down the cornhole
a deep dive into cornbread in all its variations
cornbread has had a mysterious grip over me this past month
i went deep on research and testing and found more and more options the deeper i looked
i ended up making over a dozen different batches, testing the effect of different flours, sugars, fats, egg, milks and flour ratios
here’s a selection of some of the tests:
butter, honey & lots of corn : plush, plump, lightly sweetened. a crowd pleaser!
brown butter & blueberries: morning tea corn muffins. add a pinch of coriander seeds to bring out the blueberry aromas.
extra virgin olive oil, egg whites only: a taller, pale cornbread, vaguely ‘italian’ tasting, would go well with rosemary and meatballs
brown butter, no sugar & rye flour: hearty and a little austere, a cornbread for people who love lentils
butter, jalepeno & black beans: the beans are weird on first bite but addictive. goes will with a chili con carne
there are at least 6,000 possible permutations (i did do the maths) of cornbread recipes using the options outlined above
below is my current favourite for a plump, salty-sweet cornbread that sits equally well as morning tea or as a side to beef brisket
yields six muffins
ingredients
35g butter
100g corn kernels (frozen is ok)
90g milk
1 egg
20g caster sugar
0.25 tsp baking soda
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp baking powder
50g plain flour
50g cornmeal (aka polenta)
method
preheat the oven to 180°C
lightly oil a muffin tin and place in the oven (yes, empty) to preheat
place the butter (35g) in a small saucepan over high heat to brown
cook until the butter has just stopped sizzling and the milk solids have started to brown
immediately remove from the heat and add the corn (100g) and milk (90g) and stir to combine
optional: transfer the mixture to a blender to blitz the corn kernels
add the egg (1) and mix briefly to combine
in a medium bowl, stir together the caster sugar (20g), baking soda (0.25 tsp), salt (0.25 tsp), baking powder (0.5 tsp), flour (50g) and cornmeal (50g)
working quickly, remove the pre-heated muffin tin from the oven
pour the corn milk mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients
stir together until just combined, then pour into the hot muffin tin
bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and slightly domed
best eaten warm from the oven with a little butter
variations
nonna: swap the butter for olive oil, plain flour for rye flour, and add fresh rosemary
super savoury: swap the butter for bacon fat, and add in 30g of grated cheese, a few slices of jalepeno, and cayenne powder to taste
lemon & blueberry: swap the sugar for honey, corn kernels for blueberries (do not blend!), and add the zest of a lemon
thai(ish): swap the milk for coconut milk, and add chopped fresh coriander, lime zest, and red chillis