This yeasted corn bread, or corn flour bread, is an amazing loaf that totally emphasizes all things corn.
When Ken Forkish published Evolutions in Bread in September, I couldn't resist. I had to buy it. After all, his book, Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast is pretty much the book that taught me how to perfect my bread.
This book is very different from his first one and includes a lot of pan loaves, including this one.
This bread is baked with a lean, fairly sticky dough, but not so sticky that you can't manage it. I chose to make it in a 2 pound bread pan (5-inch by 10-inch).
The recipe calls for 100 grams of sourdough starter, but it can be discard, because the recipe also calls for instant yeast. If you don't have a sourdough starter, you can skip it.
Things to keep in mind:
- Use corn flour instead of corn meal. I used Bob's Red Mill brand of corn flour. If you have a flour mill or a Vitamix, you could grind your corn meal down to flour. The goal is to not have it be too mealy.
- This bread can be made in about 4 to 6 hours. If you start around 10 a.m., you will have a finished loaf by 3 p.m.
- You can skip the levain added to the dough, but it does definitely add flavor.
- If you don't have a 2-pound loaf pan, you can make two loaves in two 1-pound pans. It might even work in a longer pain de mie pan, but I haven't tried it.
Ken Forkish also talks about ways to make this bread more "corny," neither of which did I try. It's up to you:
- If you want to go all in with the corn, instead of the plain water, you can boil corn cobs in water to make a corn cob stock. In addition, you can puree some corn and add it to the water. Be aware that that the dough will rise faster because of the sugar in the corn.
- Another option he offers is to roast the corn husks from ears of corn in a cast iron pan in a 500 degree oven until nearly charred, and then grind them into flakes to add (about 1/4 cup) to the bread.
While I included them, you can also skip the corn kernels in the dough if you like.
While completely optional, I also crushed some corn flakes and decorated the top of the loaf with them. Do not use Frosted Flakes or they will burn. In my case, some of the cornflakes did start to burn, so I tented the loaf for about 5 minutes of the bake time.
In true Forkish tradition, he suggests placing the dough seam side up in the pan.
This pan bread turned out amazing. It's not exactly sandwich bread, and it's not exactly rustic.
The crust is super crusty and chewy. My favorite way to eat this bread is toasted and buttered and possibly topped with a fried egg, some sliced steak, for a hot chicken sandwich, or just plain buttered toast, with or without jam.
The toast.... the toast is amazing!
I can't believe it's been ten years since Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast was published. This new book is different, in that includes recipes for enriched dough breads, loaf-pan breads, and softer breads, along with many recipes for breads that you can make without a starter.
He also includes instructions for maintaining your sourdough starter that doesn't involve throwing out so much of it, and many of the recipes can be made into different types and allow you to be creative.
You still can mix everything in a tub, but this time, a six-quart one.
Plus, each recipe is beautifully explained over two to three pages, including sample timelines.
This month, the Bread Baking Babes are baking yeasted corn bread. After the recipe, be sure to check out everyone's version of this bread.
Yeasted Corn Bread
Ingredients
- 425 grams (1 3/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon) 80 to 90 degree water (or water + kernel juice + cob broth)
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) sourdough starter/levain (fed or unfed)
- 400 grams (2 3/4 cups plus 2 teaspoons) bread flour
- 175 grams (1 1/2 cups plus 1 teaspoon) corn flour
- 175 grams (1 cup) corn kernels
- 14 grams (2 3/4 teaspoons) fine sea salt
- 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast
- 30 grams corn flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Add the water to a large container, such as 6-quart tub. Add the levain (starter) to the water and mix with your hand.
- Add the bread flour, corn flour, corn kernels if using (plus ground husks if using). Mix by hand until incorporated.
- Sprinkle the salt and the yeast over the top, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Mix with a wet hand and then stretch and fold. Then use your fingers to pinch the dough to incorporate the salt and yeast. Finish with a stretch and fold. Let rest a couple of minutes and then stretch and fold a few more times.
- Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Stretch and fold again, cover and let rest for 30 more minutes. Do a final stretch and fold, cover, and let rise until it's 2 1/2 to 3 times it's original size but still domed and not flattened. If you're using a tub with level marks, it should reach the 2-quart mark.
- In the meantime, spray a loaf pan with spray oil.
- When it's ready, gently turn the dough out onto your work surface.
- Forkish instructions for shaping the loaf:
- "stretch the dough to 2 to 3 times its original width and then fold the ends back over each other creating a packet the width of the pan. Roll up the dough to form a tube about the same length as your pan. Place it in your pan seam side up."
- Brush the loaf with water and sprinkle with the cornflakes, if using.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour, until slightly crested over the top of the pan (if using a 10 inch x 5 inch loaf pan).
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bake for about 50 minutes, turning halfway through for even baking.
- Turn it out onto a wire rack and let cool at least an hour. It actually gets better if you wait a bit longer.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
100.19Fat (grams)
0.68Sat. Fat (grams)
0.1Carbs (grams)
20.56Fiber (grams)
1.11Net carbs
19.48Sugar (grams)
0.61Protein (grams)
3.08Sodium (milligrams)
251.83Cholesterol (grams)
0
One of these days when we have been really good about avoiding corn ingredients for a few weeks, we will have to splurge and try out the original.
ReplyDeleteI loved your adaptations.
DeleteYour corn bread looks wonderful! Many thanks for telling us about Ken Forkish's latest book, Karen, and for choosing his corn (flour) bread for us to make.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I started a new leavener - using only white flour, rather than whole wheat. I'm hoping that it will create bread that is closer in texture to the bread you made (that way, the 50% of our household who crave ultra-soft crumb will be happy as clams).
I maintain mine as all white flour, except every once in a while I'll drop in some WW or rye. Thanks for baking along!
DeleteThanks for the challenge Karen! Your loaf looks beautiful! I especially like the flavor and appeal of the corn kernels dotted throughout.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy! And I'm so happy you baked along!
DeleteWhat a fun bread! The toast must be fantastic - with that little kick of sweetness from the corn.
ReplyDelete