Cornmeal in my bread? Really? No way that will work. Well, it did. I was watching Heather of "The Kneady Homesteader" and she made these about a year ago. I was curious and decided it was a good thing to test out. I happen to have quite a bit of cornmeal because I bought a large bag from an ethnic store. I have used it when making fresh pasta and for the bottom of a pizza pan but that is all. Now I will definitely be making this bread again so a supply of cornmeal will become a pantry staple.
The quality of this picture is not my normal presentation, but in the oven, I used my iPhone for convenience. Regardless, it is a good shot of the "Whoa! Look at that rise!"
I had to replay Heather's video a few times to understand the method since the recipe posted on her channel was not expansive, but I put on my big girl granny pants and my chef's hat and figured it out. I will now write it down for my friends who have asked me for this recipe and for my memory bank file.
The recipe takes two steps. One to make the cornmeal and let it cool, and then the flour portion. I say that so you know it is not a fast throw-together. First cook the cornmeal.
Ingredients:
Cornmeal cooking portion:
1 cup cornmeal
2 cup of water
1/2 cup lard (I used butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey (I used buckwheat honey)
Flour and mixer portion:
2 tablespoons yeast (this may be too much, see picture above, I may change this in the future)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
5 - 5 1/2 cups AP flour
2 eggs for the bread
1 egg for the egg wash
Toppings to your taste
Method:
Cook the cornmeal with all the ingredients listed until thick and smooth. In Heather's video, the lard made it much more glossy. I did not want to add shorting and I did not have lard, so butter. Hubby brought the wrong butter this week (sigh)--light butter is not butter, just saying. I used it anyway and as it turns out, it worked. Once it is all incorporated, set it aside and let it cool. I put the pot in a cold water bath in the sink because I was tired and did not have oodles of energy or time to wait.
Now for the flour part. Add the water into the mixer bowl with a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Add the yeast (my instant yeast was very strong and 2 tablespoons might be too much in the future) and let it bloom for a few minutes, then add the flour one cup at a time. Start off with 2 cups and mix it in with the yeast mixture. Next time, I may add a teaspoon of salt to the flour. I added 3 cups of flour before I added the cornmeal mixture into the mixer bowl. Now knead for a few minutes. Add the two eggs. Now add the remaining flour, slowly till the dough pulls off the side of the mixing bowl. It took a long time to get to the right consistency.
My Kitchen Aid is very old and struggles after 5 cups of flour so the next time I will make this in my Bosh mixer. That will allow me to forgo one rise as well.
After everything is incorporated place the dough in a warm corner or in the oven with the light on to rise. Cover if you have it out in the open. I had mine in the oven, it took less than an hour to double. Then I divided the dough into rolls by dividing them equally (weighing them) and placing them on a baking sheet for a second rise. I made 12 rolls, but could easily have made 16. I let them rise in the oven and they were ready in less than 30 minutes. Then I preheated the oven and drizzled a few different toppings on the rolls to test the tastes.
The photo shows the dough breaking, which is an excess of yeast. Regardless, I placed the risen rolls in the oven at 375*. The recipe said 15-20 minutes. I had mine in for closer to 30 minutes.
When my family came home, the aroma gathered them immediately in the kitchen where they consumed several warm rolls amidst sounds of enjoyment.
I am very happy with this recipe, I hope you will be as well. Today I will make crispy chicken strips and sauce and make my version of a KFC crispy chicken burger using these buns.
~ Cookin Mum ~
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