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.



















