Anadama Bread

When I was a kid the hot lunch at school often came with anadama bread.  It must be a New England thing because no one around here seems to have heard of it.  It's sweet and moist with molasses and cornmeal.  I used to love it when the days I got hot lunch (strangely, I thought of hot lunch as a "treat") coincided with anadama bread days.  While the other kids pulled faces and pushed their bread to the side, I silently savored mine. 
I was so excited to find a recipe for this childhood delicacy in Peter Reinhart's book.  I put the biga and the soaker out to work their slow-fermentation magic last night and this afternoon I put it all together.  This recipe is heartier than the version I remember from hot lunches past.  But the complexity of the whole grains suits my adult palate and sensibilities. 
I still love the meditative qualities of bread making.  I love the process, how it can't be rushed, the tactile way you have to involve yourself in it wholeheartedly, flour up to your elbows.  And, of course, I love the warm butter, honey and toothsome bread aspect of it as well.