Add 1 cup dried cranberries and 11/2 tablespoons crushed fennel seeds to the batter.If you have a well-seasoned cast iron skillet around, you can bake the cornbread right in it and bring it to the table. This is an all-purpose recipe that really goes with any entree and is as at home on the breakfast table as on the dinner table.
Yield: 6–8 servings
Active time: 10 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes
1 cup fine yellow gluten-free cornmeal
2/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
11/2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cups buttermilk, well shaken
1/2 cup creamed corn
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F, and grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan generously.
2. Whisk together cornmeal, rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, creamed corn, and butter in a small bowl. Add buttermilk mixture to cornmeal mixture, and stir batter until just blended.
3. Heat the greased pan in the oven for 3 minutes, or until it is very hot. Remove the pan from the oven, and spread batter in it evenly. Bake cornbread in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until top is pale golden and the sides begin to pull away from the edges of the pan.
4. Allow cornbread to cool for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack. Cut into pieces, and serve hot or at room temperature.
Note: Cornbread is best eaten within a few hours of baking.
Variations
Add 1 cup dried cranberries and 11/2 tablespoons crushed fennel seeds to the batter.
Add 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries to the batter. If using frozen raspberries do not thaw them before using.
Add 1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon, and substitute bacon grease for the melted butter.
Add 1/2 cup finely chopped pimiento to the batter.
Add 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots and 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder to the batter.
Add 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the batter and substitute firmly packed dark brown sugar for the granulated sugar.
If you don’t use buttermilk very often, it’s a waste of money to buy a quart to use less than half in a recipe. Instead, buy buttermilk powder. It’s shelved with the baking ingredients in the supermarket. Refrigerate it once opened.