I make this cornbread recipe with a few changes. I use gluten free flour, and I add jalapenos and some cheddar cheese. It’s a wonderful mix of sweet, savory, and spicy.
The first time I made it, it came out perfect. I mixed the jalapenos in with the batter and they stayed dispersed in the bread. The second time, I mixed the jalapenos in with the batter but they floated to the top. The third time (last night), I put the jalapenos in the pan before I put the batter in, and they stayed at the bottom.
Is there any way to get the jalapenos to stay suspended in the batter?
I’ll admit I haven’t tried this myself but one trick I’ve heard to keep ingredients from rising or sinking in batter is to put them in a bag with some dry flour and give them a shake. This coats them with flour and then when you add them to the wet batter, the flour sticks to the batter and keeps the ingredients from moving around.
Try Little Nemo’s trick first. I am rather puzzled, because that has never happened to me, and I add chilis to cornbread as a matter of routine. But I do agree with AHunter3 that it really needs buttermilk to kick it over the edge.
And that’s also why you’d use baking soda instead of powder (for those interested), as buttermilk has enough acid to activate the soda and leaven the bread, instead of needing a dry acid that the powder contains, if you were using milk.
I just spent the last hour checking out corn bread recipes and decided to wander over here to see what’s up at the Dope. Clicked ‘new posts’ and now I have my recipe.
It’s really good, though it’s definitely a sweet cornbread. I use salted butter because it’s what I had the first time I made it and I loved the flavor combo.
Sounds perfect. I’m making a variation on my chili (which is very flavorful and has some heat) that a little sweetness will complement. I usually use unsalted butter, but I’ll up the salt a bit to compensate. I am a huge fan of the salty/sweet combo.
My cornbread recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda. Complemented by both plain milk and buttermilk (or yogurt). I use a 5:1 ratio of yellow* cornmeal to all-purpose flour: one and two-thirds cup cornmeal, one-third cup flour. I also use 3 eggs. It’s probably the eggs that does it, but I love to fold in diced jalapeños, and they stay evenly dispersed throughout the loaf. I love best how the baked jalapeño becomes translucent, so that when you hold it up to the morning sunlight in the window, the light makes it shine like so many emeralds.
*The color doesn’t matter.
My idea to merge the properties of both baking soda and baking powder was to combine their respective strengths: soda rises with greater initial verve, while powder has better staying power. So as to rise and, having risen, to stay risen. Using 3 eggs to 2 cups of meal helps.
