Monday, June 4, 2012

Masa Cornbread




From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm really fond of baked goods that use masa as an ingredient. With barbecue season reeving up, I thought it would be nice to have a masa flavored cornbread to serve with some of our grilled meals. Masa, a flour made from corn, adds distinctive flavor and texture to baked goods  and I've found it adds an unmistakably Southwestern flair to cornbread. I stumbled on two recipes, found here and here, that use it as an ingredient and I was able to cherry-pick from them to come up with the recipe I'm featuring today. This is very easy to make, but I have found that the amount of milk needed to make the cornbread can vary from one occasion to the next. If you find the batter is too stiff to work, add additional milk, a spoonful at a time, until it is of spreadable consistency. I prefer my cornbread unadorned, but chiles and cheese can be added to the batter if you'd  like yours to have a bit more kick or flavor.  This was a welcome addition to our table today. I had planned to grill, but the weather turned cold and we are back in heavy sweaters and ended up having chili for dinner. This was a perfect accompaniment. I think those of you who try the cornbread will enjoy it. Here's the recipe.

Masa Cornbread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bon Appetit and Chow.com

Ingredients:
1 cup masa harina
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup or 1/2 stick) butter, melted plus 1 tablespoon for skillet

Directions:

1) Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on center rack of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2) Whisk masa, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.
3) Whisk milk, eggs and 4 tablespoons butter together in a small bowl.
4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Do not over-mix.
5) Film bottom and sides of hot skillet with reserved tablespoon of butter. Spoon batter into skillet and smooth top.
6) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are browned and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan or on a rack slightly before serving. Serve war. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.










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21 comments :

Alicia said...

This sounds so good. I love cornbread and I've never had it with masa harina. We use it to make corn tortillas but never thought to use it for cornbread. It's been over 95 degrees here so it will be awhile before I'm turning the oven on, but I saved the recipe to try when the weather gets colder here in sunny California :)

Anonymous said...

yum! i love a good cornbread! that looks amazing! thanks for sharing!

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have wonderful childhood memories of cornbread. But I have never heard of this kind of flour, so I learned something new.

Anonymous said...

I love the shape of these cornbread - they look seriously soft and delicious :D

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Priya Suresh said...

Excellent and great looking cornbread.

Big Dude said...

Sounds like a great idea Mary and we have a bag of masa

Kim said...

I too really love the taste of masa harina... love preparing my own corn tortillas! This cornbread looks awesome, I'll make sure to remember this for my next cornbread craving!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

I've never tried masa - I didn't realize you could get a different flavor profile by combining different kinds of corn flour. It does look like the perfect accompaniment for barbecue!

Barbara said...

I think masa is finely ground cornmeal, right? I've never cooked with it...I love the idea of using it in cornbread, Mary.

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Turn that grill into an oven and "Bake" these outside while you are prepping your grilling items. TERRIFIC idea for a grilling extra

Dave

Ana Regalado said...

This sounds/looks delicious ! Perfect with everything grilled so as with hearty soup and stew !

Claudia said...

Did I ever mention that I cannot make cornbread? I don't have the gene. But I shall give it a go with this recipe (you never know) because it accompanies so much and I love. Bring on the chilies and cheese. (Paul grills outside with an umbrella. I don't.)

Suzie said...

I love cornbread, especially with chili as you had it. It's been cold here too. I was vacuuming my pool Saturday in the rain, in a winter coat :O

Chiara said...

thi slooks delicious mary, thanks for sharing...blessings....

SKIP TO MALOU said...

I love cornbread but never baked them nor had the chance of baking with masa harina.

thanks for sharing,
malou

Eileen said...

It looks delicious!

Joanne said...

Somehow I never think to make cornbread as a side dish even though its one of my favorite foods! This looks great.

Unknown said...

I have surprisingly never had masa cornbread... but it looks so amazingly good. Can't wait to try this!

Sangeetha Nambi said...

Perfect and tempting me... Lovely post...

http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com

Veronica Miller said...

I've never worked with masa, though I've always wanted to make tamales. Is it kind of like a very fine cornmeal? And how does it compare in cornbread-is it more fine and lighter than regular?

milosandbean said...

Your recipe is our go-to recipe for cornbread now. My husband and boys LOVE cornbread (or cornmeal anything). Thanks!

It goes well with the Roasted Pumpkin Carrot Soup I made the other day, too!

http://milosandbeans.blogspot.be/2012/12/roasted-pumpkin-carrot-soup-with.html

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