This Spelt Anadama Bread with Seeds will make you rethink Anadama Bread.
Having made this bread before, I thought I knew it. However, this version, brought to us by Pat of Feeding My Enthusiasms, is a new twist on an old theme. This Anadama Bread incorporates several different types of seeds along with cornmeal and molasses.
I remember the first time I made Anadama Bread. It was in 2009 during the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge. I enjoyed that bread so much that I took a loaf with me on a camping trip. It held up well. My camera and shaping skills were not so great back then, but the bread itself was.
The next time I made Anadama Bread was in 2011 with the HBinFive Baking Group. For that challenge, I made a no-knead version that incorporated the BBA technique – i.e. using a sponge and soaker. I liked that version as well.
With a couple of different versions under my belt, I thought I knew Anadama Bread. So when I learned we would be making this bread for the Bread Baking Babes, I remember thinking, “I know this bread, it will be easy!” Well, it is easy, but as I mentioned, it’s not like other Anadama Breads. In some ways, it’s better. I love all of the seeds in this loaf. You can use the suggested seeds and flour, but it’s much more fun to throw in the seeds and flour of your choice.
As we Bread Baking Babe are known to do, I changed the rules to suit my needs and utilized what was in my pantry. I made my version with spelt, honey and white cornmeal because I didn’t have any molasses or yellow cornmeal. Here in the Southern USA, we only use white cornmeal. Just kidding. I like all kinds of cornmeal; I just didn’t have any yellow cornmeal so I used some stone ground cornmeal I bought from a local mill in Georgia.
I used Camelina seeds and chia seeds instead of poppy seeds and black sesame seeds. I also brushed the baked loaf with melted butter instead of using an egg wash before baking.
I baked the loaf in a beautiful handmade stoneware baker from Emerson Creek Pottery. I used a parchment sling to make sure the loaf didn’t stick to the baker. It worked great! If you’re wondering why the loaf looks a little wrinkly in the photo below, it’s because the parchment paper came partway up the ends of the baker as well as being draped over the sides.
I had baked bread in this loaf baker a few times but hadn’t quite broken it in yet. I believe this bread did the trick. It’s sufficiently broken in now.
Spelt Anadama Bread with Seeds #BreadBakingBabes
Description
This Anadama Bread, made with Spelt and different types of seeds, is full of flavor and texture. For more chew, use a medium ground cornmeal.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose Spelt flour, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 cup stone ground medium cornmeal (I used a finer grind)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons Camelina seeds (or the seeds of your choice)
- 2 teaspoons golden flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons brown flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds or chia seeds
- 1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 1 cup warm water, about 90 degrees F.
- 1/4 cup honey or mild-flavored molasses
- Melted butter for brushing
Instructions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal, yeast, salt, and seeds in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the honey with the warm water and add to the dry ingredients. Combine using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Continue stirring with the wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and mix until no dry spots remain.
- When the dough becomes too stiff for the whisk or spoon, fold and turn the dough in the bowl, using wet hands, until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Let the dough rest for 15 – 20 minutes, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Clean the bowl and lightly grease or butter it. Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to a bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Fold the dough, reshape it into a ball, and cover. Let rise again until about doubled in size, about an hour.
- Lightly butter an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat for form a 8′ x 4′ rectangle. Starting at the short side furthest from you, roll up dough pinching the seam as you go to create a tight roll. Pinch the seam to close and tuck the ends under, pinching to seal. Place seam side down in the prepared loaf pan. Cover with plastic and let the dough rise. Uncover before it crests the top of the pan and wait for it to spring back slightly when pressed for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bake, rotating halfway through until the bread is baked through and the top is a deep golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven and brush with melted butter.
- Let cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack before removing. Let cool completely on the rack before slicing.
- Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, March 2015
- Category: Sandwich Bread
Pat is the host kitchen for December for the Bread Baking Babes. Details on how to participate in this month’s bake can be found on Pat’s post.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Bake My Day – Karen
blog from OUR kitchen – Elizabeth
Bread Experience – Cathy
All Roads Lead to the Kitchen – Heather
Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
My Kitchen In Half Cups – Tanna
Notitie Van Lien – Lien
Thyme for Cooking – Katie (Bitchin’ Bread Baking Babe Bibliothécaire)
Life’s a Feast – Jamie
Living in the Kitchen with Puppies – Natashya
Ilva Beretta Food Photography – Ilva
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
I love your loaf pan Cathy! And.. your loaf looks beautiful! Love your photos too =)
Cathy says
Thank you Karen! This was a fun one!
Elle says
A true Babe what with different flours, seeds and even white stone ground local cornmeal. And it, plus that lovely baking pan, produced a truly gorgeous loaf with a nice dark crust and great texture. Third time was the charm?
Cathy says
Pat, Thank you for choosing this bread for our monthly bake! It’s always interesting to revisit breads you’ve made before. Yes, I believe the third time was the charm. Although I like the other ones as well.
Elizabeth says
Those are brilliant ideas: to add chia seeds, and to brush the just baked loaf with butter. I wish I’d thought of that! Next time….
Your bread looks fabulous. I can’t get over the loft you achieved. I was going to guess it was because of how much yeast you used. But I see that you reduced the amount of yeast as well.
Cathy says
Thank you Elizabeth! It’s always interesting to see the substitutions everyone else makes. You get great ideas for next time. Yes, I reduced the amount of yeast since I was using spelt. I suppose I should add that to the notes.
Katie Zeller says
It’s white! I can’t get white cornmeal here. Actually, I can’t get any cornmeal here unless I go to the big city and find a health food store LOL
And I love your pan! That’s 2 things I covet…. sigh.
Very pretty bread.
Cathy says
Thank you Katie! I wasn’t really thinking about how the white cornmeal would change the look. I just grabbed what I had on hand. I also used honey instead of molasses which definitely made for a milder loaf.
Karen says
Lovely sandwich shape Cathy! And yes still in love with that pan. I really like that this bread lend itself to so many interpretations and still stays true to itself. Great bread!
Cathy says
Thanks Karen! Yes, this bread in all it’s forms, is a keeper for sure.
Lien says
That pan is just fabulous! White cornmeal, that sounds so chic 🙂 Is there a different in taste with the yellow kind?
Your loaf looks very nice. Never heard of camelina seeds before, sounds interesting!
Cathy says
Thanks Lien! I could hardly taste the cornmeal in this version so if you want a more pronounced corn flavor, the courser grounds work best. The flavors and textures I really liked about this one came from the seeds. I need to make it again using yellow cornmeal so I can taste the difference. Camelina seeds are a little spicy and provide a unique flavor. I bought a big bag of them and now I’ve having fun finding creative ways to use them.