Gluten Free Southern Cornbread
This Traditional Cornbread Is Delicious and Contains No Flour
Aug 29, 2008
The Indians learned early to dry corn and grind it into corn meal, but it was not until the arrival of the Europeans that cornbread, as we know it today, was developed, mostly for necessity. When flour supplies were low, cornmeal was substituted. It became a valuable food source as it was nutritious and easy to transport over long distances. In this way, it's use became vital during the civil war.
There are many styles of cornbread, with Northerners preferring a sweet bread and Southerners demanding a cornbread that is not sweet but savory instead, aided by the addition of bacon fat. When the batter hits that hot, iron skillet with fat, you've got to hear the sizzle or it's not southern. This is just such a bread.
Many cornbread recipes call for a mixture of corn meal and flour, but this one does not and so, it's gluten-free. This is important to many individuals with wheat or gluten health concerns.
Buttermilk Substitute
The recipe also calls for buttermilk. Don't have any? Not to worry. Use this formula to substitute regular milk for buttermilk: Put 1 tablespoon of vinegar into a measuring cup. Add milk to make 1 cup. Let sit 10 minutes.
Gluten-Free Southern Cornbread
- 2 cups yellow or white cornmeal
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 strips bacon (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In an iron skillet, cook bacon until crisp, place on paper towels and reserve bacon drippings in skillet.
- In a medium bowl, stir together ½ cup cornmeal and the boiling water. The cornmeal will get the consistency of a thick porridge or grits. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the remaining 1 ½ cups cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Beat the egg into the reserved cornmeal porridge. Whisk in the buttermilk (or substitute) to make a thin batter.
- Heat the skillet with bacon grease until hot.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisk just until smooth and immediately pour into the hot skillet. Place in preheated oven and bake until the center of the cornbread is firm and the edges are golden brown, about 25 to 40 minutes.
Serving suggestions: Serve with barbecued ribs, pork chops or hearty soups and stews. Serve Collard Greens or fresh Spinach as a side dish. Crumble the bacon on the greens or other side dish.before serving. Or eat the bacon – cook's treat.
Did you know cornbread makes a great breakfast? Heat leftover cornbread in oven or microwave, slather on butter and jam or maple syrup/honey. Many southerners will crumble cornbread into a glass of buttermilk and eat it with a spoon instead of cereal..
“The North thinks it knows how to make corn bread, but this is a gross superstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and perhaps, no bread in the world is quite as bad as the northern imitation of it.” - Mark Twain, 1858
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