Colonial Bread

It is cold.  We had had a couple of frosts and we are due for our first snow any day now.  The trees are all turning yellow, my garden is put away for the winter, and I am cold.

Dave builds a fire in the evening for me, I come home to a toasty fire and we sit by the fire after dinner and play words with friends with each other from our own cozy chairs!  I often remind him we do have a scrabble board, but he never wants to get it out he would rather play on his phone.  That is one of the silly things we do to make it through the winter.

I like to bake bread in the fall and winter.  It warms up the house with the oven, the house smells delicious, and warm bread is always a nice addition to our meals.  Homemade bread for toast in the morning just can't be beat. So, here is my favorite bread.  I love the combination of corn meal and molasses in a yeast bread. It is great with soup or stew for dinner and it is even better toasted with your eggs in the morning.

I do believe the real name is Anamadama bread.  I don't know where that name came from, but I guess you could google it if you are really interested.  I don't care what it is called as long as it is warm and on my dinner table.

Colonial Bread
adapted from the Dak Bread Book

1/3 cup corn meal
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup molasses
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter
3 1/2 cups flour, plus more as needed
1 Tbsp. or 1 pkg. dry yeast

Mix boiling water and corn meal together in a small bowl, stirring to remove any lumps.  Add molasses, salt and butter.  Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Add 3 cups flour and yeast into a large bowl, I use my Kitchenaid for this.  Pour cooled corn meal mixture into flour and mix, or kneed with a dough hook.  Let mix about 5 minutes.  Remove dough from bowl and kneed, adding more flour as necessary, until dough is smooth and elastic.  Place in oiled bowl and let rise until double in size, 45-60 minutes in a warm spot in your kitchen.
Once risen, punch down, and shape into two equal loafs, place in prepared loaf pans and let rise again, about 35-45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°.  Bake bread at for 30-45 minutes until fully browned.

With the holidays coming up; this is a great bread for using as an appetizer base.  Cut bread in small shapes, toast and serve with all kinds of toppings, cheese and artichokes, sliced tenderloin and horseradish, refried beans and salsa....

1 year ago:   Pork Loin and "A Good Try"
2 years ago: Carrot - Walnut Cake

September 10, 2014  Sunrise 6:59 am Sunset 8:35 pm  Temp. H 63/L 44°F