Hints and Tips for Better Cornbread

Hints and Tips for Better Cornbread

• thepiggs 16 years ago
  
  From www.preparedpantry.com
  with permission
  
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• thepiggs 16 years ago said:
  
  Hints and Tips for Better Cornbread
  
  Cornbread has been nominated the official American Bread and why not? It’s original to the Americas. (Corn originated in the New World.) And Americans certainly have a love affair with cornbread with regions adopting favorite types and a world of variations. Whatever your preference, the following tips and techniques will help you build better cornbread.
  • Always check your cornmeal for rancidity before baking. Rancid cornmeal will smell stale and musty; good cornmeal will have a sweeter smell.
  
  • When mixing batter for cornbread or muffins, put away your electric mixer. Mixing by hand helps eliminate over mixing. It is desirable to have a few lumps in the batter. They will hydrate during baking and the lumps will help give a craggy appearance to your breads.
  
  • Once moistened, work quickly with the batter. The moisture will activate the leaveners in the batter.
  
  • Cornbread does not keep well. It is best used on the day baked. Store leftovers wrapped in plastic and then aluminum foil and placed in the refrigerator. Cornbread can be frozen for six weeks.
  
  • Use old-process cornmeal instead of degerminated cornmeal when available. Cornmeal with the germ should be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months. If you have more old-process cornmeal than you will use in six months, freeze part of it. It will keep in the freezer for over a year.
  
  • If you are making cornmeal for stuffing, it can be baked up to three days ahead. Crumble it and keep it an airtight bag. Consider adding sage to cornbread batter.
  
  • Consider substituting whole wheat flour for white flour. With the grainy nature of cornmeal, your kids won’t even know that you slipped whole wheat in on them.
  
  • Consider sugar a variable. A sweeter cornmeal will have 1/4 cup sugar or more for every one cup of flour and one cup of cornmeal. Many southern style cornbreads have little or no sugar.
  
  • When making corn muffins (or any muffins), partially fill any empty tins with water. The moisture will improve the muffins, the tins will heat more evenly, and cleanup is easier.
  
  • Many of us love crusty cornbread. A dark pan will make crustier cornbread than a light pan. For the crustiest cornbread, use a skillet.
  
  • Typical recipes call for cornmeal and flour in a one-to-one ratio. Some skillet cornbreads omit the flour and use extra eggs. These cornbreads are not only very good, they are good for you and an option for those who are gluten intolerant. As an example, see our Texas Chili Corn Bread.
  
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• thepiggs 16 years ago said:
  
  
  Texas Chili Corn Bread
  
  
  http://www.preparedpantry.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=46
  
  This recipe was adapted from Baking in America by Greg Patent. (We recommend this book.) For our version of this recipe, we used chiles instead of jalapenos, red bell pepper instead of pimentos, and garlic powder instead of clove garlic but feel free to experiment.
  
  Texas Chili Corn Bread
  
  1 cup yellow cornmeal
  
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  
  1 teaspoon sugar
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  
  3 large eggs
  
  1 cup milk
  
  1/2 red bell pepper, chopped and diced
  
  1/2 medium sized onion, chopped and diced
  
  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
  1 4-oz can diced green chiles, drained (less if you prefer a less spicy bread)
  
  1 cup corn kernels--fresh, frozen, or canned
  
  11/2 cups grated cheese, cheddar or jack
  
  
  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a ten-inch skillet and place it on the middle shelf in the oven.
  In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs then stir in the rest of the ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.
  Form a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula until well combined.
  Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and immediately pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and return to the oven.
  Let bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean. The top will be a rich, golden brown. Let cool for ten minutes before unmolding.
  
  
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