“Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite so bad as the Northern imitation of it.” – Mark Twain
Cornbread is a southern classic. Talk to anyone from the South and they will have an opinion on how they like their cornbread. Some like it sweet, some say no sugar should ever be added. Some like added flour, some are purists and think it must be cornmeal only. Ahh, what a divisive little loaf. I just like cornbread in general so I am pretty easy to please.
We are having a friendsgiving this week so I decided to make some cornbread to use in our dressing. As I looked through all my usual family recipes I realized they all have white flour added. I understand why recipes add the flour, it makes a lighter cornbread but I really wanted to make one with no additional flour since we try to limit it in our home. So, I got out my cast iron pan, did my research by consulting several Laura Ingalls Wilder books and recipes and…after several tries…this lovely cornbread was the result.
Because of the masa, this cornbread has a more distinct corn flavor than most I have tried. I really like it but if you don’t just ease up on the masa, add less and do more cornmeal instead. NOTE: This may effect the amount of liquid needed so keep that in mind. Start with less water and add if needed. I HIGHLY recommend making the recipe as is before making changes though because the masa adds something special both in flavor and texture.
This makes a great dressing. To use, simply crumble the cooked/cooled cornbread on a baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and let sit in a dry place for a day or two to dry out. Alternatively, you can skip the towel and put the baking sheet in a 200 degree oven for a couple hours to let it dry out that way. Once it is dried out you can put in a freezer bag and store in the freezer until you are ready to make your dressing. I will be posting the recipe for my delicious Thanksgiving dressing soon!
Old Fashioned Flour-Free Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup corn masa
- 1 tsp mineral salt
- 1/4 tsp tumeric optional, added for coloring
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 coconut sugar optional
- 1/4 cup melted ghee
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 2 eggs
- 1 TBS lard for coating the skillet.
Instructions
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Place the tablespoon of lard in a clean cast iron stove and put in the oven. Set oven on 425 degrees.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined. Do not over stir! Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Even after thickening it is a wet batter (similar to traditional pancake batter)
Once lard is melted in the cast iron skillet, swirl to coat the pan. There should be some excess, do NOT drain. This will keep the cornbread from sticking to the pan.
Place batter in the hot, lard coated skillet. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Mine was pretty consistently done at 28 minutes but it will depend on your oven.
Substitutions: As always, when substituting ingredients in a recipe there is a chance that it will not turn out exactly as the original. Keep that in mind and know…it is not my fault 🙂
- You can easily sub refined coconut oil for the ghee if needed although the ghee adds a nice buttery flavor.
- I do not recommend subbing refined CCO for the lard as I found it didn’t do as good of a job keeping the cast iron from sticking. I would use bacon grease if you don’t have lard. If you must use CCO be sure it is refined so you don’t have a coconut flavored cornbread and put a bit extra in to help it keep from sticking.
- You can use a dairy free milk as long as it is unsweetened. I do not recommend coconut milk. Almond, cashew, goat, or maybe even flax should work.
- If using dairy free milk you must use the full amount of masa.
- If you are looking for an all cornmeal version, I recommend Gluten Free On a Shoestring although I don’t think it is as light as this one.
