So are you of the gluten free, dairy free, vegan varital? Food allergy or food choice there are ways to make some down home comfort foods with a flare that will fool even the most staunch milk drinking wheat eater.
This is cornbread without wheat or milk. It does contain eggs – but vegans do not wander I have a variation for you.
Cornbread is a wonderful versitile quickbread. It can be sweet filled with honey and brown sugar or it can be savory featuring ground chili pepper, cumin or dill.
It can also be made in the traditional americana fashion with cornmeal, white flour, butter, buttermilk, and eggs or you can easily substitute soy or hemp milk, egg replacer or flax, gluten free flours such as garbonzo bean flour, soy flour or oat flour without having to engage in substitution formulas that make a chemist cringe.
Basic Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
1 cup gluten free flour (garbanzo bean, soy flour, or all purpose gluten free flour baking mix)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 cup white or brown sugar (optional)
1 cup soy or hemp milk
1 egg or equivalent of egg replacer powder
2 tablespoons butter or canola oil
Step 1: Measure and pour the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and sugar (if you choose to use sugar) into a bowl and stir together with a fork until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Make sure there are no chunks of flour or sugar or baking powder.
Step 2: Add the soy or hemp milk, egg or egg replacer, and butter or oil to the dry ingredients mixture. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are damp and blended with the wet.
Step 3: Grease a square eight inch baking pan with oil or butter. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake the bread at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes (until it is golden brown).
For garnish and variation you can sprinkle over the top of the damp mixture dried lavendar or other fragrant herbs. If you choose to make a sweet cornbread you can swirl honey over the top as well.
Savory Cornbread Variations:
Do not use sugar. Try different herb combinations – below are some of my favorites.
Chile Cornbread: Add to the dry ingredients – 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chile powder, 1 tbsp dill, sprinkle cumin seeds over the top of the bread before baking.
Garlic & Dill: Chop three cloves of fresh garlic and one handful of fresh dill. Stir the wet ingredients seperate and add the fresh herbs. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients – sprinkle dried dill over the top of the bread before baking.
Italian Herbs: Handful of fresh parsley finely chopped, one stem of fresh rosemary chopped or 1 tbsp dried, one sprig of fresh thyme chopped or 1 tsp dried. Add to the wet ingredients if fresh herbs, to the dry if dried.
Floral Cornbread: 2 tbsp dried lavendar flower, 1 tbsp rose water and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Stir in the wet ingredients. Sprinkle lavendar over the top of the bread before baking.