Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge.. Anadama

More fuel for my bread baking addiction. What have I gotten myself into now.

Nicole over at Pinch My Salt decided it would be a fun project to see how many people she could get to take on the challenge of making every one of the bread recipes in Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Of course I was blissfully unaware of this challenge until Susie decided to tell me about it, and I was immediately intrigued. It only took me about two minutes to make up my mind, join the goup, and then order the book from Barnes and Noble. I waited until yesterday evening to mix up the cornmeal soaker for my Anadama bread and I could hardly sleep last night, the anticipation and excitement building within me. (I know, I know... I need to get a life.)

The recipe was very easy to understand and the only problem I had was that I needed to use quite a bit more flour than the recipe called for. I was really worried that I'd totally screwed it up, but when I checked my dough after an hour's rise, I felt more assured that this recipe did indeed hold promise.

The first rise only took an hour to double in size.

The final proof in the bread pans took the full 90 minutes. Here they are, all ready to go in the oven.

I really, really loved the taste and texture of this bread. It's very soft and tastes wonderful with butter and a little honey drizzled over it. And I'm thrilled to be able to call this first challenge a success. Next week's challenge is Greek Celebration Bread. I can't wait!