal is to choose one of them and complete it this week. If you would like to try more variations, that’s great too!
The Greek Celebration Bread begins with a starter. We are given the choice of making a Poolish (directions on page 106) or a Barm (directions on page 230). If you don’t already have a starter on hand (I will be using one of my own sourdough starters as the barm), your best bet for this bread will be a poolish as it only takes one day to create, while a barm will take closer to a week. Whichever method you choose, allow 1 to 2 days to complete the bread itself.
Several members of the group have already baked loaves of Artos and I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about it! Good luck and happy baking!
Want to Bake Along With Us?
There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Read the first section of the book carefully, as this will prepare you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread! Please visit The BBA Challenge Page for more details on how to participate in the group!
Happy baking!
I agree with the toasting as I found the taste really shined this way! That sandwich of yours looks fantastic.
1:54 pm May 19th, 2009I LOVE how your bread turned out! Mine turned out great and I loved the flavor and the crunch this bread had. Sure wish I had some avocados when I was eating my loaves! We ended up having black forest ham and muenster cheese
1:58 pm May 19th, 2009Nicole – what a wonderful write-up! I love your explanation of each step. I found the dough to be pretty sticky as well when I turned it out for the kneading, but like you I just worked flour in during the kneading process and it turned out beautifully. It was a delicious bread, wasn’t it? I’m also planning to try incorporating some whole wheat into the next anadama loaves.
Here’s my post. http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/bba-1-anadama-bread/
Just munched on two thick slices of the Artos – it’s wonderful! Enjoy baking it this week! And thanks again for organizing such a fun activity.
1:58 pm May 19th, 2009Wow! What a great post. I love your pictures and your step by step explanations. Your sandwich looks delicious. And your loaves are gorgeous.
2:07 pm May 19th, 2009here’s my link:
http://pinkstripes.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/bba-anadama-sandwich-rolls-and-a-yummy-sandwich/
Beautiful post Nicole! I really enjoyed reading it and seeing the process. Thank you again for putting this group together!
Here is the link to my post as well: http://phemomenon.blogspot.com/2009/05/bba-1-anadama-bread.html
2:09 pm May 19th, 2009Thanks for hosting the BBA Challenge, Nicole! I feel like I have learned a lot already.
My friends and family thank you, too, since they are getting samples!
http://www.gothpanda.com/2009/05/10/bba-challenge-1-anadama-bread/
2:14 pm May 19th, 2009Great post! I love all your pictures, especially the BLT. Yum!
My post: http://www.amanda.fakeginger.com/?p=498
2:15 pm May 19th, 2009Hi BOSS I mean Nicole,
2:32 pm May 19th, 2009This has been so wonderful for so many of us.
Your post is wonderful and your bread is perfect.
Love baking along with you,
Susie
I keep waiting for an article in the Wall Street Journal about the mysterious sudden rise in demand for brotforms, yeast, and a certain five-year-old book on baking…
2:37 pm May 19th, 2009Your bread looks wonderful (I love your process pictures, and your BLT, but the top photo is stunning…) but you know what’s nicest? Ours do too! I think a lot of us had a surprising and gratifying success with our first bread…and I know there was a ton of fun and friendship involved. So thank you again!
Here’s mine…
http://foodfrombooks.blogspot.com/2009/05/bread-bakers-apprentice-1-anadama-bread.html
Audrey
Nicole, your description and photos are great. In fact it makes me want to bake a loaf or two of Anadama again very soon.
Deb @ Italian Food Forever
2:37 pm May 19th, 2009My post is at http://tinyurl.com/oa37dn
Yum!!! I can’t believe how much better we are all going to be at bread baking by the time this is done!!!
My pics and story are here: http://jennetcetera.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/anadama/
2:38 pm May 19th, 2009Love your pics!I want a sandwich now…just like that one (minus the bacon) Love your site! Thanks for all the organizing and work put in to keep this moving along! I have posted the first two recipes at http://www.peteeatemall.blogspot.com – thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! Happy baking!
2:44 pm May 19th, 2009Oh my goodness. I posted a bit ago and didn’t notice my name. LOL.
2:50 pm May 19th, 2009I just see where you mentioned me. How did I miss that. LOL. Thanks for including me in your first loaf post.
Susie
Nicole your photos and write up are stunning! Love the step by steps. I really enjoyed making this bread. In addition to my loaf I added in some rolls. I used the rolls to make BLT’s & they were DELISH! My post is here http://www.bellalimento.com/2009/05/15/anna-damn-her-i-mean-anadama-bread
2:50 pm May 19th, 2009Looks great! I’m so happy I decided to take the challenge. My Artos is proofing right now. I decided to cancel my dinner menu and just make some eggs to go with it!
2:58 pm May 19th, 2009Have you considered adding a Mr. Linky on these posts, instead of having people add their link in the comments? For those of us who blog, it would be a great format.
Thanks again for starting the challenge!
Rebeca
Oh, I forgot to add the link to my Anadama Post: http://carriedonthewind.blogspot.com/2009/05/bba-challenge-1-anadama-bread.html
2:59 pm May 19th, 2009Your dough pictures are so pretty! And that BLT… the sole reason I made a second batch of this bread… Thanks, Nicole, for creating such a great baking community!
2:59 pm May 19th, 2009Here’s my Anadama post: http://whiteapples.typepad.com/blog/2009/05/anadama-a-dama-good-bread.html
Rebeca: I was testing out Mr. Linky yesterday and didn’t really like how it looked/worked. But I might try it on next week’s post to see how it works.
3:05 pm May 19th, 2009Excellent pictorial step-by-step Nicole. And thank you for putting this all together and keeping us organized.
My big fat Greek bread can be found here:
http://othersideof50.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-big-fat-greek-bread-bba-challenge.html
3:08 pm May 19th, 2009Lovely photos! I’m heartened that my bread looked quite similar to yours along the way.
I found the cornmeal added a gritty texture that my teeth aren’t too fond of. Did anyone else have that? I’m wondering if soaking the cornmeal in boiling water would have softened it a bit…
Looking forward to Artos this week!
3:14 pm May 19th, 2009Hey…your bread looks just like mine! LOL.
Fantastic job and I love the step-by-step!
I had to triple post for my Anadama Bread. Just not enough days in the week to get everything posted!
http://bigblackdogs.blogspot.com/2009/05/triple-header-with-grand-slam-bread.html
Michelle
3:15 pm May 19th, 2009The photos of each step are perfect — how beautiful it looks coming together! I love the history of this bread’s name — it always makes me think of Queen Amidala from Star Wars. Yes, I’m strange
3:16 pm May 19th, 2009Nicole, that post is a true labor of love. Your explanations are so clear and the process photos make for a great tutorial! We loved the toast the best, but we enjoyed ours in lots of ways. Here’s my post:
3:16 pm May 19th, 2009http://cornerloaf.blogspot.com/2009/05/anadama-bread-bba.html
This looks like such a wonderful bread! Thank you for all the detailed explanations, it’s so helpful to someone like me who has only baked bread a few times and is always confused by the terminology and techniques.
3:27 pm May 19th, 2009Nicole, I absolutely love your recap of the process and all of the pictures, they are fabulous! We all loved this bread as well. Here is my post: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/05/18/anadama-bread/
3:30 pm May 19th, 2009I love your step by step photos and the beautiful sandwich.
I can’t stop eating this bread and we just finished the second batch. I have also baked Artos and will post the result sometime this week.
http://oggi-icandothat.blogspot.com/2009/05/bread-bakers-apprentice-challenge.html
3:31 pm May 19th, 2009Phyl’s sticky-tacky explanation was so helpful to me! Your sandwich looks great – wish I could have gotten pictures of our BLTs, but that was one meal that the family refused to let me take pictures of – they were in too much of a hurry to eat them. Glad your technical difficulties have been cleared up! Here’s my Anadama:
3:37 pm May 19th, 2009http://roundthetable.net/2009/05/19/breadies-unite-for-bba-challenge/
Wonderful post! I really enjoyed making—and eating—this bread. I’m still so thrilled to be a part of this group. I’m looking forward to artos.
Like you, I found the dough to be rather wet and ended up adding quite a bit of flour during kneading, but it definitely needed it. Now if I could only get the “windowpane” next time. I’ll definitely be making this again, so I’ll have a chance to make adjustments.
Here’s my post on the anadama:http://distractedbysomethingshiny.blogspot.com/2009/05/bba-challenge-week-1-anadama.html
3:42 pm May 19th, 2009You rock, Nicole! Thank you so much for dreaming up, organizing and shepherding this challenge.
I’m in culinary school right now, but I feel like I’m going to get a great education just from this challenge. Hmmm … Maybe I could’ve saved a few bucks?
You can see my Anadama experience at http://flourgrrrl.blogspot.com/2009/05/anna-damn-er.html.
3:47 pm May 19th, 2009Mmm, looks delicious! I agree, it makes a really tasty sandwich bread!
4:01 pm May 19th, 2009My post is up here: http://cupcakemuffin.blogspot.com/2009/05/back-in-business-anadama-bread.html
Most excellent! I especially love your kneading photo…just perfect. And that BLT is making my stomach growl.
Thanks for serving as our fearless leader. It’s going to be a fun year!
Here’s my post:
http://stoveria.blogspot.com/2009/05/bread-bakers-apprentice-143-anadama.html
4:26 pm May 19th, 2009This is a totally fun baking group and I really enjoyed seeing the map where everyone put a pin where they live. …so much so I rewrote the words to “I’d like to buy the world a coke” to go with our bread theme… if you want to read it, it’s on the bottom of my post on Anadama bread: http://reviewofrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/05/anadama-bread-by-seat-of-my-pants.html (I didn’t have my book yet… that’s why it was “seat of the pants”)
Tammy
P.S. I totally love your post and your step by step pictorial. Your pictures are awesome!
4:49 pm May 19th, 2009I am such a visual person and the pictures in this post are incredible. Thanks for making me salivate!!
5:29 pm May 19th, 2009Hi Nicole,
Your photos are beautiful and your step by step instructions are inspiring. You’re a natural teacher and I’m so glad I can learn from you. One of my loaves also had a bit of a valley on top, and after reading your explanation, I realize that I too was a bit violent with my punching down. I will be more gentle next time.
5:38 pm May 19th, 2009Gorgeous! But wow – I don’t think I’ve ever actually *punched* dough down, just gently deflated it
I know I’ve said it a number of times already, as have others, but thank you so very much for starting this. Such a cool project!
5:49 pm May 19th, 2009I had some similar issues with the Anadama. I retarded the dough in the fridge overnight because I was going out of town, and it rose like crazy. I re-kneaded it and let it proof again. It needed several hours to return to room temperature and crest the pans; I think it over-proofed because one of the loaves turned out kind of baggy.
It was still delicious, though! A link to my bread is below.
http://haleysuzanne.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/bba-1-anadama-bread/
5:56 pm May 19th, 2009I love your step-by-step pictures. I did not knead by hand but in my KA. Was so easy to make and delicious, especially with lot’s of butter. I like your BLT.
Here is mine:
6:06 pm May 19th, 2009http://helene-lacuisine.blogspot.com/2009/05/anadama-bread-bba-challenge.html
Forgot to add my link to my Anadama post:
6:14 pm May 19th, 2009http://saltandserenity.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/mom-why-is-there-white-powder-all-over-your-camera-or-how-i-lost-my-blogger-virginity
Great post. I think I need a dough whisk now that I’ve seen it in action.
6:16 pm May 19th, 2009Excellent write up, Nicole! Thanks so much for putting this Challenge together. I’m glad you found the time to bake!!
6:30 pm May 19th, 2009Awesome Post Nicole! I agree with Phyl, thanks for the challenge!
7:03 pm May 19th, 2009Here is my post:
http://thestudiouscook.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/bba-challenge-1-anadama-bread-anna-damner/
omg this made the BEST buttery cinnamon toast even when it was 5 days old! it’s so awesome to live near you so i can eat all of your bba treats!
7:18 pm May 19th, 2009Howdy. Your loaves look absolutely wonderful! Many thanks for being the smart cookie who thought of this group. Here’s mine(!):
7:59 pm May 19th, 2009http://browninterior.blogspot.com/2009/05/bba-challenge-anadama.html
Ahhh this looks great…I just posted my moms German Light Rye Bread recipe and was introduced to baking bread, sponges and all that jargin. This looks fantastic and I’ll have to venture into the baking world and try!
8:38 pm May 19th, 2009The entire book is online at google books.
9:27 pm May 19th, 2009Beautiful loaves! I especially love the picture of your sandwich- so similar to one of the sandwiches I made with this loaf… great minds, you know…
10:17 pm May 19th, 2009Looking forward to week two! (and three, and four, etc!)
Nicole, this is an excellent post! The way you describe and illustrate every step, including mistakes, and with just the right amount of theory, is absolutely brilliant.
You’re doing a fantastic job with this group, and I’m so happy I joined it! It will be a true adventure. I wasn’t so happy with my Anadama bread, but there you go, you can’t love ‘em all. But you get to learn something from every bread you bake.
10:32 pm May 19th, 2009Nicole, this is a reall great post! It all seems so *official* now that you have started baking and posting. I did the Anadama a couple of weeks ago, but have been waiting to be on schedule with everyone else to start Artos – I’ll start the poolish tonight. It’s so wonderful to be baking along with all of you!
Here’s my (brief) post on Anadama: http://grongar.wordpress.com/2009/05/06/twitters-legacy/
5:53 am May 20th, 2009FAntastic post Nicole!!! I love it. Thanks so much.
nico
here is mine
6:57 am May 20th, 2009http://incursionandoenlacocina.blogspot.com/2009/05/bba-challenge-1-anadama-bread.html
Looks great, Nicole. I love the step-by-step photos. And I want a dough whisk, now. (and a whole bunch of other stuff from KAF…) Here’s my post: http://diskitchennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/05/is-for-anadama.html
8:12 am May 20th, 2009I’m going to be putting up my posts on my blog on Mother Nature Network where I blog about eco-friendly food
Here’s my anadama post
http://www.mnn.com/food/cooking-recipes/blogs/bread-bakers-challenge-anadama-bread
Nicole – about the punching down – I read the directions several times because I was surprised it wasn’t there. I didn’t punch my dough down at all. I can definitely see how you would do it out of habit. I’m not very experienced at all and expected it should be part of the process.
9:58 am May 20th, 2009Echoing others… Thank you again Nicole for starting this challenge! I loved your step by step pictures, not always easy with dough on one’s hands.
Here is my link: http://www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
12:47 pm May 20th, 2009[...] week, two loaves of Anadama Bread, no avocados. Really wanted to make one of these great-looking sandwiches (look near the end of the [...]
1:46 pm May 20th, 2009Its gorgeous, Nicole!! And the sandwich looks perfect!
I love how you showed step-by-step pics!
5:00 pm May 20th, 2009I love this blog, and this may not be the proper place for this comment, but I would love to see at least one recipe for a Diabetic Friendly High Fiber bread, (that is actually good) tastes good that is and not like cardboard. Before I was diabetic I baked Adadama Bread every week, along with some other Amish Breads, for years. Since becoming Diabetic, I have tried some recipes just to end up throwing it all out, I am desperate for a good high fiber bread recipe.
3:22 am May 21st, 2009Thanks to anyone that has one.
Mitchell
And a most lovely loaf it is! I don’t think I’d have tried this on my own and no idea why now that I’ve baked it because it is a treasure.
Here’s my post
http://tinyurl.com/pbw4b5
The Greek Celebration loaf is gone from our house now but my husband is asking for more I’ve told him is bagels for him next ;o) poor boy.
8:50 am May 21st, 2009I love Anadama Bread. When we sail on the Maine Windjammer J&E Riggin Chef Annie makes it on her wood stove. She uses wheat flour too! Delicious!!! The recipe for it is in her cookbook At Home, At Sea which you can find on her blog http://www.ArtichokesAndAsparagus.com
12:02 pm May 21st, 2009The men i the house say this is a real man’s bread
Only had time for snapshots on my loaf.
http://attheveryyeast.blogspot.com/2009/05/bba-challenge-anadama-bread.html
11:26 pm May 21st, 2009I LOVE this! Question — I am traveling a lot this year (to learn how to cook in Singapore!) and won’t be able to bake every week. (It’s sacrilegious I know, but my parents in Singapore don’t own an oven.)
a) Is it too late to join in? And b) May I join in and bake whenever I’m back in NYC and actually have a kitchen with a stove?
7:57 am May 22nd, 2009Wow! That looks so good! It almost looks like you have store bought bread and took a picture of it. It is perfect! How long would you say it took you in total time to make the bread?
2:18 pm May 22nd, 2009WOW, what a process! thanks for the beautiful pictures. we use a dehydrator to make tasty raw bread and crackers
Jason
11:39 pm May 22nd, 2009Love the pictures of the process! I make this bread quite often because it is one of our favourites.
9:44 am May 23rd, 2009Thanks for setting up the challenge…I’m looking forward to baking all of the breads!
Penny
Absolute perfection! I love your photos.
6:36 pm May 23rd, 2009Great post! Very detailed. Can’t wait to try the recipe.
6:37 pm May 24th, 2009Mine is finally up, and not just up, but actually working! Woohoo! *cough* *ahem* Yeah, uh, you can find it at http://food.laurieashton.com/2009/05/anadama-bread-sourdough-version/ and yes, mine was made with sourdough (aka natural leaven or wild yeast), not commercial monoculture yeast. Because I like to be different. Or something.
1:17 am May 25th, 2009[...] the loaf was definitely bigger. Now I wouldn’t say that it had doubled, but remember how I over-proofed my Anadama? I was determined not to do that again! So, I decided it had risen enough and put it in the [...]
4:55 pm May 25th, 2009when pigs fly bakes great bread daily and ships all over new england, ny and ct
check out this site for a review of them
http://wheretogoandwhattodo.blogspot.com
9:06 am May 31st, 2009[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread! But first, please visit The BBA Challenge Page for more details on how to participate in the [...]
6:32 pm Jun 1st, 2009Hi, Pinch My Salt. I’m late to the party but I am so glad to join the BBA challenge. I’ve just posted on my blog about Anadama at http://bitethebiscuit.blogspot.com/2009/06/bread-bakers-apprentice-challenge-part.html. Your pics are great and I love the detail in your writing. (I didn’t like this as asandwich bread but your pic of the BLT makes me wish I’d tried it for that sandwich. Bacon would go great with this.)
7:21 pm Jun 10th, 2009Anyway, thanks again for starting this!
I just recently discovered your blog and have been enjoying it. I will definately have to try this recipe for Anadama bread. I love Anadama bread and remember my mother making it at home. I am glad to see a recent resurgence in its popularity.
2:04 pm Jul 4th, 2009I am about to start the BBA challenge this weekend, just about to mix up my starter. Can’t wait, thanks for the helpful blog post and pictures!
2:42 am Jul 18th, 2009Lauren: Awesome! Welcome to the challenge!
7:09 am Jul 18th, 2009I just checked out the book from the library and am excited about getting started. Loved all your pics!
5:26 am Jul 21st, 2009[...] into all the different stages of the bread, you can see those in good many other blogs including pinch my salt who started the whole bba thing off. Plus the batteries were running out in my camera so I [...]
2:16 pm Jul 21st, 2009I was a little late but I am joing the BBA Challenge. Planning on baking my first challenge next week (or maybe this weekend!!!). This is so much fun! The map is awesome! I just realized how many BBA bakers there are in San Diego, CA! Woohoo!
1:57 pm Jul 31st, 2009I’m a bit late to the game but have started posting my progress on the Cook’s Illustrated Bulletin Board at http://www.americastestkitchen.com/ibb/posts.aspx?postID=289593. I look forward to following your progress and looking at awe at your beautiful pictures. Thank you for the kick I needed to start this challenge.
8:17 am Aug 2nd, 2009Amanda, Raquel & Kurt: So glad you’re starting the challenge! Looking forward to following your progress…stay in touch!
8:51 am Aug 2nd, 2009I just made this bread today and OMFSM (Flying Spaghetti Monster), it turned out amazing. I only wish I hadn’t cut the formula in half and had made 2 loaves. Def will make this again. Thanks for introducing me to the challenge.
1:31 pm Aug 16th, 2009I started this challenge 3 weeks ago. The Anadama Bread was so good that I’ll definitely make it again. Here’s my post: http://ap269.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/bba-challenge-1-anadama-bread/
4:42 am Aug 17th, 2009[...] evenly baked, with small chunks of potato scattered throughout the loaf. The other recipe was for anadama bread from a book Sarah owns called the Bread Baker’s Apprentice. The dough was quite sticky and [...]
8:46 am Aug 17th, 2009I baked the recipe from the BBA and had slightly less rise even than your lovely loafs, and found the texture too gritty for my taste. As an experiment, I made a half recipe, using a mix of 1/3 course cornmeal (polenta) + 2/3 fine cornmeal. Then I used a bread machine to do all the mixing/kneading and added very little additional flour. That loaf came out fabulously risen. Something about that wet dough is important!
10:38 am Sep 9th, 2009i just ordered BBA and I’m looking forward to trying this Anadama bread. I wish I had found out about the challenge earlier, I would have had an excuse to buy the book sooner! At least now I know where to come for inspiration and beautiful pictures as I work my way through BBA.
3:08 pm Sep 11th, 2009I finally bought the book (after “dating it” for almost an year!) and by chance ended up here.
So inspiring! I guess I’ll have to start a blog and catch up with you guys:)
Cheers,
9:43 pm Sep 30th, 2009[...] week, two loaves of Anadama Bread, no avocados. Really wanted to make one of these great-looking sandwiches (look near the end of the [...]
12:29 pm Oct 20th, 2009Hi Nicole! I know I’m eons behind, but I finally got a digital scale and a bench scraper and a new rolling pin, so I’m ready to rock this BBA challenge. Thanks for putting this together, it’s a total inspiration for some hardcore baking!
2:15 pm Jan 8th, 2010Hi! Got the book midway through last year as a gift after I’d been making all our household bread for about 6 months. Finally got around to setting myself the challenge. Made the Anadama this weekend and it was fabulous – 3 beautiful loaves. I had it fresh with butter, toasted with honey, and fresh again with sardines and avocado. Offspring couldn’t get enough of it. Looking forward to catching up to some of the serious bakers as I work through the book.
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6:02 am Jan 27th, 2010[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book. You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more [...]
4:58 pm Feb 5th, 2010[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book. You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more [...]
7:59 am Feb 24th, 2010I made this bread for the first time yesterday. As you suggested it was my first recipe out of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. It’s an excellent loaf with great texture and flavor. Thanks for the tip.
11:32 am Feb 26th, 2010I know I am months behind everyone, but if anyone notices this comment I would love a little help. Twice now I have had a go at this recipe and twice I have been stumped at step one. My 6 oz of polenta and 8 oz of water makes a paste, not a sponge. The polenta soaks up the water and is pasty enough if I stick a finger in it the hole my finger makes stays static when I pull my finger out. The second time I weighed everything twice and recoded the tare of the mixing bowl. I have 14 oz “stuff”. It’s not instant polenta, I double checked that…
This is maddening as I have managed to get to a point where I am getting solid ciabatta and baguettes consistently. I figured this would be a sunday night cake-walk to tackle.
3:49 pm Mar 7th, 2010Matthew, perhaps try another corn meal? I’ve had great success with the grits from the bin at my local heath food store.
7:35 pm Mar 7th, 2010[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book. You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more [...]
4:29 pm Apr 19th, 2010[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book. You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more [...]
3:02 am May 31st, 2010[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book. You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more [...]
7:52 am Jun 7th, 2010[...] you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book. Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book. You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more [...]
2:52 am Jun 15th, 2010Trying to clarify…soaker sits overnight and the sponge (soaker + flour/yeast/water) sits for an hour?
Thanks!
1:45 pm Jul 21st, 2010[...] Pinch My Salt has some gorgeous shots of Reinhart’s method. [...]
7:47 pm Aug 29th, 2010