The mental and physical feelings I get from well prepared “slow food” are so wonderful I’d wager that even if I had all the money in the world, I’d still eat this way. It’s been more than a year now since I more fully embraced a more “traditional foods” diet, one full of enzyme-rich fermented foods, home-cultured dairy, wild-yeast breads and plenty of coconut products. I happily spend more time sprouting grain because I feel the flavor pay off is so great – but sometimes it’s not a good choice due to timing or impending dinner company.
I recently talked about the nutritional value of sprouted flour and why I love it for superior flavor. When I have the time there is nothing better! But in those instances that sprouting grain isn’t conducive to real life, soaking already ground grain in an acidulated liquid mimics the process of sprouting – and can be done in a much shorter time frame.
Waiting around 7 or 8 hours on something soaking could feel maddening, but really it’s just a habit of thinking ahead, and it shortcuts the process of sprouting then dehydrating which can take several days by comparison. Over the weekend, I had a small dinner party and served a skillet cornbread that is probably one of my most favorite cornbread versions ever. Cornmeal and whole wheat flour are soaked in yogurt for 8 hours at room temperature, and the result is far more delicious than regular, all-corn cornbread. The texture of this cornbread is both firm and tender, and the combination of grains is much more interesting. The wheat flour lends a hint of bitterness that I really love.
If you lucky enough to have them, leftovers create toast fully worth devouring – add a few spoonfuls of salsa and a poached egg and you have an instant brunch up your sleeve and ready to impress. I love baking in my cast iron whenever I can, but you can use a 9×9 glass baking dish if you prefer. Remember to begin at least 7 hours before you want to eat!
Soaked Cornbread (adapted from Kitchen Stewardship)
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. plain yogurt
2 eggs
1/4 c. coconut oil (or butter), softened or slightly melted
2 T. honey
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
heavy pinch of kosher salt
Mix the cornmeal, wheat flour and yogurt together in a large bowl. It will feel like a thick dough, just make sure it’s well mixed and pat it into a ball. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and let it sit at warm room temperature for at least 7 hours.
Prepare a glass baking dish or cast iron skillet to bake in by greasing the bottom and sides well with butter. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs together with the remaining ingredients. (You can do this by hand or with a hand mixer. I prefer to use a mixer, and then I run the mixer over the soaked cornmeal mixture to break it up and help the wet ingredients incorporate better.) Add the wet ingredients to the soaked flours, and mix well until no thick streaks of soaked flour “dough” remain. Try not to over mix, but be sure everything is well combined.
Pour into the prepared baking dish/pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until the tester comes out clean. (If the cornbread appears to be browning too quickly, you can reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees after the first 15 minutes of baking.) Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Some of my favorite moments of kitchen alchemy contain recipes like this one, simple things that are elevated to lofty status in spite of their humble, everyday ingredients. This may be one quick bread that may not really be considered quick, but it’s certainly worth it and I believe it’s better for you as well. Like all time-consuming things I’ve made, I wouldn’t suggest it was worth the trouble if it didn’t really pay off in the taste department!
