Perfect Cornbread!

[pricklypear1971]

Oh my goodness, peeps... I DID IT! Great taste, texture and it isn't mushy at all. I really can't tell it is gluten-free.

I am now a certified Chia Freak!

I will now use chia and probably not xanthan gum in my recipes.

Here is the original recipe (probably Aunt Jemima's)

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Mix dry ingredients with a fork. Add all wet ingredients. Beat 100 times with a fork. Pour in hot iron skillet with 3 Tbsp. hot oil in it. Bake til brown.

Here is my gluten-free version

1 cup cornmeal (I use Arrowhead Mills)

1 cup flour ( I used King Arthur blend)

1/4 cup sugar

8 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs - separate and whip whites

1/8 cup oil

1 tsp. chia seeds soaked in 2 tsp. hot water, whipped til you get a slurry

Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Mix dry ingredients with a fork. Add all wet ingredients except egg whites. Beat 100 times with a fork. Fold in egg whites with a spatula and pour in hot iron skillet with 3 Tbsp. hot oil in it. Bake til brown.

[Takala]

Congratulations!

are you sure you meant 8 tsps of baking powder? seems like a lot.

[pricklypear1971]

Yep. 8 tsp.

Someone else may tweak it more but it works for me.

I'd be interested in trying a vinegar, but not if I have to add soda.

[sreese68]

I'll have to try this when the Thanksgiving rush is over. (Next week is cornbread testing week here! LOL!) I need things spelled out slowly for me with recipes

[pricklypear1971]

I'll have to try this when the Thanksgiving rush is over. (Next week is cornbread testing week here! LOL!) I need things spelled out slowly for me with recipes

[Takala]

You can also soak the chia seed in cold water, and it actually expands and gels up faster.

I put some soaked chia in pie crust the other day, trying to duplicate an old oil pastry recipe I had used for years pre diet change, and it finally came out okay. If I can duplicate the recipe several times, I'll post it. I didn't do a bottom crust, just the top, but the flavor/texture came out very well, and I've done some pie crusts that could be considered lethal weapons w/ that gum- junque. Tried using a little coconut flour in it, that may have helped, also.

oh, what the heck, in case anyone wants to try this. This is not like a white flour crust, it is like a whole wheat crust.

Single Pie Crust w/ Oil, experimental, not proofed yet, without gums, with chia notice how there is no egg, and no dairy, either.

1 and 1/4 cup mixed gluten free flours (used the usual high protein nut and seed meal combo** w/ a little coconut, garbanzo bean, potato starch thrown in)

salt

spices (like cinnamon) , vanilla, a little vinegar

2/3 cup liquid -- 1/3 of this is oil, such as olive oil. The other 1/3 was water soaked chia seed, a tablespoon, + a little bit of psyllium, 1/2 teasp

mix the dry ingredients then add the wet to it.

reserve some of the flour mixture, like 1 or 2 tablespoons, before adding all the liquids, as you will be adding the liquids to see if you're getting the right texture, then adding the last of the flour mixture to get to it.

mixed, then chilled in fridge, roll out between two sheets of waxed paper, (can use a drinking glass if you don't have a dedicated rolling pin) it will not be wanting to hold together as well as normal crust, so peel off one sheet of waxed paper and flip it into the pie pan carefully, and finish shaping with your fingers.

I used this as a top crust on a fruit pie (no bottom crust on this)

Baked at 350

[khags1991]

There is wayyyy too much baking soda in this recipe!

Words cannot describe how nasty this tasted using all 8 tsps. I suggest 2 maybe 3 max and hopefully your cornbread will turn out better than it did in my experience.

[pricklypear1971]

There is wayyyy too much baking soda in this recipe!

Words cannot describe how nasty this tasted using all 8 tsps. I suggest 2 maybe 3 max and hopefully your cornbread will turn out better than it did in my experience.

Well, it's baking powder.

And everyone has their own tastes... I had many gluten cornbreads I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

I have played with the gluten-free version several times. I actually prefer it with a gluten-free flour mix of 2/3 c sorghum/ 1/3 c potato starch to the KA flour. I've found the more you get away from rice flour the better it is. Sometimes I use a mix of KA flour to sorghum mix - as long as ratio is maintained it works.

Also, the biggest factor is the buttermilk. That, more than the eggs make it rise and effect taste/texture.

I was able to drop the baking powder back down to the original 4 tsp. AS LONG AS I USE BUTTERMILK. I've noticed this with pancakes, too, btw - buttermilk is the mak-or-break ingredient. I actually will use nonfat milk in the original volume plus the equivalent amount of buttermilk powder in some recipes and it works very well.

I also brought the oil back up to 1/4 c.

And the other big thing - YOU MUST MAKE THIS IN AN IRON SKILLET AND LET THE SKILLET AND OIL GET SUPER HOT. And almost over cook it, make sure it is very brown - maybe that part is my oven but I've had a devil of a time learning "browning" using gluten-free flours and nut flours (in a new oven).

And, I've learned I can do without chia or xanthan in my cookies, brownies, and cornbread as long as there is another leavening agent and I use specific recipes (not gluten-free recipes, just naturally lower flour).

I have made this recipe many many times and it is very dependent on doing certain things - hot oil and skillet and buttermilk above all. I can change flours, milk to water, oil, baking powder amount - and it came down to those two things.

[pricklypear1971]

Holy crap, I just realized I'm at a "high altitude".

Hmmm....I'm right at 2500-3000 ft, so you could expect there to be a slight "lift" in my recipes just due to altitude.

Hmmm...maybe that explains my temperature problems, too?

I wonder if others notice the buttermilk lift?? I swear I can convert almost all low(ish) gluten recipes by just adding buttermilk powder.

[ciamarie]

Generally, if you add an acid (buttermilk, vinegar, regular milk, yogurt and I've also used cream!), it'll help baking soda give the right 'lift' to non-gluten-free flours. And it also helps baking powder. Just yesterday I made a flat bread with baking soda and 2 T yogurt, and it had the right amount of lift. Today I did the same recipe but used 1 T of heavy cream, and it never really rose, it's all gooey in the middle. But I have used cream with pancakes (about 1/4 cup though), so I learned my lesson. If using cream, use more than 1 T ! Oh yeah, if you're not avoiding sulfites, another acid option is cream of tartar.