Aug 27, 2009

Rustic Corn Bread


Autumn is just around the corner, you can feel it at night or early mornings there is a chill in the air that wasn't there a week ago. Also the anticipation of the first day of school. My boys are getting their backpacks out of the back of the closet, sharpening pencils, making the list of what they are missing or need replacing .... Yes, definitely autumn is around the corner.
Starting autumn my oven gets turned on more. Home made bread! That's what autumn brings more often to our house. My boys love home made bread, OK. they love home made everything, but bread is something they truly adore.
Corn bread of course is not a yeast bread, so it's much faster to make, but don't let that fool you
its delicious, and has so many variations. It can have a place at your dinner table without a question. Also when your press of time this is the way to go, no rising time, no kneading, 30 to 40 minutes and your bread is on the table. Give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 cup ..................................... cornmeal ( cornmeal comes in many grinds from coarse to fine, any kind of grind will do just make sure is yellow)
1 cup ..................................... all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ............................... baking powder
1/2 tsp .................................. baking soda
1/2 tsp .................................. fine sea salt ( or just table salt)
2 cups ................................... fresh corn kernels this is optional ( if you don't have fresh, frozen will work just as well. Just make sure you thaw and pat dry the corn before adding to the rest of the ingredients)
2 ............................................ large eggs.
1 1/2 tbsp ............................ honey or firmly packed brown sugar.
1 1/3 cups ............................ buttermilk
3 tbsp ................................... unsalted butter melted or vegetable oil.


Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425˚F (22o˚C). Butter an 8 inch ( 20 cm)
cast-iron frying pan or an 8 inch square baking pan or oven proof dish.

In a bowl whisk together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda,salt and the corn kernels if using. Set aside.


In a large bowl beat the eggs on medium speed until blended. Add the honey (or brown sugar),buttermilk ( if you don't have butter milk this is an easy way to make it. Add 2 tbsp of white vinegar to a measuring cup and add enough milk to it to make one cup let rest for 10 minutes. Now you have buttermilk. For 1 1/3 cup of butter milk you will use about 2 1/2 tbsp of vinegar and the rest milk to complete 1 1/3 cups), and melted butter and beat until well blended.


Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until mixed. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean about 20 to 25 minutes. To get the nice color on top I usually put the broiler on for 30 to 40 seconds before I take the bread out of the oven. If you decide to do that please keep an eye on it could burn very easily.
Let the bread cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack. Serve warm.


As I said there are many variations to this bread.

Corn bread with red pepper and cheddar cheese.

Sauté a chopped red pepper in 1 tbsp of olive oil ( about 3 minutes). Add the sautéed pepper to the dry ingredients with 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese after 15 minutes of baking ( in this case don't put the broiler on).

Corn bread with sun-dried tomatoes and pistachios.

Add 1/2 cup of chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of pistachios to the dry ingredients. Bake as in the instructions.

Enjoy!


22 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi laura.
i must def try out my hand in baking bread,this is so simple without the yeast& resting time.liked the 2 option. thanks 4 sharing.
love&tc.
rekha.

Laura said...

Hello Rekha,
This is a good recipe to start with. I like the second option too, but not the boys, so I must stick with what they like.

Cooking with tien said...

Hi, Laura,
I needed this recipe for my ham and bean soup. I just used corn bread from a box. -Tien

Anonymous said...

HI Laura, looks like a delicious corn bread, I will try it soon

Laura said...

Hello Tien,
I hope you are going to like this one better. It is just as easy to make like the one from the box ( I think?!)

Laura said...

Thank you Mathilde,
Let me know how it came out.

Anonymous said...

hello laura i would love to have you be a part of my blog. i also noticed you love the mocie Sabrina. Its one of my favorites as well and i cant believe I forgot to list it. I have the old version with Audry Hepburn and the newer one with Harrison Ford. I think we have things in common. I love your title to your blog as well.

~Sabrina

Laura said...

Thank you Sabrina,

Yes the movie Sabrina (LOL) is one of my favorites. I love the Audry Hepburn version the most. Yes we do have things in common.

Damjana said...

Wow, that bread looks amazing! I've never done it your way, in fact I made yeast dough.
Tonight I made cheese sticks inspired by your recipe, tasty!

Laura said...

Thanks for the feed back on the breadsticks. I hope you are going to try the corn bread too.

CheapAppetite said...

Very good looking cornbread. The best one I had was when I was living in the deep South. They know their cornbread.

Laura said...

Thank you CheapApetite.

Cooking with tien said...

Hi, Laura,
I made the corn bread last night. Thank you for sharing. I will try the breadsticks next week. Have a great day. -Tien

Laura said...

HI Tien,
I'm glad that you tried the corn bread.Let me know if your son likes the bread sticks.

Jessie said...

great cornbread, it's one of my favorite quick breads to make

Laura said...

Hi jessie,
I know I love quick breads too.

The Duo Dishes said...

Adding corn is always good. Nice recipe!

SnacksGiving said...

You have a wonderful blog..I just browsed through at least 6 pages of your blog..will certainly try out your recipes too..

Laura said...

Thank you Duo Dishes,
I agree with you, adding corn makes all the difference.

Laura said...

Thank you SnaksGiving,
I appreciate your nice comment, And I would love any feed back if you try any of the recipes.

j e t s e t WISDOM said...

Hi Laura,
Happy to find you as a new friend on Foodbuzz.
Looking forward to trying this cornbread - I just flash froze 3 bags of our local corn down here in Madison, Va. I am also a Canadian, and my brother lives in London with his family!

Laura said...

Hi JW,
I hope you are going to like it. Happy to have you as a friend also, I'm in Brampton about 2 hours away from London.

Related Posts with Thumbnails