Recipe simple cornbread

Wandering Bob

Wandering Bob

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France
Melt then cool 55g of butter (leave on one side for 25 mins or so)

Put in a mixing bowl and mix together:

125g of plain flour
125g of instant polenta (either the 2/3 mins or 5 mins cooking variety)
25g of sugar
1 11g sachet of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

In another bowl, beat together:

2 large eggs with 250ml of full-fat milk and the melted butter

Pre-heat the oven to 200C

Grease with margarine a 25cm across square deep metal oven tray

Add the egg mixture into the contents of the mixing bowl and stir the batter until it's evenly moistened. Pour it into the greased tray and spread level.

Put the tray into the oven and bake until the cornbread is browned. It should spring back when lightly pressed in the centre, and has begun to pull away from the pan sides – from 20 to 25 minutes.

Leave it to cool for 15/20 mins in the tray before removing it.
 
The last time I attempted cornbread it turned out as a rather unpleasant solid lump! I still have leftover polenta so maybe I'll try this method. I seem to recall when researching the subject that polenta is not the same as the flour made from corn which is used traditionally - but I'm unsure what the difference is...
 
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morning glory said:
The last time I attempted cornbread it turned out as a rather unpleasant solid lump! I still have leftover polenta so maybe I'll try this method. I seem to recall when researching the subject that polenta is not the same as the flour made from corn which is used traditionally - but I'm unsure what the difference is...
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Polenta is also known as semoule de mais in France - it's widely used here but I reckon I might be the first in France to make cornbread with it
 
If I'm making it just to eat, I put a little sugar in it and just a touch of vanilla extract. I also usually add some thawed frozen corn kernels and sliced jalapenos in Craig's half.

If it's going to be used in something else like stuffing/dressing, then it stays plain.

I've made polenta with cornmeal many times. Don't think there is much of a difference. I'll never forget a comment made by one of the restaurateur judges on Chopped, something along the lines of the only difference between cornmeal mush and polenta is about $15.
 
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medtran49 said:
If I'm making it just to eat, I put a little sugar in it and just a touch of vanilla extract. I also usually add some thawed frozen corn kernels and sliced jalapenos in Craig's half.
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I like the idea of adding a very small amount of vanilla extract - I will give that a go - thanks for the suggestion.

I'm making this simple cornbread at least a couple of times a week now and it's fine. But I'd like to step it up a level - perhaps make a Cornbread De-Luxe?
I'm looking for ideas as to what to add - I note the suggestion of corn kernels (I've seen that before, but for some inexplicable reason I don't fancy the idea).

@medtran49 - I'm intrigued by your reference to adding sliced jalapenos - do you simply lay them on the surface, or do you attempt to incorporate them carefully into the cornbread 'batter'?

I was wondering about adding sun-dried tomatoes - but I can't decide whether they'd need to be re-constituted first. Any suggestions?

I've also seen a reference to adding seared peppers - that might be beyond me at present (kitchen constraints) so I thought I'd could maybe just cook some green peppers in olive oil, let them cool then add them to the mix - but I think it might just make the mix too oily.

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions would be appreciated !
 
I mix the frozen thawed corn in the batter, pour in pan, then sprinkle the jalapeno slices on half of the top and sort of stir them in gently with a butter/table knife. Sometimes I also make individual muffins and will use half of the batter for me, then stir in the jalapenos for Craig. You can also use creamed corn if you don't want to use kernels. Adding the extra corn just seems to keep it moister and give it a richer flavor. You could also whirl the whole kernels in a blender or food processor, then stir them in.

A lot of people also put some kind of grated cheese in their cornbread, cheddar, monteray jack, munster, etc. I don't think I'd add vanilla if I added cheese though.

Depends on how dry the "dried" tomatoes are. You don't want them to suck moisture out of the batter, you'd end up with dry cornbread. The oven-dried tomatoes we make are still wet enough that we freeze them in small portions. We don't particularly like the extremely dried ones from the grocery so decided to make our own.

Cook the peppers (or onions) in a minimal amount of oil and place on paper towels to drain while they are cooling. That will get rid of most of the oil. I do that when I make quiche and a few other dishes. You could also put the peppers under the broiler until skins are black (and I do mean black), wrap them loosely in foil or a paper or plastic bag, let stand for 10-15 minutes at least, then peel the black skin off.
 
medtran49 said:
I mix the frozen thawed corn in the batter, pour in pan, then sprinkle the jalapeno slices on half of the top and sort of stir them in gently with a butter/table knife. Sometimes I also make individual muffins and will use half of the batter for me, then stir in the jalapenos for Craig. You can also use creamed corn if you don't want to use kernels. Adding the extra corn just seems to keep it moister and give it a richer flavor. You could also whirl the whole kernels in a blender or food processor, then stir them in.

A lot of people also put some kind of grated cheese in their cornbread, cheddar, monteray jack, munster, etc. I don't think I'd add vanilla if I added cheese though.

Depends on how dry the "dried" tomatoes are. You don't want them to suck moisture out of the batter, you'd end up with dry cornbread. The oven-dried tomatoes we make are still wet enough that we freeze them in small portions. We don't particularly like the extremely dried ones from the grocery so decided to make our own.

Cook the peppers (or onions) in a minimal amount of oil and place on paper towels to drain while they are cooling. That will get rid of most of the oil. I do that when I make quiche and a few other dishes. You could also put the peppers under the broiler until skins are black (and I do mean black), wrap them loosely in foil or a paper or plastic bag, let stand for 10-15 minutes at least, then peel the black skin off.
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How kind of you !

That's really very helpful information - lots and lots of ideas for future cornbread variations.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks
 
A note or two on how this is progressing...

@medtran49 suggested adding grated cheese as a variant. I tried it a couple of weeks ago - I added 50g of grated Comté to a 250g mix. The cornbread was a bit dry (I will slightly increase the amount of milk next time) and it was disappointingly uncheesy (not just me - also confirmed by a neighbour). So I will try again with more cheese (perhaps a different kind) plus a bit more milk.

I made cornbread today using bread flour rather than plain flour. It made a slightly heavier batter and there was a slight change to the texture of the cornbread too - a little more like bread, and less like cake, which is what you'd expect - and just a tad dry. But it's fine - I'm waiting for reports back from the rest of the village (it's odd, but pleasing, that the French are so willing to try new types of cornbread). If/when I do this again, I'll increase the amount of milk.

I'm going to get some buttermilk soon to make biscuits. I'll also have a go at cornbread made with buttermilk (rather than full-fat).

I'm also being encouraged at this end to follow @medtran49 's suggestion of adding a tiny drop of vanilla essence to the mix. I will, I will..
 
Jalapeno cornbread is a thing to behold. Add some butter and a drizzle of honey, and I'll bite you if you try to take my piece.

Actually, that's for southern cornbread, which isn't sweet.

Northerners' cornbread can be dessert like sweet. I love them both.

If lovin' cornbread is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
 
It's been years since I made cornbread (and used a mix), but added corn, creamed corn and/or sour cream and mild green chilies. I've also seen hot dogs nestled into the mix (like corn dogs) and baked, or adding beer, cheese and bacon.

I like the idea of these taco-topped cornbread waffles.

https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/taco-cornbread-waffles/
 
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