Blue Corn Cornbread Recipe

These pages are under development by the page author, no warranty implied.

We grow and grind our own blue corn and do not use any pesticides or herbicides. This recipe uses only corn flour so it is also gluten free. I use a Komo Mill to grind sorghum and corn and it can make a nice fine flour. The only downside is that it can only grind for about 30 minutes before thermal protection kicks in and it shuts off. If grinding more than a quart of flour with this mill it will be necessary to let it cool off between batches.

Here are my tips/suggestions for making great cornbread.

Moistness

If you add the correct amount of butter or oil the cornbread will be moist. Unsaturated fat is not as healthy so its best to just use butter.

Texture

Too many eggs will result in rubbery texture and too few will be crumbly. About 2 eggs is perfect.

Lightness

This is the most important factor and it is all about timing. The buttermilk or yogurt is acidic and combines with the baking soda in the dry mixture to produce gas which creates air bubbles. It is important to preheat the oven, prepare the pan, and if using cast iron preheat the skillet and get the dry and wet ingredients ready before combining them together. Then quickly mix the wet and dry ingredients and put in the pan to bake before the gas dissipates.

Sinking Centers

If you don't cook long enough it will raise in the center and then after cooling will sink ... sometimes a lot. Cook longer and use a toothpick to tell if done. And then cook a little longer :)

Muffin Cups With Paper

I tried muffin cups with paper liners and half the cornbread stuck to the paper. It was much better to use an 8x8 square baking pan coated with butter and dusted with fine corn flour. Tap the rest of the corn flour back into your dry mixture and mix before combining with wet ingredients.

Sugar

Honey is twice as sweet as sugar so if using sugar use twice as much, then adjust as you like on your next batch.

Natural Product

Hopi Blue Corn is very soft and won't be completely ground. On half coarse grind setting with Komo Mill there will be some larger pieces of corn fiber. Some larger partly ground pieces may be present with papery texture but on closer inspection it is the outer coating of the corn attached to the germ end of the kernel (attachment to the cob). This is totally edible and natural fiber is good for health.

Dry Ingredients

1. 1 cup Fine corn flour (finest you can on komo mill)
   
2. 1 cup Coarse corn flour (1/2 grind on on komo mill, still pretty fine)
   
3. 2 tsp. Baking Powder
   
4. 1 tsp. Baking Soda
   
5. 1 tsp. Salt
   
6. 8 Tbsp. Sugar (or add honey to wet ingredients)

Wet Ingredients (ingredients should be at room temperature)

1. 1.5 cups Yogurt or Buttermilk
   
2. 2 Eggs (room temperature)
   
3. 4 Tbsp. Butter (melted and at room temperature)
   
4. 4 Tbsp. Honey (or use sugar as above)
   
5. Plus Milk as needed to mix
   

Instructions

1. Prepare a pan and coat the inside with butter then dust the inside with a bit of corn flour.
2. Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in a separate bowls, tap the pan and add the extra flour to the dry ingredients.
3. When ready make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and quickly combine by pouring the wet ingredients into the center and mixing with a spoon.
4. Do no over mix or the cornbread won't be as fluffy. A few small clumps of flour is normal.
5. While mixing add extra if needed to make the batter thin enough to pour into the pan, it should be thick and barely pourable.
6. Quickly add the batter to the buttered and floured pan and put in oven at 400F for 20-35 minutes. In my experience it is closer to 35 minutes, we had some sink in the middle if only 25 minutes.