This has to be the best cornbread I have ever had. Lisa Hardinge made it to accompany her Red Lentil Soup when we were visiting Spokane last month. What got me was how light in color it was, how light on the tongue it was, and how it amazingly stayed together and didn't crumble when it was cut and served. I love cornbread, but a dry mixture where most the item is left in the pan or on the side of your plate is a botch! Such a successful dish proves that maybe restrictive foods (like dairy- or gluten-free) might be successful after all.Although all of Lisa's cooking was fantastic, this was likely the most successful just because I talked about it so much to everybody when we got back.
Marie Callender's Famous Cornbread (Modified)
Source: Constance Corbett (Modified)
- 1 ¼ cups flour [See gluten-free note below.]
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅓ cup sugar, (or less)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups milk, (soy or cow)
- ¼ cup shortening, (olive oil works great)
- 2 egg whites, (or equivalent egg replacer)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Add milk, oil, and egg (or egg replacer with water) and mix only until all the ingredients are well combined.
4. Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 in. glass baking dish.
5. Bake for 25-30 min, or until the top is golden brown.
This recipe is very good even when made free from dairy or eggs. I usually mix the egg replacer and warm water in a separate bowl before adding it into the recipe. Blending it with a hand mixer seems to work well. Better Than Milk Soy Original is the best soy milk I've found for cooking. Other types of soy milk give the recipe an unusual flavor. If making gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the batter.
