Corn Bread

This is a little different from my normal posts, but when we had a meal of slow cooked pork and it suggested serving with corn bread I thought it would be a good excuse to try out a new recipe.

This recipe is based on the one in Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I’ve left out the crispy bacon, as I thought it would probably be overkill with the slow cooked pork, but it would make a good addition. I also halved the original recipe, and have adjusted the amount of sugar and fat: I’ve found that with some of Reinhart’s recipes my tooth isn’t quite as sweet as his.

 

The polenta and buttermilk soaker, made the night before

 
 

The final mix is the consistency of a thick pancake batter

 
The corn bread is delicious- the perfect accompaniment to this rich and sticky pork dish. It is surprisingly light, and the combination of the corn, polenta, and buttermilk gives it a sweetness of its own that I believe too much added sugar and honey would overpower. 

  
Corn Bread – makes one bread, to serve two

• 150g polenta
• 240g buttermilk
• 120g plain flour
• 10g baking powder 
• 5g salt
• 20g granulated sugar
• 20g brown sugar
• 2 small eggs, lightly whisked
• 20g honey
• 15g butter, melted
• 240g sweet corn, frozen
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

1. The night before baking, mix the buttermilk and polenta to make a “soaker”. Cover and leave at room temperature.
2. The day of baking, preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients, except the oil, in a large bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a 6in frying pan until very hot. Pour in the batter and swirl around to cover the pan.
4. Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. If it is browning too much on top, cover loosely with foil. 
5. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before slicing.