Recipe: Polenta Cornbread

POLENTA CORNBREAD

1 cup polenta or yellow or blue corn flour*
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tablespoons baking soda
1 cup nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup nonfat or low fat milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons canola or safflower oil
2 tablespoons light honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed*

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F convection or bake. Lightly oil an 9x13-inch baking pan or muffin pan. If nonstick, no need to oil.

Mix polenta, flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.

Whisk together the remainder of ingredients in large mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients and gently stir just enough to thoroughly mix. Fold in the corn. Overly energetic mixing will cause the bread to be tough. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean and bread is firm in the center and golden around the edges. Serve warm

Left over cornbread will freeze very well.

*Coarsely ground polenta is very coarse corn meal. If you use coarse ground polenta, you will get a coarse, delightfully crunchy texture.
- If you use a mix of flour and polenta, you will get something in between.
- You can also use only polenta and omit the whole wheat pastry flour entirely.
- If you use corn flour, you will get a smooth, almost fluffy texture. If using corn flour, choose between blue or yellow depending upon the color you prefer. Using both yellow and blue at the same time will create a displeasing color. I have, however, made one recipe of blue and one recipe of yellow and then folded the batter together in the pan to create a ribbon. It was very pretty.

**About 2 1/4 cups frozen corn will yield 1 1/2 cups thawed.

Makes 12 muffins

And one more thing to cut down on the crunchiness of the polenta...

Another recipe says to soak the polenta overnight in the liquid milk. That would cut down on the crunch factor. (You can also grind it finer in a blender or food processor).

Myself, I always use buttermilk for cornbread. I might try this polenta idea, too! Anyway, my point is, just play around with it until you get the texture you like. But for sure the polenta will work for you, it's just a matter of your own personal taste.

Myself, I don't care for corn kernels in my cornbread.

Good luck, hope this helps!

Carolyn!