Anadama Bread and Rolls

I first made this bread in December of 1982 and included mini-loaves in my food gift baskets that year.  This is very good bread and you can definitely taste the hearty texture of the corn meal.   I adapted my recipe from one in a 1976 edition of Redbook Cookbook.

• Servings: One 9-inch loaf or one 7-3/14-inch loaf plus 10 rolls
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• 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, approx.
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 2 pkgs instant dry yeast
• 1 cup water, heated to 130 degrees F
• 1 cup milk, heated to 130 degrees F
• 1/2 cup light molasses*
• 3 Tblsp. butter, melted

*I used some molasses I had bought in Amish country and it has a slight sorghum flavor.  Any good light molasses would work well.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, place 1 cup of flour, the corn meal, yeast, water, milk, molasses and melted butter.  With a paddle beater, beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

Remove paddle beater and insert dough hook.  Add one cup of flour to the mixture and beat at medium speed, gradually adding 1/2 cup of flour at a time as the dough is being kneaded for 6-1/2 minutes.  Dough should be elastic and smooth, but will be a little sticky to the touch because of the molasses.

Place dough in a greased bowl ….

…cover and let rise in warm place for 30 minutes.

Punch down dough and make into bread and/or rolls.  This amount of dough will make two 9×5 inch loaves or a variety of other combinations.  I chose to make a 7-3/4 inch loaf and 10 large rolls.  Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake the rolls for approximately 12-15 minutes, depending on size.  Bake a 7-3/4 inch loaf of bread for approximately 30 minutes, and a 9×5 inch loaf for 45-55 minutes.

Remove from pans immediately to a wire rack and let cool.

I like to cover the bread with a tea towel while cooling to keep the crust soft.

The bread came out of the oven at noon, just in time for my daughter and me to enjoy it for lunch with a bowl of soup – fantastic!

Incidentally, for busy days, it’s nice to have a box of Campbell’s V-8 soup in the pantry.  Today, we had Southwestern Corn Chowder – really good.

Note:  I always underbake the rolls because I’m going to be browning them in the oven just before serving – usually just two or three at a time.