BBA Challenge Round 1: Anadama Bread

The first bread in the BBA Challenge is Anadama Bread.  Thankfully, it looks like it is starting out on a lighter note and should be a manageable first challenge.  I picked up the supplies I need this morning:

• Coarse Ground Cornmeal (Polenta)


• Bread flour


• Instant Yeast


• Molasses


• Shortening

I couldn't find the Brer Rabbit Golden Molasses that Peter Reinhart suggests, so I went with Plantation Blackstrap.  Yes, it is going to give off a more potent Molasses flavor, but I enjoy it.

I started to prepare for tomorrow's baking by creating the "soaker" of cornmeal.  I just need to let it sit  overnight, so the cornmeal will soften a bit, and release of the sugars trapped in it.

Mark's Corn/Milk-Free Alternative

As part of the BBA Challenge, I want to attempt to make all the recipes so my Wife can enjoy them as well.  She is allergic to Milk, and sensitive to corn, so I will be replacing these when They appear in the recipe.  This will help me discover my abilities as a baker, and find alternatives that will not affect the characteristics of the loaves too much.

The only ingredient we need to repleace i the cornmeal.  I did some searching, and decided to try Millet.  IT seems to be the "go to" replacement.  I found a couple of Tasty sounding Millet-instead-of-Corn-bread recipes that will have to try at some point.

The only trick I've found so far, is Millet can be hard to find in some supermarkets.  I found Millet next to bird-type seeds in the bulk department, so I suggest starting there.  The Millet was whole, so I decided to try soaking it untouched, and soaking it after I ran it through a food processor to open the seed husk, while preserving the coarse texture.

You can see the pictures I've taken on my Flickr BBA challenge page located here.

Tomorrow is baking day.  I plan to take more pictures and write up as I go.  Maybe I'll even ustream it!