Explanations of the Previous Recipe: Anadama Bread

As I mentioned in the previous post, I recently purchased and read through The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. Having and reading a cookbook with so much valuable information makes it necessary to include a post dedicated to further explaining bread, the recipe below, what some steps are, why we do them, and the reasoning behind them. First off, there are conflicting stories behind the name of this bread, but I am going to tell my favorite. Secondly, I will explain the importance of being specific about the type and amount of flour and yeast. My third explanation will be about the "windowpane test", its importance, and what to look for. Lastly, I will explain how to correctly shape your dough into loaves.

There are many different stories of the origin of the name, Anadama. My favorite is told by Judith and Evan Jones in their bread book, The Book of Bread. There was a man from Rockport, Massachusetts who was upset with his wife, Anna, for not only leaving him for another man, but leaving him with nothing more than a pot of cornmeal mush and some molasses. The angry husband tossed the mush and molasses together with some yeast and flour while muttering to himself "Anna, damn 'er!" Voila! The creation of Anadama bread.
While baking, many people pay far less attention to the type of flour they are using than they should be. This is a huge mistake because, if you are using a different type of flour than your recipe calls for, your dough will probably come out far too dry or far too sticky- unless you can correctly adjust the amounts. This is because some grains are much more dense and potent than others. Also, the amount of times wheat is sifted at the mill from its original state also changes the amount of water it absorbs. There are whole wheat, clear (once sifted), and patent bleached or unbleached flours (twice sifted) and, like all other grains, each of absorbs more or less water than the others. For instance, 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 cup of semolina flour, 1 cup of pastry flour, 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour all absorb different amounts of water.
Similar to flour, the type of yeast you use also makes a noticeable difference in the bread you are baking. The recipe below calls for instant yeast because it is more concentrated than fresh or active dry yeast, it has a longer shelf life, and it can be added directly to the flour instead of having to hydrate it first. Basically, this means buying less, using less, and fewer steps during baking. I am all for simplifying the baking process so instant yeast is my type of yeast! However, if you have to use active dry or fresh yeast, they can be easily substituted using the following formula:
1 part fresh yeast = 1/2 part active dry yeast = 1/3 part instant yeast=1 part fresh yeast
With this formula, you shouldn't need to weigh your yeast. Measuring should be enough. Flour, however, needs to be weighed on a kitchen scale. If you enjoy baking and do not have a kitchen scale, please pick one up at Target. They are fairly inexpensive and well worth it. My scale is by Michael Graves, and it measures to the 1/8 oz. It is also battery powered which is extremely convenient because I like to spread everything out and move about my kitchen- and now I can take my scale with me!
You measure flour different than anyone else. One cup of flour will weigh slightly different than another persons'. If you strictly go by this way of measuring, you may have dough that is much too dry or much too wet and in desperate need of sometimes a whole cup of flour more or less. This can be sidestepped by weighing your flour to guarantee accuracy of the amount you are using. Another, and the best and most reliable way to know, is by feeling your dough. By the texture of your dough, you can get a feel (pun intended) for how much more flour you need to incorporate, regardless of how much you have already used. I usually like to add less flour than a recipe calls for, and then add more as needed. It is always easier to add more than have to deal with the opposite problem- too much flour. Believe it or not, the weather and where you live also make a difference on the amount of flour you need. If it is a humid day or you are at low altitude, for example, you will probably need more flour than if you were up in the mountains somewhere with no humidity. The moral: a recipe is nothing more than a guideline. Follow the fundamental instructions, but in the end, it always comes down to your intuition.
The "windowpane test" is the most reliable method to determine when gluten development is sufficient or, in other words, when you can stop kneading the dough. This method is performed by cutting off a small piece of dough from the larger batch and gently stretching it, pulling it out to see if it will hold a paper-thin membrane that will let light through. If the dough falls apart before it makes the "windowpane", that means the gluten has not yet fully bonded to one another, and you need to continue kneading the dough for a couple minutes and retest.
Finally, after all the work you have put into mixing, fermenting, and kneading your beautiful dough, you need to know how to mold this block of clay into a work of art. To shape your dough into a sandwich loaf, like the recipe below, start by dividing it according to your recipe, if necessary. Flatten the first piece of dough with your hands into a rectangle about 5 inches wide and 6-8 inches long. From the short side, roll up the dough, one turn at a time, and pinch the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension. As you continue rolling and creasing, the loaf will spread out to about 8 or 9 inches long. Pinch the final seam closed with the back of your hand or thumbs. Then, place your loaf, seam down, into the lightly oiled loaf pan.

There you have it. Unless you are as crazy about baking as I am, you have just read more information than you ever wanted to know about dough. Happy Baking!