Cornless Corn Bread

I may have done it! I tried cooking this on the stove-top, like a big pancake, because I'm lazy, but it didn't like the idea of flipping over, so I got stir-fried bread batter. But it was so tasty I figured I'd better try again. I didn't use any measurements either time, but I did write down an estimate. Quick breads are pretty forgiving, though, right?

I have been fermenting a flour mix I found at India Bazaar called "dhokla flour" - so I call it my "sourdhokla starter." I tried making it into a sourdough bread loaf, and boy, does that recipe need some work. It made great crumbs for the top of my Thanksgiving Day butternut squash casserole, though! 

The starter does not end up smelling or tasting very sour, but it bubbles beautifully - especially when I leave it in the oven with the light on overnight. When I get up in the morning and see it thriving, I can't wait to feed it or use it in pancakes or devise a new recipe for it. So it keeps me eating, which is good...

Besides not being very sour, it is not very fine. The texture of the flour is very course - like cornmeal - and the fermentation process does little to break it down. Which is why it's perfect for Cornless Cornbread!

This recipe came together the way it did partly just because of what I had on hand or problems I anticipated needing to solve. The Nug had abandoned a bowl of pumpkin puree, so I dumped that into my mixing bowl. The starter has proven in the past to do very poorly with holding together, so I made a gel out of psyllium husks and water... And so on.

So here's what I did to produce the bread you see pictured above: 

Preheat oven. (I set mine at 375•F, but there is no reason to believe the old gal actually baked my bread at anything resembling that temperature...)

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine 1tsp psyllium husk with a couple tablespoons water; set aside (roughly five minutes).

In a medium to large mixing bowl, plop in a few heaping spoonfuls of pumpkin puree (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup), add a capful of unfiltered apple cider, a glob of ghee (about 1/8 to 1/4 cup), plenty of starter (1 to 1-1/2 cups), 2 eggs, the psyllium gel, and enough full-fat coconut milk to achieve a batter-like texture (somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup).

Grease the vessel in which you are to bake your Cornless Cornbread. I used a Pyrex I found in the cupboard, but I'm thinking next time I'll use my Pampered Chef fluted stoneware so the middle isn't too gooey.

Add salt, baking powder and baking soda. I have no clue how much of these I used. I shook the salt shaker seven times, dusted the surface of the batter with a few shakes of baking powder and tossed in a pinch or two of baking soda. Sorry I can't be more helpful there...

Mix it up, pour in the batter, bake the stuff. Mine went forty minutes and a toothpick came out clean, but I wish I'd done at least five minutes more. 

Regardless, it was a great way to start the day (and an unpleasant surprise for my mom, who was not expecting a sour taste)!