BBA: Anadama Bread

Funny how childhood memories stick with you. Besides the days full of horse shows, track meets, soccer games, and the occasional (and not highly anticipated) bout of putting up hay in our barn, I have quite a few memories from the kitchen. You see, my dad decided that my sister and I needed to learn knife skills. And cooking. And how to enjoy food and the process of making it. Unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan of helping my dad chop vegetables. My sister could do that (and she now is the best one in the kitchen out of our entire family. Coincidence?). I would much rather help my mom bake.


So when Saturday mornings would come around, and mom would decide that we needed some homemade bread around the house, I got to help. We'd flip through some of the most battered bread books you'd ever see, followed by her note cards full of recipes handed down from family and friends. And one bread that would occasionally pop up? Anadama. I'm not entirely sure why. I mean, the flying saucer bread looked so much cooler. And no, I have no idea what the name of that bread is, just that it's one round topped by a smaller round, sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was the shape that mattered with that one.

But the anadama? It was the flavor, the texture. Slightly sweet, in a caramelly way, slightly gritty from the cornmeal, and still soft enough to make some killer sandwiches. So while it took some convincing to get me to join Nicole in her quest to bake through Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice, I was thrilled to see the first bread in the book. Anadama Bread. And to think, I probably haven't made it in years!


So I've embarked on an epic journey - for the next 40-odd weeks, I will be baking through BBA with some pretty awesome folks. But this first bread? It's the beginning, and a pretty awesome one at that.

As for the recipe, since I made zero changes, I'm going with the same policy I use for TWD - no substantial changes, no recipe posted. But I'd bet that it's hanging around out there on the Internets, all you have to do is search for it!