Pan de Maíz: Cornbread with more Corn than Wheat
This cornbread has a higher ratio of corn to wheat flour than Northern cornbread recipes and it is not sweet. I like to make this cornbread often not only because it brings back memories of my family (Hi, sis, Nieves!) bu
t also because it is a prime example of the beautiful marriage between Native American cuisines and European cuisines. Texas Indians were making cornbread before the arrival of Europeans in 1528, and Europeans were making wheat bread before they immigrated to our shores. But then corn met wheat. They liked each other and a beautiful friendship was born!
It’s typical of Texas Mexican versions, actually of most Southern versions, to favor more corn than wheat and also to not fiddle much with its natural sweetness. The small amount of sugar in this recipe helps maintain the moisture in the bread. I think you’ll enjoy the extra crunch, especially the nice crust that forms by heating the cast iron skillet before pouring in the batter. Again, this crust is typical of almost all Southern style cornbread recipes.
Recipe: Makes one 10-inch round
Ingredients:
1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg white
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbs Canola oil
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 4250 F
2. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, add the Canola oil and place in the oven to heat
3. Sift together the wheat flour, soda, baking powder, sugar and salt until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add the cornmeal and mix thoroughly. (I always combine some really coarse-ground cornmeal into the cup of cornmeal, about 25%)
5. In a separate bowl beat the egg and egg white
6. Add the buttermilk and the melted butter to the beaten eggs and stir until fully mixed.
7. Pour the egg and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a large spoon, just enough to incorporate the liquid.
8. Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and pour the batter into it. Sizzle! Place in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with a smile! 🙂
Maybe this way:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75223441@N05/6766341903/in/photostream
If this works, I’ll next send you the Padron peppers.
[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/75223441@N05/6766341903/in/photostream[/img]
I think that now you can upload pictures as you comment on my blog. The pics need a URL, so you have to first upload them to flickr or other picture site. I’ll look for your pic.
Would love to share the photo with you so let me know when your blog is ready for uploads. I’ll also send a photo of some Padron peppers that seem to grow easily in SoCal. They are mild (if picked young) and taste a great deal like Anaheim or Hatch peppers, but are thin skinned. They should go great with the corn tortilla and queso blanco (your recipe). Bought queso fresco yesterday to try it out. When we go to our favorite store, Cardenas, we’ll buy queso asadero. One Cardenas store is in Perris, about 20 miles north of us. It’s almost like an HEB but all Mexican products. Great fun!
Hola, I am thrilled to hear about your brunch! thanks for letting me know..Wonderful!! It’s great that those traditional ways are new again!! I want to see your picture, so let me see about how to add upload of pics to my blog.
again, gracias.
Tried your Pan de Maiz recipe for Sunday Brunch and it was a hit! For the past 25 years or so, I’ve been using a cornbread recipe that has more wheat flour than corn meal. Never again! We cut the typical wedges, split those, topped with a fried egg and sauteed onions with a dash of chipotle power. Deli ham slices on the side. Looked so good, I took a photo. Then we devoured it! Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes!
First off Adán, thanks for moving to the WordPress site, it does your excellent content better justice. Now to the cornbread…
Great recipé! This is so close to the down home Tennessee recipé that I learned from Mama. Therefore I’ll share some Southern US cornbread trads that resonate with your pan de maís, and provide interesting contrasts and harmonies.
First, that cast iron skillet (or cast iron corn stick pan) for cornbread is de rigeur. No other type of cooking vessel will give cornbread its requisite crust, and it must be preheated with the fat to provide that crust.
Buttermilk is the only fluid put in contact with cornmeal for respectable cornbread Down South, period. In a pinch clabber will serve, but with sacrifice of cornbread’s tender crumb.
Our family used store-bought self-rising cornmeal for the job, and if fresh for the rising ingredients it always worked well. But your having folk incorporate the rising ingredients from scratch is more realistic for most of the world. It’s difficult to find self-rising cornmeal in Boston. I wonder if there is such a thing as self-rising cornmeal in México…
I always heat the fat with the skillet in the oven, then stir it into the batter carefully to get a head start on the rising before it gets poured into the hot pan. It is dangerous and can spatter, but truly helps the batter get a head start on rising and accelerates that brown crust on the outside.
As you know, purist cornbread doesn’t contain additives, but the use of finely diced chiles (especially chipotles) or shredded cheese or pork cracklins in the mix can be powerfully tasty.
Thanks Adán for letting me ramble on our cornbread affinities! So-called “Tex-Mex” (can’t remember your big word for it at the mo’) and traditional US Southern cooking have much in common! I’d love fare that could feature and embrace this affinity.