Cornbread [MERGED TOPIC]

[Norm Matthews]

If by flour, you mean white flour, I would think you'd get best results with a soft white flour, not one meant for yeast bread. 

[janeer]

I like fine stoneground , mostly white

[andiesenji]

I seldom add flour to cornbread.  I like the texture of real southern cornbread which does not include flour - at least the authentic recipes do not.

 

At the bottom of the cornbread page on my blog I have listed links for  online vendors that sell heirloom stone ground cornmeal.   I have tried them all and they are all good. 

Keep the cornmeal in the freezer!

[Shel_B]

I seldom add flour to cornbread.  I like the texture of real southern cornbread which does not include flour - at least the authentic recipes do not.

 

At the bottom of the cornbread page on my blog I have listed links for  online vendors that sell heirloom stone ground cornmeal.   I have tried them all and they are all good. 

Keep the cornmeal in the freezer!

 

I may try your recipe this evening, if not, I will definitely give it ago in the next week.  It looks perfect for an everyday cornbread,and so easy to make.  I need something like that in my repertoire. 

[Shel_B]

Maybe someone has a suggestion for transporting a skillet-baked cornbread.  I plan to make one Saturday morning and will have to transport it and wait at least four hours before eating it.  My concern is preserving the crispiness of the bottom crust.   Any tips on minimizing possible softening of the crust?  Or might it not be much of a problem?  Thanks

[andiesenji]

I put cornbread in a brown paper bag - after it cools - which should keep it nice for that length of time.  If you have an oven available, preheat oven to 375 WITH a sheet pan in the oven - slide the cornbread onto the hot pan and heat for 10-12 minutes.  Immediately slide it onto a cooling rack.  The bottom should remain perfectly crusty.

[Shel_B]

I made Andie's recipe tonight and here's a Q&D pic of the results:

 

 

 

I did make a few adjustments out of necessity.  Since I had no bacon or bacon fat, I greased the skillet with grape seed oil and added 2 Tbs of butter to the batter.  And, because the people I'm making this for might not appreciate a bare-bones southern-style cornbread, I added 15-grams (2 Tbs) of AP flour, and because they were  sitting on the counter when mixing the batter, some thawed, frozen corn kernels for a little extra hit.  In addition, I added 1-tsp of sugar as there was a slight bitterness in the bread I made yesterday with cornmeal from the same package.  I believe the guests at our little party would appreciate them.

 

I'm excited to see how this turns out.  I baked for 26-minutes, the tester came out clean, but the top isn't quite as brown as the one in Andie's pic on her web site.  Still, it's an improvement over the cornbread I made yesterday, although I used a different, and unsatisfactory, recipe.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[DTBarton]

Here is my go to cornbread recipe from Husk restaurant in Charleston, SC. http://www.npr.org/2013/03/20/174817952/lard-and-schmaltz-make-a-comeback-in-the-kitchen

 

The lard really makes a nice texture.  I tried using bacon fat and found it made the cornbread too salty.  I also don't use any flour, I like the texture and flavor of stone ground corn meal.

Edited July 5, 2014 by DTBarton (log)

[Shel_B]

Here is my go to cornbread recipe from Husk restaurant in Charleston, SC. http://www.npr.org/2013/03/20/174817952/lard-and-schmaltz-make-a-comeback-in-the-kitchen

 

The lard really makes a nice texture.  I tried using bacon fat and found it made the cornbread too salty.  I also don't use any flour, I like the texture and flavor of stone ground corn meal.

 

I just called The Local Butcher Shop (http://thelocalbutchershop.com/) and they carry lard.  I think I'll try some with my next cornbread instead of bacon fat.  The idea of having to cook bacon and render the fat is not appealing to me.

[Shelby]

Ooooh, using bacon grease is really good, though.  I urge you to try it.

[Shel_B]

Ooooh, using bacon grease is really good, though.  I urge you to try it.

 

I will, and maybe I'll pick up a few slices of bacon when I get the lard, make two cornbreads, and compare the results. I could render the bacon fat in the oven, which I wasn't thinking about when I posted earlier.  That's much more satisfactory and acceptable than rendering in the skillet.

[andiesenji]

I buy the packages of bacon "Ends and Pieces" and render it all down, freeze the solid bits for later use as flavoring and jar up the "drippings" .  These packages are occasionally on sale and I buy several and freeze them.

 

I render it in water to avoid the occasional burnt flavor as I find this produces the most "clean" fat.  I strain it to remove the BCBs (Brown Crunchy Bits) so the fat is as smooth as possible.  Rendering in water also extracts some of the salt. 

 

 

 

P.S.  How was the cornbread?  Did the folks like it?

Edited July 6, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[Smithy]

Rendering the bacon fat in water is a good trick. I hadn't thought before about how that would help cut the salts, but of course it would.

Funny, I never saw Wright bacon ends and pieces in California; we didn't discover it until we started traveling in Texas. It's one of our staples now. Love the stuff!

[Shelby]

This is my favorite cornbread recipe---it's different from any I have had.  It's good, not traditional, though.  Do not skip cubing the cheese.  It melts into pockets of extreme gooey deliciousness.

 

http://cakewalkr.com/kicked-up-cornbread/

[Shel_B]

Rendering the bacon fat in water is a good trick. I hadn't thought before about how that would help cut the salts, but of course it would.

Funny, I never saw Wright bacon ends and pieces in California; we didn't discover it until we started traveling in Texas. It's one of our staples now. Love the stuff!

 

Trader Joe's has bacon pieces - never tried 'em though.

[Shel_B]

I buy the packages of bacon "Ends and Pieces" and render it all down, freeze the solid bits for later use as flavoring and jar up the "drippings" .  These packages are occasionally on sale and I buy several and freeze them.

 

I render it in water to avoid the occasional burnt flavor as I find this produces the most "clean" fat.  I strain it to remove the BCBs (Brown Crunchy Bits) so the fat is as smooth as possible.  Rendering in water also extracts some of the salt. 

 

P.S.  How was the cornbread?  Did the folks like it?

 

I forgot about rendering bacon fat in water - probably because I very rarely eat or use bacon.

 

Some people loved the cornbread and some were indifferent.  I somewhat expected that based on what some of the people usually eat - lots of prepared foods. 

[andiesenji]

Rendering the bacon fat in water is a good trick. I hadn't thought before about how that would help cut the salts, but of course it would.

Funny, I never saw Wright bacon ends and pieces in California; we didn't discover it until we started traveling in Texas. It's one of our staples now. Love the stuff!

It's been available in my area for years.  I used to get the larger (5-pound) boxes of Plumrose bacon ends and pieces at Smart & Final but haven't seen it for some time.  I know a few local mom and pop restaurants bought it for some of their specialty dishes.  Baked beans at a couple of places and one "southern" restaurant that specializes in catfish and etc., used it in hush puppies.  I ran into the owner at Smart & Final on one occasion and he was buying 6 packages and told me that people loved the bacon/onion hush puppies and they also saved the bacon drippings for pan-frying the fish for certain customers. 

[Shel_B]

This is my favorite cornbread recipe---it's different from any I have had.  It's good, not traditional, though.  Do not skip cubing the cheese.  It melts into pockets of extreme gooey deliciousness.

 

http://cakewalkr.com/kicked-up-cornbread/

 

Just doesn't do a thing for me ... sorry.

[Shelby]

Ya don't know what you're missing

[MSRadell]

This is my favorite cornbread recipe---it's different from any I have had.  It's good, not traditional, though.  Do not skip cubing the cheese.  It melts into pockets of extreme gooey deliciousness.

 

http://cakewalkr.com/kicked-up-cornbread/

 

I've never had cheese in cornbread but it just doesn't sound appetizing to me. I like it with kernels of corn in it as well as with bacon bits in it however. Of course that's why there are so many different recipes because everybody likes something different!

[Panosmex]

I bought the medium cornmeal from Bob's Red Mill for cornbread and I really dislike it...I used a nice recipe from Crescent Dragonwagon's cornbread book. I didn't feel the flour hydrated enough and I didn't like to eat hard cornmeal.  I previously tried the same recipe with the fine cornmeal and it was very good. Although I found the flour a little bitter, even if was well within expiration date, also Bob's Red Mill. I guess I need to look for better flour, like some of the producer suggested in that book.

I have some Bob's Red Mill "Medium" Corn Meal that is almost as coarse as BRM Grits. So I learned to pour boiling water over the cornmeal and salt and let it hydrate for 15 minutes before putting in the rest of the ingredients. This gives good results.

 

In the past, I used Nora Mill Stone Ground Yellow corn meal, which is very hard but tastes great. 

[Katie Meadow]

Bob's Red Mill med grind cornmeal has been my go-tol for several years. i use it for whole grain pancakes and for corn bread or whenever a recipe suggests adding corn meal, as long as they don't specify finely ground. It makes a pretty toothsome bread, and if you have really soft teeth I can see how it might be problematic, but I really like that gritty texture. The idea of using a medium or coarse grind of cornmeal mixed with finer grind is very interesting, and it never occurred to me for cornbread.

[Shel_B]

I have some Bob's Red Mill "Medium" Corn Meal that is almost as coarse as BRM Grits. So I learned to pour boiling water over the cornmeal and salt and let it hydrate for 15 minutes before putting in the rest of the ingredients. This gives good results.

 

 

How much water and how much cornmeal do you use?  Is there a need to adjust the amount of wet ingredients in the recipe when you hydrate the cornmeal?

[WalterG]

Hi. First post has got to be about my favorite food. Cornbread. So, several questions.

1) I've seen cornbread made with butter, vegetable oil, bacon fat, and lard. Since its cornbread, why never corn oil?

2) My favorite things to add to cornbread are, creamed corn, onions, green peppers, shredded cheese, and bacon. What else can be used?

3) I really hate straining my oven for recipes calling for 450 degrees. Are there any low temp(350-375) recipes?

4) I have 2-10" and a 12" cast iron skillet. Recipes for a 10" skillet seem to be the norm, but I have found some for the 12" and am finding some more using an 8". If I double an 8" recipe will it fit in a 12" skillet?

5) As for creamed corn in a recipe, how will using a regular can of corn ( drained) affect a recipe? Will more liquid be required?

6) Any cornbread recipes that use yeast? I've always tried to get a high riser in my skillets, but even with a lot of baking soda and baking powder, the cornbread usually collapses when I take it out of the oven and cool it.

O.K. I think thats enough for now.

[pastrygirl]

Vegetable oil may be all or part corn oil. 

 

Your oven isn't straining at 450f. It's just nice and hot. 

 

What do you mean by it collapses?  Rises really high then totally sinks in the middle?  You might be using too much leavening. No reason why you couldn't try yeast.