Anadama Bread Recipe (2024)

When exactly does one add in the other 4 tbsp of butter? Butter never appears after Step 1 (2 tbsp) until buttering the bowl and pans at the end of the process. The first Thanksgiving, 10 years ago, when I made this bread I was mystified as to why the batter was so dry. Now I add the rest of the butter during Step 2 and go on faith that is the right point. Wish The Times would fix this...

It looks to me like the remaining butter is brushed on in Step 6. However, if you improved the recipe by adding more butter to the dough, I commend you--in my opinion, more butter is always better! I'm wondering whether it might be a good idea to replace part of the all-purpose flour with King Arthur whole wheat flour. The additional fiber might help compensate for extra butter, LOL.

This turned out great. I was short of white flour so substituted 1 cup of whole wheat. I don't have a mixer with dough hooks, so I used a wooden spoon to mix in the flour, then my hands. The dough was a bit shaggy so I let it rest for 15 minutes then formed it into a ball to rise. I forgot to brush on butter after baking. The loaves have a nice loft, perfect crust. The taste is amazing.

My notes:Heat½ cup molasses1/2 cup water1/2 cup milk6 T butterAdd 1/2 cup cornmeal. Let sit 10 minutes. Cool to 110°.Stir in 1 tsp salt1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast4 ½ cups all-purpose flourKnead.325° convection, 25-30 minutes

Made this bread today. After reading the comments I decided to add the additional butter (melted) into the dough in the final stages. Also opted to forgo the nutmeg (seemed weird, though some of the other commenters seemed to be enthusiastic about it). The final product was tasty, soft & a bit sweet. Husband is a big fan. Would definitely make it again.

This looks like the old Craig Claibourne recipe. If so, the butter goes in with the molasses in step 2

Flour can contain highly variable amounts of moisture, depending on a bunch of different factors. Most recipes post a range, but for all baked breads you will always need to adjust the amount of flour depending on your circ*mstances. Start with the lowest amount (the only amount here) then add until the dough behaves the way it should based on the directions. Some doughs are very wet and some are very dry so you have to just wing it. The good news is that even if you screw up it usually good!

Reduced the butter to 4.5 T. I put 3 T in the dough, and used 1.5 T to brush on the loaves. What a great tasting bread. Really rich flavors.

Another Anadama recipe online recommends letting a cornmeal, hot water, flour mixture soak for about 20 minutes to allow the liquid to absorb. I took that concept and let my cornmeal sit with 1 cup of whole wheat flour in 2 cups of liquid ( leftover whey, here)for an hour before warming to melt the butter and molasses. I ended up adding about 5 cups of AP flour. The dough pulled away from the bowl but looked a little wet. Loaves turned out great!

I share my experience with Anne in that significantly more flour was required than the 4.5 cups stated in the recipient. This was more than a simple adjustment to the amount in my experience. Revising the recipe with weights would probably help. I turned the dough out and finished it on lightly floured silicon mat before the first rise.

I doubled the salt and thinking about this recipe maybe it should have been 1 TB.
What I did with the remaining 4 TB of butter was I divided it in half . One at a time I put each pat on top of the very warm loaf and moved the butter around as much of the bread as I could; I wished I had put down a cloth or paper towel under the cooling rack before so I did not have to clean up the greasy counter.
The nutmeg was a nice touch.

I had the same question. After reading the recipe over and over I finally looked up a recipe on a different web site where it clearly states that 2 Tbsp of butter is for the dough and you need some extra for simply greasing the pans brushing on bread. I wish the Times would edit and clarify this recipe too!

add 1/2 cup water in Stir in.

Like others I added the extra butter in step 2. Also substituted one cup of whole wheat flour for one cup of the white flour, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I was happy to see it rise without effort in our rather cold wintertime kitchen. The resulting loafs have a wonderfully crispy crust and rich, complex dark, sweet flavor.

Note that the two rise times and cooking times bring this recipe closer to 4 hours instead of the 2 noted at the top of the recipe.

Made this recipe with the following changes:Use 1/4 cup maple syrupUsed olive oil instead of butterIncorporated about a cup of sourdough starter.My loaf looks just like the picture and the bread is delicious!

Whew! I almost put in 1 1/4 oz of dry yeast. I was stunned by how much yeast! Fortunately I realized she meant one 1/4 ounce pkg of dry yeast. I buy my yeast in bulk and not in packages.

Waaaay too much liquid. A rare Melissa Clark disappointment.

I just found out where the remaining 4 TBS butter is included: brushing it on the baked bread after putting it on a cooling rack. Step 6...Maybe I'll include 4 TBS softened butter in the recipe, too, as suggested by Myrna.

I wish this recipe would be amended by adding weights of the flour and cornmeal.

The recipe is much the same as in my trusty old 1947 Prudence Penny Cook Book but with dry yeast subbing for the cake yeast. It has 2T of butter. I believe the extra butter in this recipe is for melting on top after. I never use it all. I’ve made this many times and it always turns out great. I’ve also subbed maple syrup for the molasses and it’s just as delicious.

Used the proof feature on my oven to get 2 good rises. Then removed the uncooked bread in pans to preheat my oven. My loaves sank. They sank more when baked. Help…. How can I avoid this..

This mixture is so wet--more like batter than bread dough. I added another cup of flour, but it never "completely came away from sides of bowl."Results are tasty--definitely needs butter on it!--but a little dense. Think I will try some different Anadama recipes elsewhere for comparison.

Another Anadama recipe online recommends letting a cornmeal, hot water, flour mixture soak for about 20 minutes to allow the liquid to absorb. I took that concept and let my cornmeal sit with 1 cup of whole wheat flour in 2 cups of liquid ( leftover whey, here)for an hour before warming to melt the butter and molasses. I ended up adding about 5 cups of AP flour. The dough pulled away from the bowl but looked a little wet. Loaves turned out great!

I've been looking for an Anadama recipe without milk. This one seems to be a rare breed.

Note that the two rise times and cooking times bring this recipe closer to 4 hours instead of the 2 noted at the top of the recipe.

I am having trouble getting this bread to rise. The cornmeal molasses combo is below 120F, so it’s not too hot. But it’s like the yeast isn’t activating. Or is it the amount? I am using .25 ounces of yeast. Should it be 1.25 ounces? That seems like a lot of yeast. Maybe that’s the problem?

My mother gave me this recipe almost 50 yrs ago when I married. It was from a church cookbook from her hometown in Iowa. I lost it in a move almost 7 yes ago. I'm so glad it's now back in my recipe box!

Tried this because I live in (or next to, depending on the story you choose) the town where it was invented. I too found I needed to add a LOT of flour and still ended up with a very sticky dough. Took the loaves out after 45 minutes when my thermometer said they were 195 degrees-ish, but would definitely bake a little longer next time. Husband found the molasses a bit too strong, so will try scaling back to 1/3 cup next time. And there will definitely be a next time.

My notes:Heat½ cup molasses1/2 cup water1/2 cup milk6 T butterAdd 1/2 cup cornmeal. Let sit 10 minutes. Cool to 110°.Stir in 1 tsp salt1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast4 ½ cups all-purpose flourKnead.325° convection, 25-30 minutes