Cornbread

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Both!

[gfweb]

12 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@gfweb, tasty-looking photo. If you had choose between a mini-muffin pan (which I own) and a madeleine pan (which I don't), which would you choose and why?

The M pan cooks fast and shells out easily and 50%  crustage.

 

minimuffin pan would take a little longer, maybe be hard to pop out? But would have about 83% crust. 

 

A draw , I guess, depending on how one values crust and ease of removal

[Margaret Pilgrim]

FWIW, I read "somewhere" today that it was optimum to use a  cast iron pan for your cornbread pan, BUT never cut the bread in that pan.   Instead, turn it out on a board.   Never had heard of or seen this done before.    But tried it tonight.    It actually worked a charm.    Easy flip out, easy serve.

 

[Alex]

Cornbread from "It's a Southern Thing": Are you Team Sugar or Team No Sugar?

 

I love this one, too. (Warning! Not food-related.)

[scubadoo97]

I grew up with both sides of my family living in Macon Ga and Jacksonville before moving to Tampa.   Grandparents immigrated from Syria and Turkey

 

Cornbread I grew up with was a tad on the sweet side.   

[robirdstx]

I use this recipe:

 

https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cornbread/#blueribbon,

 

although I used Buttermilk this time. I use a #8 square cast iron skillet brushed with bacon drippings, the minimum amount of sugar and corn oil as the vegetable oil.

 

 

 

[kayb]

YUM! Now, some sorghum molasses and cold glass of milk with that, and I'd be set.

[Smithy]

I should have found this topic before I posted to the New Year's Eve 2019 topic! For that dinner, I cooked up a batch of jalapeno cornbread from a mix I'd bought last spring, in Tucson. It's worth noting that this is very crumbly stuff. The taste is pretty good, but the chunks of dried jalapeno might be a bit jarring. It was fun to try, but I don't think I'll make a point of stocking this particular brand.

 

 

It is instructive to me to see that this does have a bit of sugar. I don't like "sweet" corn bread and have eschewed the sugar idea. but this isn't too sweet.

[NadyaDuke]

The best description I ever heard of how sweet cornbread should be is "about as sweet as a good ear of fresh corn" and that's been my guide. For a recipe with a cup of cornmeal and a cup of flour I use about 2 Tablespoons sugar and that seems about right to me, though I should really try it with 1 and see what I think.

[heidih]

Yes I would reduce. Corn has been bred to be sweeter than the past -not my preference

[Kim Shook]

Host's note: this post, and the ensuing discussion, were written in response to Chris Hennes' instructional video in the eG Bake-Off XX: Holiday Quickbreads topic. 

 

That was excellent, Chris.  Now, I have a question.  You emphasize that you need to put it in the oven as soon as you mix it - but most recipes for cornbread (which also has baking soda and powder) call for letting the batter rest for 15-20 minutes to achieve maximum rise.  Why the difference?  Thanks!!

Edited June 6, 2020 by Smithy
Added host's note and link back to source topic (log)

[Chris Hennes]

14 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

 but most recipes for cornbread (which also has baking soda and powder) call for letting the batter rest for 15-20 minutes to achieve maximum rise.  Why the difference?  Thanks!!

Actually, none of my recipes for cornbread call for resting the batter after the baking powder has been hydrated, so I'm only guessing here that it's a shortcut to skip the step of making a corn mush. My collection is by no means exhaustive, but I checked CIA's Professional Chef, Stitt's Southern Table, Joy of Cooking, Hensperger's The Bread Bible, the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, and Cook's Illustrated's Cookbook. So apparently you and I don't share any cornbread recipes in common!

[heidih]

hhhmm - I remember that resting thing from the old old boxes of cornmeal - like pre C Hennes birth - who knows. But that was just simplistic cbread and I still do it by habit.

[Kim Shook]

Funny.  I can't find the specific direction in any of my recipes, but I remember my grandmother and great-aunt both waited to put it in the hot skillet and so I always do - even when making the little boxes!  😁  It might be an old southern lady thing.   

[kayb]

I've never rested cornbread. Seems like it gets thicker, and doesn't rise as well.

 

But i absolutely use the hot skillet.

 

The round baker with the small handles on each side that fits in the CSO has replaced the seven-inch skillet as my go-to cornbread pan.

 

[jimb0]

Yeah I’ve never in my life rested cornbread. Sometimes I’ll do the buttered skillet method but mostly these days I bake it in a cupcake tin because there’s no way we’ll go through a whole batch before it’s stale. 

[kayb]

4 hours ago, jimb0 said:

Yeah I’ve never in my life rested cornbread. Sometimes I’ll do the buttered skillet method but mostly these days I bake it in a cupcake tin because there’s no way we’ll go through a whole batch before it’s stale. 

Freeze everything that's left over the next day to go in dressing.

 

[jimb0]

That’s a good idea but it still wouldn’t get eaten. I like to use cupcake tins because it’s easy to freeze individual muffins, which reheat really well. I generally eat very few carbs these days, so anything I bake that doesn’t get given away usually needs to be frozen. If I made dressing, I’d just end up having to freeze most of it, too, haha. 
 

I’ve been casually working on a good gluten-free cornbread recipe so that I can make cornbread when friends come over. I don’t like a lot of these versions (gluten or GF) that really minimize the corn; I prefer corn to be a notable majority of the dry ingredients. I think I just really love corn, haha. 

[kayb]

15 hours ago, jimb0 said:

That’s a good idea but it still wouldn’t get eaten. I like to use cupcake tins because it’s easy to freeze individual muffins, which reheat really well. I generally eat very few carbs these days, so anything I bake that doesn’t get given away usually needs to be frozen. If I made dressing, I’d just end up having to freeze most of it, too, haha. 
 

I’ve been casually working on a good gluten-free cornbread recipe so that I can make cornbread when friends come over. I don’t like a lot of these versions (gluten or GF) that really minimize the corn; I prefer corn to be a notable majority of the dry ingredients. I think I just really love corn, haha. 

GF cornbread works well. I use 2:1 cornmeal to flour, so I just sub a standard GF baking mix (white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch) for the AP. I've also made it with all cornmeal and just upped the eggs.

 

[jimb0]

Just now, kayb said:

GF cornbread works well. I use 2:1 cornmeal to flour, so I just sub a standard GF baking mix (white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch) for the AP. I've also made it with all cornmeal and just upped the eggs.

 

 

yeah, i've never had a problem with the flavour, it's just that i don't think the structural integrity is nearly as good. extra eggs might be a good way to go.

[AlaMoi]

there is a theory and reality behind the 'resting' bit - but it's one of those 'it depends' things.

 

first depend:

baking soda + baking powder

 

second depend

acidity of liquid added

 

explanation: 

baking soda only reacts with acidic liquids to release CO2.  if the recipe uses baking soda + something like buttermilk, the resting allows the batter to become lighter before it hits the (hot pan) / oven.  to demonstrate the effect, put a spoon of baking soda in a small bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of (any) vinegar - observe the bubbles.....

 

baking powder - double acting - about the only type on the market anymore.... reacts to any liquid (the liquid combines with the BP 'dry' acid compound to make CO2) plus BP releases CO2 when it hits temp in the baking cycle  (that's the "double" bit.)  the first release is near 'instant' - so resting does nothing.  the second does not happen until baked.

 

the combination of baking soda and baking powder gives you a triple whammy - immediate 'foaming' / lightening of the batter, plus the BP initial release, plus the temperature CO2 release.

[jimb0]

I don’t buy that it makes much of a difference - the rxn of baking soda with an acidic component is pretty quick and tends to happen noticeably by the time I’m done stirring a batter and pouring it in. And if resting did much, baking powder would exhibit the same effect as the same thing is happening. 
 

but I’d be open to doing a side-by-side. 

in re single/double-acting baking powders - I tend to buy the latter but I’d argue the most popular / widely available one in Canada is still single-acting, so I’d guess this is location-dependent. 

 

[BeeZee]

My husband got the idea that we could make cornbread muffins and stick a shrimp and piece of jalapeno in each one. I think he envisioned a whole shrimp stuck in the center. I have some cornbread mix, his birthday is coming up, so I’d like to indulge him. If I were to include shrimp in the muffins, am I better off lightly precooking them and chopping in to chunks to mix in the batter? My instincts are that raw shrimp would mess with the batter cooking properly.

[robirdstx]

1 hour ago, BeeZee said:

My husband got the idea that we could make cornbread muffins and stick a shrimp and piece of jalapeno in each one. I think he envisioned a whole shrimp stuck in the center. I have some cornbread mix, his birthday is coming up, so I’d like to indulge him. If I were to include shrimp in the muffins, am I better off lightly precooking them and chopping in to chunks to mix in the batter? My instincts are that raw shrimp would mess with the batter cooking properly.

I have not made this, but perhaps this recipe’s method could work for you:

 

https://www.louisianacookin.com/shrimp-cornbread-muffins/

 

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, BeeZee said:

My husband got the idea that we could make cornbread muffins and stick a shrimp and piece of jalapeno in each one. I think he envisioned a whole shrimp stuck in the center. I have some cornbread mix, his birthday is coming up, so I’d like to indulge him. If I were to include shrimp in the muffins, am I better off lightly precooking them and chopping in to chunks to mix in the batter? My instincts are that raw shrimp would mess with the batter cooking properly.

 

Maybe something like a corn dog with precooked shrimp?  That'd give a better ratio of cornbread to shrimp than a muffin, I think.