Anadama bread
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Anadama bread is a traditional bread of New England made with white flour, cornmeal, molasses and sometimes rye flour.
[edit] Origin of name
There are several popular myths about the origin of the name, which mostly take this form:
"A fisherman, angry with his wife, Anna, for serving him nothing but cornmeal and molasses, one day adds flour and yeast to his porridge and eats the resultant bread, while cursing, 'Anna, damn her.'"
This legend is considered dubious at best by food historians, despite not having a confirmed explanation for the name. It is also not readily agreed exactly when or where the bread originated, except that it was before 1940.
The bread center of consumption was in Gloucester, MA. Commercially available from local bakeries widely on Cape Ann in the early 60's, the bread recipe was thought to be "bought" by Pepperidge Farms, who promptly retired the recipe because it was overwhelming to one of their existing bread brands. For a number of years, it was bootlegged by certain breakfast places on Cape Ann. The recipe, or something close to it, leaked out onto the internet and today is being baked in homes and at groceries on the Cape.
[edit] References
The Smith Family of Rockport, MA, who claim to have invented the bread, and did run an anadama bread bakery.
