Anadama

Anadama bread, a true New England tradition...just the thing to make me feel right at home now that I'm back in Illinois and the semester is starting to get into gear. I consider it just a minor detail that I don't think I've ever actually had anadama bread before. So what kind of bread is this exactly, and what's with its name? Well, even the Oxford English thinks the etymology is unclear, but every account I've ever heard agrees on at least a few key plot elements: some cornmeal, a bunch of molasses, a New England farmer, a wife named Anna, and some mild profanity...

Combine 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. While this stands for 5 minutes, put 3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup of molasses, and 1 cup of water into a small sauce pan. Mix and heat until lukewarm. Add this to the yeast, stir well, and then start adding, one cup at a time, 1/2 cup cornmeal and 4 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour.

Especially compared to last week's, this dough was soft, supple, and almost too easy to knead...it really didn't put up much of a fight at all. Anyway, knead in about another 1/2 cup of flour, until the dough is still slightly sticky but also nice and elastic. Favorite kneading moment: my iPod shuffling its way to "Play That Funky Music, White Boy"...I'm pretty sure kneading bread is among the least funky of things one can do.

Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover it, and set it in an oven, turned to its very lowest temperature and with the door partly open, until it has doubled in bulk as it undergoes the


First Rising (1 hour and 40 minutes)
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So, I'd like to relate something of a disconcerting event that happened earlier this week. I feel I should warn you, though, that "disconcerting" does not fully capture the harrowing, almost soul-chilling surprise in store in the following paragraphs. More sensitive readers may wish to skip ahead.

Well, before you worry too much, rest assured that I still like milkshakes and think dessert is delicious, but this is nearly bad. A few days ago, late at night after a long day in the physics building, I went to a nearby cafe to treat myself to some hot chocolate. Now, I've always loved hot chocolate, particularly in the wintertime...since I was a little kid I always loved coming in from the blustery cold of a New England winter's day, sitting by the fire, and cupping my hands around a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Well anyway, I ordered my hot chocolate, took it to the upstairs seating area, found myself a quiet spot by a window, took a sip, and...

Nothing. I don't know quite how to describe it, but the hot chocolate tasted somehow hollow. Don't get me wrong, it tasted just like any other cocoa I've had, maybe even a bit fancier than usual. But it was all warmth and sweetness, with nothing behind it, as if it lacked character (or, some might say, "edge"). Perhaps this was just the slow but natural evolution of my tastes as I've gravitated towards darker chocolates and the occasional cup of coffee, but still. It was like hanging out with a childhood friend and suddenly realizing that there was just no real personality behind the kindness. Anyway, I'm not quite sure what to make of all this, but the whole thing threw me for a loop, because, quite frankly, I don't want to not like hot cocoa. I've been a bit afraid to try any since then, but I suppose sooner or later I'll have to find out if it was a fluke or if my tastes really are changing that much. Hope not.
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In one of the most enjoyable steps in the bread-making process, punch down into the warm , slightly buttery mass of dough several times to expel any air bubbles. Then shape it into a loaf and place it in a buttered 10 inch bread pan. But again, if you still happen to only have a 9 by 5 pan, use that instead. Re-cover the dough and return it to the barely-on oven for the


Second Rising (50 minutes)
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Well, the second semester is off to an easy enough start, with only two short problem sets assigned so far, and nothing due for almost a week. Since the only part of the first semester that is still vividly with me is just how difficult, stressful, and hectic the time after Thanksgiving was, it's a little hard to remember that, in fact, the first few weeks of that semester were practically a walk in the park, with work done early and plenty of free time. It's as if I expected the difficulty to continue to ramp up between the first and second semesters, instead of the usual cyclic period of difficulty that has characterized school for as long as I can remember.

I'm reasonably excited about how these next few months are shaping up in terms of academics...I was a bit more excited before the semester actually began, but hopefully my professors were just taking the first week to shake the rust off before classes really start taking off this coming week. Also, my own teaching finally starts next week, and while I'm not so much looking forward to having to soon grade stacks of quizzes, I'm excited to meet my new students. Hopefully it will be as fun as it was last semester!
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Heat oven to 425 degrees, and bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes. Take what is not, perhaps, the most aesthetically pleasing loaf of bread ever baked by mortal man out of the oven and put on a cooling rack. Read a short chapter of a nearby book while you wait for the bread to cool enough to be sliced, buttered, and eaten warm.


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Tasting verdict:
Very interesting! This bread manages to be very light in texture and yet still be surprisingly flavorful. Also, the crust is wonderfully crispy, no doubt due to that short, high-temperature initial phase of the baking. All in all, I think I'm going to enjoy this weeks' lunchtime sandwiches!

Current food craving:
Pizza...Nothing too fancy in terms of toppings, with extra tomato sauce.

Currently reading:
"Demian" - Herman Hesse
"Solid State Physics" - Ashcroft and Mermin (something of a stylistic letdown after E.B. White)

Next Week:
Still a little undecided, but I'm leaning towards a loaf of free-form Norwegian whole wheat bread (although perhaps that just reveals my prejudicial suspicion that the longer the name the tastier the bread).