Anadama bread is a family favorite, and something I ate from time to time as a kid, although no one in my family ever made it. Usually we bought it at the local farmstand - it's one of those older New England recipes that some people's grandparents know how to make but that isn't frequently sold in bakeries or the supermarket. As far as I know, no company is mass producing it. In fact, based on my unscientific wikipedia research, the bread originated in and was never widely eaten outside Cape Ann, Massachusetts, the part of the country where I was lucky enough to grow up. My dad used to go into raptures about Anandama bread, and I didn't always understand it in the past, because a lot of the loaves he brought home were bland or dry.
Now I understand why my dad loves this bread so much. This is a bread that should always be eaten fresh, and should never be mass produced. The mixture of cornmeal and molasses is strong and faintly sweet and keeps the bread perfectly moist for about three days. The flavor and texture of the bread are earthy and really simple and just plain delicious. Eaten warm with a bit of salted butter, this bread makes me feel like I'm living on a farm. That said, I can't imagine that this bread could ever stand up to shipping, although I have a loaf in my freezer now and I can't wait to see how it holds up.
This bread is a revelation and I can't believe that hardly anyone makes or eats it anymore. It's something I hope that I'll be able to pass on to future generations.
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