This is my way to go about corn bread. Although I call it New York Bakery
corn bread - it is in fact, to me, a typical Montreal (since that is where
I a from) corn bread. It is in my cookbook but I had posted this recipe
for Bread Digest subscribers about two years ago for their enjoyment. That
week, the recipe got hit on a lot - in a good way ? as some 1400 people
downloaded it (obviously everyone likes corn bread)
Enjoy,
Marcy Goldman
Corn Bread
This is from my cookbook, The Best of BetterBaking.Com, Ten Speed Press and
Random House Canada, 2003, Winner of the 2003 Best Dessert Book of the Year
(English), Gourmand International Cookbooks Awards (did you know Rose won
for Best Bread Book?). This corn bread is hardly corny at all, but it's
actually a dense, lightly colored rye loaf and our favorite emissary of
sourdough culture. This recipe calls for a rye starter, as opposed to a
white starter, and will yield enough dough for two good loaves.
Makes 2 large loaves
Rye Starter (3 days ahead)
--------------------------
3 to 4 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon instant yeast
3 cups dark rye flour or pumpernickel flour
1/2 cup bread flour
In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the water and yeast. Let
stand for 2 or 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Stir in flours to make a thick
batter. Insert the bowl into a large plastic bag and allow it to stand for
three days in a cool place.
Dough
-----
all of the starter (above)
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup stoneground cornmeal
l tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon caraway seeds, to taste
4 cups dark rye flour
4 cups bread flour
After 3 days, stir down starter and add the water, cornmeal, salt, caraway
seeds, rye flour and 3 cups of bread flour and mix to make a soft
mass. Knead with the dough hook on the slowest speed of the mixer, dusting
in additional flour as required to form a soft dough, about 8 to 10
minutes. Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl.
Insert bowl into a large plastic bag and let rise until almost doubled,
about 2 to 4 hours.
Stack 2 baking sheets together and line top one with parchment paper.
Sprinkle cornmeal on top. Set aside.
Gently deflate the dough, spray the top of the dough with nonstick cooking
spray, insert again into the plastic bag and let rise for another 1 or 2
hours. Shape dough into two large round loaves and place them prepared
baking sheet. Allow bread to rise again approximately l hour, to two thirds
(not doubled). Dust top of loaves lightly with flour.
Preheat oven to 425 F. Make diagonal slits on top of loaves with a sharp
knife. With a spray bottle filled with water, lightly mist loaves with
water, then spray oven as well, being careful to avoid the oven
light. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, misting the inside of the oven several times
in the first 10 minutes, until brown.