Corn Bread (gluten-free)

Now, this recipe, although “gluten-free” is also just their basic
cornbread recipe… so anyone can snag it…

CORNBREADS: We’d been told that true Sourherners won’t touch
cornbread made with yellow corn, but at least one authentic Virginian
to whom we have an inside line says the crucial factors are _fresh_
cornmeal, _coarse_ grind, and _no_ sweetener, please. We never made
perfect cornbread for her until we ground the corn ourselves, and
_voila_–North and South united in applauding! If the cornmeal is
not absolutely fresh, the cornbread will have a slight bitterness
from rancidity, which some folks prize and others cover up by adding
sweeteners.

“Southern” Cornbread in our kitchen turns out to be our Basic
Cornbread, with freshly ground cornmeal and no honey.

Without a doubt, cornbread is the quick bread we make most
frequently–most often the Basic recipe, which seems to us the very
best of all. It also makes 12 fine muffins, when you want muffins.

BASIC CORNBREAD:

* If you haven’t got any buttermilk, use regular milk soured with
white or cider vinegar (1 tablespoon vinegar plus milk to make 1
cup). Yogurt, beaten smooth, can substitute for buttermilk, but
depending on how tart it is, increase the honey to compensate: our
yogurt is medium-sour and even with 2 tablespoons of honey in Basic
Cornbread the bread is down- right tangy.

Preheat oven to 425 deg.F. Grease an 8″ x 8″ pan or muffin tin.

Sift the salt, baking powder, and soda together and combine with the
cornmeal. Mix the wet ingredients together, and then add the dry,
stirring just until smooth. Turn into the greased pan and bake about
20 or 25 minutes; a little longer if you added vegetables–or only
about 15 minutes for muffins.

VARIATIONS: Add 1 or even 1 1/2 cups grated raw yellow or green
zucchini, for a very moist cornbread — the yellow squash is pretty
nearly undetectable, the green very pretty. Or add 1 cup grated
carrots, also very pretty. It is not a bad idea to include two eggs
(reduce the buttermilk to 1 1/2 cups) when adding the vegetables to
help the bread cook well.

This recipe makes a rather coarse, grainy-textured bread,
particularly when the cornmeal is medium-coarse grind. To maximize
the graininess, use a very coarse cornmeal; let the corn soak in the
wet ingredients for an hour or so before you sift the leavenings and
stir them in. If you prefer a closer crumb texture, use finely ground
cornmeal, or substitute 1 cup or so of whole wheat pastry flour for
an equivalent amount of cornmeal, sifting it with the leavenings.
With the whole wheat pastry flour, the texture will be lighter and
the flavor less corny…

NOTE: I know you can’t do the latter, but I added it for anyone who
may want to try this who is not gluten-free.

The next one is the last one. Just one other thing I was thinking
about: I have a couple of other Laurel’s Kitchen cookbooks, and I can
assure you that they are really, well, careful with their recipes,
and put out reliable cookbooks. I hope the stuff I have included here
has helped you iron out the problems with your bread making. If you
are still having problems after trying

some of the recipes, I would suggest you contact them through 10 Speed
Press at

P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707 They seem to be very helpful, and
willing to

find solutions where none others seem to be present.
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