Cornbread for Fred
Two loaves of cornbread
2 cups of medium grind cornmeal (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
4 tsp fine sea salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup of your best maple syrup
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups fresh corn kernels (or frozen, slightly thawed)
Honey butter:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp honey
Pinch of fine sea salt
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Prep two loaf pans with either butter or cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
3) In a cast iron skillet on medium heat, toast the cornmeal with the chili powder and black pepper until aromatic and slightly browned. Pour into a large bowl to cool.
4) In a medium sauté pan, brown the unsalted butter until it stops sizzling and smells rather nutty. Pour the browned butter, and all the toasted solids, into a glass measuring cup to stop the cooking and cool.
5) Add the flour, baking powder and soda, both sugars and the freshly grated nutmeg to the cooled cornmeal. Whisk to combine.
6) In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs. Pour into the dry mix and fold together with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the corn. Evenly portion the batter between the two pans and bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is dry and slightly firm to the touch.
7) While the breads are baking, melt together the butter and honey in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sea salt.
8) Once the two cornbreads have cooled for five minutes, brush the tops of the loaves with the honey butter and then let the loaves cool to room temperature in the pans.
