Cornbread

cornbread

My friend Carmelita donated a bag of organic polenta flour to me the other day. Yes, I know, my friends and I don’t give each other standard presents.  For some reasons they tend to be of an edible, home made nature…I wonder why.  :-) Anyway, I was really keen  to use it. As I had made some soup I scoured my  books for some interesting, quick bread recipes to go with it and finally found this one for cornbread.  BINGO!  I could use my polenta! The results were very pleasing indeed:….. the bread looks like a light sponge cake but of course it is savoury. It is really soft and it has a delicate taste, not to mention the lovely yellow colour. Furthermore it  has a slight crunchy texture, thanks to the polenta flour, which makes it particularly interesting. It would be delicious with other added ingredients, like grated cheese, chilli, sweetcorn or bits of bacon. I have been so impressed with it that I’ve decided to share it  rightaway, before other recipes that have been patiently awaiting their turn to achieve blog status. Ha ha… Surprise, surprise it is by Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall. Yes,  AGAIN!  Where has he been all my cooking life? But what can I say? I love his recipes!

INGREDIENTS

  • 150g cornmeal or fine polenta flour
  • 150g plain white flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 150ml buttermilk or wholemilk yoghurt
  • 150ml  whole milk (I used semi-skimmed and it was fine)
  • 25 g unsalted butter, melted

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 7. Butter a baking tin about 20cm x 20cm and at least 5cm deep.

2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, honey, buttermilk or yoghurt, milk and melted butter in another bowl or large jug. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until everything is just combined. Don’t overmix.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cornbread is golden and has shrunk slightly away from the sides of the tin. Cut into squares and serve warm.

P.S. I sprinkled some parmesan on top which added some extra flavour

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6 Responses to “Cornbread”


  • Lucina! anch’io ho lì un po’ di farina gialla, quella tipica di Storo… Che bella idea mi hai dato… Stavamo postando una ricetta contemporaneamente :) Che sincronia. Ho spostato la mia perché la tua è davvero molto più utile.

  • Ho postato di nuovo io perché sospettavo che tu fossi molto impegnata! Prova questo magnifico pane, che è quasi una torta di pan di spagna come consistenza ,a dire la verità. A noi è piaciuto molto! Leggerissimo e diverso dal solito….

  • La preparo subito non appena compro il buttermilk, ho in casa tutti gli altri ingredienti. Grazie di questa ricetta davvero originale, il risultato sembra ottimo. Well done! :-)

  • qui il buttermilk non si trova… ci ho messo del kefir ceco. Il pane mi è piaciuto tantissimo, anche da solo.

  • Questo lo faccio e lo rifaccio, anche con varianti. L’ho alleggerito: un uovo solo e usato la farina integrale. Funziona sempre! Grazie Lucina!!

  • Beh sono contenta che ti sia piaciuto!!!:-)

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